Moonlight Over Harrisburg

[Outdoor Talk Network by Jim Slinsky]
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Moonlight Over Harrisburg ©

By Jim Slinsky
05/31/08

Debates and controversies can become complex in Harrisburg. We all have our sense of fair play, ethics and morals, but these judgment calls can vary greatly from person to person. “Whose ox is getting gored” is a fairly common thought process around town. While someone or group might be benefiting from an arrangement, someone else is probably not. I suspect the Gas Rush of 2008 is destined to bring out the worst and the best in people.

Specifically, there is an extraordinary situation within the PGC that I don’t remember ever having to consider or write about. Basically, a key employee of the Agency has two jobs, his day job at Elmerton Avenue and a night job as an advisor/consultant to private landowners who want to extract gas from beneath their properties. Moonlighting, I think it’s called. This one is a bit messy because the individual is Mr. William Capouillez, PGC Director of the Bureau of Habitat Management. A past press release told us he is a geologist.

Apparently, Mr. Capouillez negotiates with gas companies for increased royalties on behalf of his clients, private landowners. He then receives a percentage of the increased royalty he obtained. Sounds like a sweet deal to me, but let us not forget this is America. To my knowledge there is no law preventing PGC employees from having a second job or launching their own business. Or, is this arrangement a conflict of interest? After all, he is negotiating with gas companies by day on behalf of the PGC. Is he using his PGC position to obtain clients for his personal business? I heard he does not mention his PGC position when doing a seminar or approaching potential clients, but word of mouth gets around quickly. This one is complicated so where do we turn for an objective review of this situation?

The obvious place to turn is the Office of Inspector General (OIG). These types of situations are precisely why the OIG was created. But alas, we can not ask the OIG for a review. The PGC is an independent agency not subject to OIG review. Conversely, when sued the PGC is defended by the Attorney General because they are a state agency. Interesting.

We can only speculate the PGC can remove this air of impropriety by asking Mr. Capouillez to resign and hiring him back as their consultant. But, has he done anything wrong? Why would he give up his pension and benefits? As a consultant, his retainer would probably be far greater than his current salary. Sounds like a rock and a hard place for the PGC to me.

Although, there is a bigger question that needs to be answered. Why was Mr. Capouillez promoted to “Director” of the Bureau of Habitat Management? If he was an underling in the Bureau, a specialist in gas and oil extraction, would we be having this debate? As a secondary player in the Bureau would we not applaud the PGC for finding the best man to do the best job possible at this moment in history? Would Mr. Capouillez’s personal sideline business even be an issue?

Unfortunately, it does appear the name change from Bureau of Land Management to Bureau of Habitat Management was indeed just a name change. It appears it is business as usual at the PGC. The Bureau of Habitat Management is nothing more than the resource extraction bureau within the Agency.

Shame on me. Here I thought the Bureau of Habitat Management would be directed by a wildlife biologist. Silly me. I assumed a wildlife management agency would promote a wildlife specialist to run the Bureau of Habitat Management and coordinate their efforts with the Bureau of Wildlife Management. Sorry, my national radio show interviews must have me confused. I must be thinking of a different state.

Once again, the role of our PGC Commissioners is critical to the future of hunting and the management of all wildlife in PA. Without legislation subjecting the PGC to OIG review, our Commissioners must oversee these situations. Obviously, we want the PGC to maximize their return on gas with minimum disruption and full access to our State Game Lands.

I’d say the moonlight is obscured in Harrisburg right now. On this and a number of other critical issues, it is time to clear the clouds of controversy and allow the light of commitment to our wildlife to shine through.

Jim Slinsky is the host and producer of the “Outdoor Talk Network”, a nationally syndicated, outdoor-talk radio program. For a station near you or to contact Jim, visit his website at www.outdoortalknetwork.com.

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