Dual-Role Conflict of Interest Prohibition Invoked By Engineer A DOE-Consulting Overlap
P · Principle
Individual
http://proethica.org/ontology/case/145#Dual-Role_Conflict_of_Interest_Prohibition_Invoked_By_Engineer_A_DOE-Consulting_Overlap
Properties
Instance of
Dual-RoleConflictofInterestProhibitioninPublic-PrivateEngineering
http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#Dual-RoleConflictofInterestProhibitioninPublic-PrivateEngineering
Applied to
Private consulting for coal bed methane companies
State Y Environmental Quality Council hearing
U.S. DOE coal bed methane employment
Balancing with
Professional autonomy
Right to engage in consulting
Concrete expression
Engineer A simultaneously held a position with the U.S. DOE in the coal bed methane arena and operated a private consulting practice primarily serving coal bed methane companies, then testified at a regulatory hearing on coal bed methane discharge permits in a capacity that blurred the boundary between these roles
Confidence
0.9
Importance
high
Interpretation
The dual-role prohibition applies with particular force when both roles concern the same subject matter domain (coal bed methane), because the governmental role's subject matter expertise and credibility directly enhances the private consulting role's commercial value and perceived authority
Invoked by
Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Private Consultant
Engineer A Dual-Role Government-Private Consulting
Tension resolution
The conflict is not resolved by the engineer's personal disclaimer ('on my own behalf') because the structural overlap between the governmental and private roles creates an inherent appearance of impropriety that cannot be cured by verbal disclaimer alone
Source Evidence
Source text
Engineer A also provides consulting services, primarily for coal bed methane companies
Text references
Engineer A also provides consulting services, primarily for coal bed methane companies
Engineer A then stated that he is employed by the U.S. Department of Energy, working in the coal bed methane arena
Engineer A was retained to testify by a coal bed methane company
TTL
@prefix case145: <http://proethica.org/ontology/case/145#> .
@prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> .
@prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> .
@prefix prov: <http://www.w3.org/ns/prov#> .
@prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> .
@prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> .
case145:Dual-Role_Conflict_of_Interest_Prohibition_Invoked_By_Engineer_A_DOE-Consulting_Overlap a proeth:Dual-RoleConflictofInterestProhibitioninPublic-PrivateEngineering,
owl:NamedIndividual ;
rdfs:label "Dual-Role Conflict of Interest Prohibition Invoked By Engineer A DOE-Consulting Overlap" ;
proeth:appliedto "Private consulting for coal bed methane companies",
"State Y Environmental Quality Council hearing",
"U.S. DOE coal bed methane employment" ;
proeth:balancingwith "Professional autonomy",
"Right to engage in consulting" ;
proeth:conceptCategory "Principle" ;
proeth:concreteexpression "Engineer A simultaneously held a position with the U.S. DOE in the coal bed methane arena and operated a private consulting practice primarily serving coal bed methane companies, then testified at a regulatory hearing on coal bed methane discharge permits in a capacity that blurred the boundary between these roles" ;
proeth:confidence "0.9" ;
proeth:discoveredincase "145" ;
proeth:discoveredinpass "2" ;
proeth:discoveredinsection "facts" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredat "2026-02-28T18:14:20.271700+00:00" ;
proeth:firstdiscoveredincase "145" ;
proeth:generatedattime "2026-02-28T18:14:20.271700+00:00" ;
proeth:importance "high" ;
proeth:interpretation "The dual-role prohibition applies with particular force when both roles concern the same subject matter domain (coal bed methane), because the governmental role's subject matter expertise and credibility directly enhances the private consulting role's commercial value and perceived authority" ;
proeth:invokedby "Engineer A DOE Coal Bed Methane Private Consultant",
"Engineer A Dual-Role Government-Private Consulting" ;
proeth:principleclass "Dual-Role Conflict of Interest Prohibition in Public-Private Engineering" ;
proeth:sourcetext "Engineer A also provides consulting services, primarily for coal bed methane companies" ;
proeth:tensionresolution "The conflict is not resolved by the engineer's personal disclaimer ('on my own behalf') because the structural overlap between the governmental and private roles creates an inherent appearance of impropriety that cannot be cured by verbal disclaimer alone" ;
proeth:textreferences "Engineer A also provides consulting services, primarily for coal bed methane companies",
"Engineer A then stated that he is employed by the U.S. Department of Energy, working in the coal bed methane arena",
"Engineer A was retained to testify by a coal bed methane company" ;
proeth:wasattributedto "Case 145 Extraction" ;
prov:generatedAtTime "2026-02-28T18:32:03.185800"^^xsd:dateTime ;
prov:wasGeneratedBy "ProEthica Case 145 Extraction" .
Metadata
Extraction details
Discovered in case
145
Discovered in pass
2
Discovered in section
facts
First discovered
2026-02-28T18:14:20.271700+00:00
First case
145
Generated
2026-02-28T18:14:20.271700+00:00
Attributed to
Case 145 Extraction
Generated
2026-02-28T18:32:03.185800
Generated by
ProEthica Case 145 Extraction