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.
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PAUL J. SMITH
Chairman (/
(SEAL)