Advisory Opinion No. 2013-34 RHODE ISLAND ETHICS COMMISSION Approved: November 19, 2013 Re: Russell J. Chateauneuf QUESTION PRESENTED: The Petitioner, the former Chief of Groundwater and Wetlands Protection for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, a state employee position, requests an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Ethics prohibits or limits his private employment with an environmental science and engineering firm in the year following his severance from public employment RESPONSE: It is the opinion of the Rhode Island Ethics Commission that the Code of Ethics does not prohibit the Petitioner, the former Chief of Groundwater and Wetlands Protection for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, from accepting employment with an environmental science and engineering firm during the year following his severance from public employment. However, the Petitioner may not represent the firm or its clients before his former agency during that year. The Petitioner was employed by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (“DEM”) for twenty-two (22) years until his retirement on July 12, 2013. The Petitioner states that for the fifteen (15) years prior to his retirement he held the position of Chief of Groundwater and Wetlands Protection, where he was responsible for managing a staff of environmental scientists, engineers and support staff in the permitting and regulation of wastewater discharges, wetland alterations, stormwater controls, land development impacts, and environmental regulation. Since his retirement, the Petitioner notes that he has continued to have some contact with DEM on a voluntary basis, and at DEM’s request, to provide information or expertise relative to matters in which he was involved while at DEM. The Petitioner relates that he is not paid for this assistance and that it is purely advisory with no decision-making authority whatsoever. The Petitioner also states that following the 2013 legislative session he was named to a fifteen (15) member legislative task force, which also includes DEM’s Director and its Assistant Director of the Office of Water Resources, to study statutes, local ordinances and the science involved with wetland buffers and on onsite wastewater treatment.[1] The Petitioner continues to serve on this task force as a member of the public. The Petitioner relates that he was recently offered part-time employment as a Senior Project Manager with Horsley Witten Group, Inc. (“HW”), an environmental science and engineering firm with an office in Providence. In this position the Petitioner would be responsible for managing HW’s engineering projects, providing consulting engineering services, and marketing its services. Cognizant of the Code of Ethics’ revolving door provisions, the Petitioner affirmatively represents that if he accepted this employment opportunity he would refrain from contacting or interacting with any DEM employees on any matters that HW is involved in, for the one-year period following the termination of his public employment. The Petitioner also affirms that he would not disclose any confidential information to his new employer or its clients. Given these facts and representations, the Petitioner seeks guidance as to the Code of Ethics’ application. The Code of Ethics prohibits a public official or employee from representing himself or any other person before any state or municipal agency of which he is a member or by which he is employed. R. I. Gen. Laws § 36-14-5(e)(1); Commission Regulation 36-14-5016. Section 36-14-5(e)(4) extends this prohibition for a period of one year after the official or employee has officially severed his position with the agency. This “revolving door” provision is intended to minimize both the influence and the appearance of influence that a former public official or employee may have in a matter that is pending before his former agency. The Code of Ethics also prohibits the use and/or disclosure of confidential information acquired by a public official or employee during the course of, or by reason of, his official employment, particularly for the purpose of obtaining financial gain. See § 36-14-5(b), (c) & (d). The Commission has issued numerous advisory opinions interpreting section 36-14-5(e)(4)’s requirements with respect to former state employees interacting with their former agency during the one year following the date of severance from state employment. See e.g. A.O. 2012-12 (former senior environmental scientist at DEM is not prohibited by the Code of Ethics from working for the Rhode Island Natural Resources Conservation Service upon his retirement, provided that he does not have any personal involvement with a matter before his former agency for a period of one year following his official date of severance, and he does not disclose confidential information he may have obtained during the course of his state employment); A.O. 2008-62 (former social caseworker in the Long Term Care Unit within the Department of Human Services (“DHS”), while not prohibited from working as an independent contractor for an attorney whose practice consists of filing medical assistance applications on behalf of his clients with DHS, must refrain from appearing before DHS or any of its members or staff for a period of one year after the date of her official severance from her position); A.O. 2006-42 (former Rhode Island State Fire Marshal could provide consulting services to private companies, national services, and schools, provided that he did not represent his employers’ or his business associates’ interests before his former agency for a period of one year following his official severance from service, and that he did not disclose confidential information obtained during the course of his state employment). See also A.O. 2010-23; A.O. 2008-6; A.O. 2008-2; A.O. 2005-54; A.O. 2003-43; A.O. 2001-33. Consistent with these prior advisory opinions applying the requirements of section 36-14-5(e)(4), the Petitioner is not prohibited from accepting private employment with HW during the one-year period following his retirement from the DEM. However, he must not disclose any confidential information that he obtained during the course of, or by reason of, his former public employment. Furthermore, and consistent with the Petitioner’s representations, during the one-year, post-severance period he shall not represent himself or any other person before DEM, and shall avoid any and all contact with DEM personnel relative to matters involving HW or its clients. Code Citations: § 36-14-5(b) § 36-14-5(c) § 36-14-5(d) § 36-14-5(e) Commission Regulation 36-14-5016 Related Advisory Opinions: A.O. 2012-12 A.O. 2010-23 A.O. 2008-62 A.O. 2008-6 A.O. 2008-2 A.O. 2006-42 A.O. 2005-54 A.O. 2003-43 A.O. 2001-33 Keywords: Post Employment Private Employment Revolving Door This Advisory Opinion is strictly limited to the facts stated herein and relates only to the application of the Rhode Island Code of Ethics. Under the Code of Ethics, advisory opinions are based on the representations made by, or on behalf of, a public official or employee and are not adversarial or investigative proceedings. Finally, this Commission offers no opinion on the effect that any other statute, regulation, ordinance, constitutional provision, charter provision, or canon of professional ethics may have on this situation. [1] This task force was created by a 2013 amendment to the Rhode Island Regulatory Reform Act. See R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-64.13-10.