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HomeMy WebLinkAbout79-059 BuccuiarelliSTATE ETHICS COMMISSION 308 FINANCE BUILDING HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 17120 OPINION October 17, 1979 TO: William C. Bucciarelli, Chief Division of Municipal Services Bureau of Solid Waste Management Department of Environmental Resources P. 0. Box 2063 Harrisburg, PA 17120 RE: Scope of the term "governmental body" as applied to a division chief of D.E.R. FACTS: 79 -059 On June 29, 1979, William C. Bucciarelli, former Chief of the Division of Solid Waste Management under the Department of Environmental Resources, wrote us to advise us that he was affiliating with a consulting and engineering firm incorporated in Pennsylvania. He further advised that this engineering firm performed a major portion of its services within the Commonwealth. By telephone conversation with the Department of Environmental Resources, we have learned that the Division of Solid Waste Management has been shifted to the Bureau level and is now the Bureau of Solid Waste Management. Under the Secretary of the Department of Environ- mental Resources, there are five deputy positions, one of which is the Deputy for Environmental Protection. Under that position there were several bureaus, one of which was the Bureau of Land Protection. At the time Mr. Bucciarelli was with the Department of Environmental Resources, the Division of Solid Waste Management was one of the divisions under the Bureau of Land Protection: As the Division Chief of Solid Waste Management, Mr. Bucciarelli dealt with the Bureau of Community and Environmental Control, and the Bureau of Water Quality Management, as well as the Bureau of Land Protection, of which his division was a part. Mr. Bucciarelli indicated that he would refrain from representing the consulting firm on any matter presently before the Bureau of Solid Waste Management at either the State or regional office level. William C. Bucciarelli October 17, 1979 page 2 of 3 Mr. Bucciarelli's duties and responsibilities included the implementation and administration of grant proposals under the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Management Act, Act 241, and the Pennsylvania Solid Waste Resource Recovery Act, Act 198. The signing of contracts was delegated to a member of Mr. Bucciarelli's staff. DISCUSSION: The threshhold issue is whether Mr. Bucciarelli is a public employee or official. If he is one of those parties, is the governmental body with which he was associated limited to the present Bureau of Waste Management, or does it include the Bureau of Community Environmental Control, the Bureau of Water Quality Management, and all of the programs under the former Bureau of Land Protection, including the present Bureau of Solid Waste Management? We find that because Mr. Bucciarelli administered grant programs, and delegated the signing of grant contracts to members of his staff, he is a "public employee" as defined under Act 170. Although Mr. Bucciarelli's responsibilities were limited to the then Division of Waste Management, we believe that the governmental body with which he was . associated should include the Bureau of Community Environmental Control, the Bureau of Water Quality Management, and all of the programs under the former Bureau of Land Protection including the present Bureau of Solid Waste Management. Mr. Bucciarelli should not negotiate any contracts with any of these bureaus. This does not however prevent him from managing any contracts which he had negotiated while a member of the Division of Waste Management. He may not participate in negotiating any contract with any member of the Department of Environmental Resources which he had participated in negotiating while being a part of the Department of Environmental Resources. CONCLUSION: Mr. Bucciarelli, being a former chief of the Division of Solid Waste Management under the Bureau of Land Protection, DER, is a public employee under Act 170. Mr. Bucciarelli may not represent any party Wi11.am C. Bucciarelli October 17, 1979 page 3 of 3 before the Bureau of Community Environmental Control, the Bureau of Water Quality Management, and before any bureaus or divisions administering programs formerly under the Bureau of Land Protection, including the present Bureau of Solid Waste Management, for a period of one year after he has left the government. Pursuant to Section 7(9)(i), this opinion is a complete defense in any enforcement proceeding initiated by the Commission, and evidence of good faith conduct in any other civil or criminal proceeding, providing the requestor has disclosed truthfully all the material facts and committed the acts complained of in reliance on the advice given. This letter is a public record and will be made available as such. / te %'.����� PAUL J. SMITH Chairman (/ (SEAL)