PART 3501—SUPPLEMENTAL STANDARDS OF ETHICAL CONDUCT FOR EMPLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR Authority: 5 U.S.C. 301, 7301; 5 U.S.C. App. (Ethics in Government Act of 1978); 30 U.S.C. 1211; 43 U.S.C. 11, 31(a); E.O. 12674, 3 CFR, 1989 Comp., p. 215, as modified by E.O. 12731, 3 CFR, 1990 Comp., p. 306; 5 CFR 2635.105, 2635.203(a), 2635.403(a), 2635.502, 2635.803, 2635.807. Source: 62 FR 53718, Oct. 16, 1997, unless otherwise noted. § 3501.101 General. (a) In accordance with 5 CFR 2635.105, the regulations in this part apply to employees of the Department of the Interior and supplement the Standards of Ethical Conduct for Employees of the Executive Branch contained in 5 CFR part 2635. In addition to the regulations in 5 CFR part 2635 and this part, employees of the Department are subject to the employee responsibilities and conduct regulations at 5 CFR part 735; the executive branch financial disclosure regulations at 5 CFR part 2634; and the Department's employee responsibilities and conduct regulations at 43 CFR part 20. (b) Definitions. (1) Department (2) Bureau (3) Ethics Counselor (4) Deputy Ethics Counselor (c) Bureau instructions. [62 FR 53718, Oct. 16, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 34259, June 24, 1998] § 3501.102 Designation of separate agency components. (a) Each of the following eleven components of the Department is designated as an agency separate from each of the other ten listed components and, for employees of that component, as an agency distinct from the remainder of the Department, for purposes of the regulations in subpart B of 5 CFR part 2635 governing gifts from outside sources, 5 CFR 2635.807 governing teaching, speaking and writing, and § 3501.105 requiring prior approval of outside employment. However, the following eleven components are not deemed to be separate agencies for purposes of applying any provision of 5 CFR part 2635 or this part to employees of the remainder of the Department: (1) Bureau of Indian Affairs, including the Office of Indian Education Programs; (2) Bureau of Land Management; (3) Bureau of Reclamation; (4) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management; (5) Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement; (6) National Indian Gaming Commission; (7) National Park Service; (8) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement; (9) Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians; (10) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; and (11) U.S. Geological Survey. (b) Employees in components not listed in paragraph (a) of this section (including employees within the immediate office of each Assistant Secretary) are employees of the remainder of the Department, which for those employees shall include the components designated in this section as well as those parts of the Department not designated in this section. Example 1: A company that conducts activities regulated by the Bureau of Land Management would not be a prohibited source of gifts for an employee of the National Park Service (NPS), unless that company seeks official action by the NPS; does business or seeks to do business with the NPS; conducts activities that are regulated by the NPS; or has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of that employee's official duties. Example 2: A paralegal who works part-time in the Office of the Solicitor wants to take an additional part-time job with a private company that does business with the U.S. Geological Survey. The company is a prohibited source for the paralegal, since the company does business with a component of the Department from which his component has not been listed as separate in § 3501.102(a). The paralegal must obtain prior approval for the outside employment, because § 3501.105 requires employees to obtain such approval before engaging in outside employment with a prohibited source. [62 FR 53718, Oct. 16, 1997, as amended at 81 FR 76290, Nov. 2, 2016] § 3501.103 Prohibited interests in Federal lands. (a) Cross-references to statutory prohibitions Prohibited purchases of public land by Bureau of Land Management employees. (2) Prohibited interests in the lands or mineral wealth of the region under survey for U.S. Geological Survey employees. (b) Prohibited financial interests in Federal lands for employees of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue and for the Secretary and employees of the Office of the Secretary and other Departmental offices reporting directly to a Secretarial officer who are in positions classified at GS-15 and above. (i) All employees of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, and Office of Natural Resources Revenue; and (ii) The Secretary and employees of the Office of the Secretary and other Departmental offices reporting directly to a Secretarial officer who are in positions classified at GS-15 and above. As used in this section, “Office of the Secretary and other Departmental Offices reporting directly to a Secretarial officer” means the Immediate Office of the Secretary; Office of the Solicitor; Office of the Inspector General; Office of Communications; Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs; all Assistant Secretaries, their immediate Office staff and heads of bureaus which are subordinate to an Assistant Secretary. This includes the following offices under the Office of the Assistant Secretary—Policy, Management and Budget: Office of Budget, Office of Hearings and Appeals, Office of Acquisition & Property Management, Office of Environmental Policy and Compliance, Office of Policy Analysis, Office of Financial Management, and Office of Information Resources Management. (2) Exceptions. (i) An individual employed on an intermittent or seasonal basis for a period not exceeding 180 working days in each calendar year; or (ii) A special Government employee engaged in field work relating to land, range, forest, and mineral conservation and management activities. (c) Prohibition as to Department-granted rights in Federal lands. (2) Exceptions. (ii) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, employees in the Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, or in the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the spouses and minor children of such employees, are not prohibited by paragraph (c)(1) of this section from acquiring or retaining rights in Federal lands controlled by the Department for the benefit of Indians or Alaska Natives. (d) Divestiture. (e) Waivers. (f) Pre-existing interests. [62 FR 53718, Oct. 16, 1997, as amended at 81 FR 76290, Nov. 2, 2016] § 3501.104 Prohibited interests in mining. (a) Cross-reference to statutory prohibition. et seq., (b) Prohibited interests in private mining activities in the United States for U.S. Geological Survey employees, their spouses, and minor children. (2) Definitions. (i) Financial interest (ii) Private mining activities (3) Exceptions. (i)(A) Financial interests worth $5000 or less, for employees (or their spouses and minor children) of the Office of the Director and the Geologic Division, or (B) A single financial interest worth $5000 or less or an aggregate of financial interests worth $15,000 or less, for employees (or their spouses and minor children) of all other USGS organizational elements; (ii) Mineral royalties and overriding royalty interests of $600 per year or less; (iii) A publicly traded or publicly available investment fund (e.g., a mutual fund) which, in its prospectus, does not indicate the objective or practice of concentrating its investments in entities engaged in private mining activities in the United States, if the employee neither exercises control nor has the ability to exercise control over the financial interests held in the fund; (iv) A legal or beneficial interest in a qualified profit sharing, retirement, or similar plan, provided that the plan does not invest more than 25 percent of its funds in debt or equity instruments of entities engaged in private mining activities in the United States, and the employee neither exercise control nor has the ability to exercise control over the financial interests held in the plan; or (v) The ownership of a financial interest by an employee's spouse or minor child where the spouse or minor child obtained the interest through: (A) A gift from someone other than the employee or a member of the employee's household; (B) Inheritance; (C) Acquisition prior to the employee's becoming a USGS employee; (D) Acquisition prior to marriage to a USGS employee; or (E) A compensation package in connection with the employment of the spouse or minor child. (4) Divestiture. (5) Waivers. (6) Pre-existing interests. [62 FR 53718, Oct. 16, 1997; 63 FR 18501, Apr. 15, 1998] § 3501.105 Outside employment and activities. (a) Prohibited outside employment and activities. (2) Employees in the Bureau of Land Management may not engage in outside employment as real estate agents and realty specialists. Such employees are not required to cancel a real estate license, but may maintain the license on an inactive basis. (3) Employees in the Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs, or in the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), may not hold a position on a tribal election board or on a tribal school board which oversees BIA schools. Note to paragraph ( a Except for membership on a tribal election board and a tribal school board which oversees BIA schools, an eligible person employed in the Office of the Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs or in the BIA may become a candidate for office in his local tribe or may be appointed as a representative of his local tribe if prior approval is obtained from the Deputy Assistant Secretary—Indian Affairs pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section. (b) Prior approval of outside employment Prior approval requirement. (ii)(A) An employee of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), other than a special Government employee, shall obtain written approval from the USGS deputy ethics counselor before engaging in any outside employment. (B) The USGS may issue instructions exempting categories of employment from the prior approval requirement in paragraph (b)(1)(ii)(A) of this section, based on a determination that the employment within those categories would generally be approved and are not likely to involve conduct prohibited by statute or Federal regulation, including 5 CFR part 2635 and this part. (2) Form of request for approval. (A) The employee's name, occupational title, office address, and office telephone number; (B) A brief description of the employee's official duties; (C) The nature of the outside employment, including a full description of the specific duties or services to be performed; (D) The name and address of the prospective outside employer; and (E) A statement that the employee currently has no official duties involving a matter that affects the outside employer and will disqualify himself from future participation in matters that could directly affect the outside employer. (ii) Upon a significant change in the nature of the outside employment or in the employee's official position, the employee shall submit a revised request for approval. (3) Standard for approval. (4) Definitions. (i) Employment (ii) Prohibited source (A) Is seeking official action by the Department or, in the case of an employee of one of the separate agency components designated in § 3501.102(a), by that component; (B) Does business or seeks to do business with the Department, or in the case of an employee of one of the separate agency components designated in § 3501.102(a), with that component; (C) Conducts activities regulated by the Department or, in the case of an employee of one of the separate agency components designated in § 3501.102(a), by that component; (D) Has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the employee's official duties; or (E) Is an organization a majority of whose members are described in paragraphs (b)(4)(ii) (A) through (D) of this section. [62 FR 53718, Oct. 16, 1997, as amended at 63 FR 34259, June 24, 1998]