Financial Guide #20--Ethics Advisory 2000-01

To:       USGS All
cc: 
Subject:  Financial Guide #20--Ethics Advisory 2000-01



In Reply Refer To:                   June 27, 2000
Mail Stop 603


                          MEMORANDUM


Supervisors, Managers, and Team Leaders:  Please ensure that employees 
without access to E-mail receive a copy of this message.



To:       All U.S. Geological Survey Employees

From:     Virginia G. Miles       (signed Virginia G. Miles)
          Deputy U.S. Geological Survey Ethics Counselor, Office of Personnel

Subject:  Financial Guide 20--Ethics Advisory 2000-01

Do you, your spouse, or minor child hold stock in OIL, GAS, or MINING 
companies?  You should review the latest Financial Guide 20, dated June 30, 2000, 
if you (your spouse or minor child): (1) hold stocks, bonds, mutual funds, 
pension plans, employee stock ownership plans, IRAs, 401(k) plans, mineral 
royalties, or limited partnerships; (2) are a trustee or trust 
beneficiary; or (3) received assets through inheritance or gift.  You are 
subject to certain prohibitions and limitations on the ownership of 
entities engaged in oil, gas, and mining activities in the United States. 
Some holdings are totally prohibited to all employees, and others are 
subject to dollar limitations on the value of shares that may be held, 
depending on the particular division in which the employee resides.  
Information on the regulations that apply and a listing of companies 
that are subject to these restrictions are provided in the U.S. 
Geological Survey (USGS) Financial Guide 20, which is available for 
review on the Human Resources Homepage at 

http://usgs.gov:8888/ops/hro/ethics/financ20.html

All USGS employees are subject to these prohibitions and limitations, and 
you are responsible for ensuring that you take necessary action to ensure 
that you are in compliance.  You should annually review the Financial Guide, 
especially when you make changes in your stock holdings or when changes in 
your official responsibilities may subject you to divestiture 
requirements.  Employees subject to financial disclosure requirements 
should review their holdings now to ensure compliance.

Numerous changes have occurred since last year's report including 18 
companies that have been added to the prohibited list.  If you hold any 
prohibited stocks, you are required to divest them.  If you hold stock 
that may be held only in limited amounts, you are required to divest 
amounts over the limitations.  If you must divest stock, you may be able 
to obtain a Certificate of Divestiture (CD) that allows you to defer the 
payment of capital gains tax upon their sale.  To obtain a CD you must 
submit your request within 90 days after the stock became subject to the 
prohibitions or limitations.  The 90 days begins when the asset is first 
placed on the list of stocks in the Financial Guide (June 30, 2000), when 
a merger or acquisition subjects a previously acceptable stock to the 
prohibited or limited list, or when another action creates a conflict of 
interest.  The 90 days may also come into effect when the value of your 
shares exceeds the $5000 limitation permitted for oil, gas, mining on 
private lands or you are reassigned to a position with different value 
limitations; e.g., an employee of the Water Resources Division moves to 
the Geologic Division.  If you own securities that may be subject to the 
prohibitions or limitations, please consult with the Deputy Ethics 
Counselor before divesting to ensure that you understand your options 
regarding divestiture.

If you own any stocks, you should consult the entire list of prohibited 
and limited companies since some companies that are primarily engaged in 
other business sectors may also hold extensive oil, gas, and mining assets 
that may subject them to the USGS Organic Act or Policy.  As a quick guide 
to stocks that have become prohibited in 2000, see the list below. 

Belco Oil and Gas Corp.
Cabot Oil and Gas Corp.
Callon Petroleum Co.
Canadian Occidental Petroleum, Ltd.
Dominion Resources, Inc.
El Paso Energy Corp. 
General Chemical Group, Inc.
H. S. Resources, Inc.
Level 3 Communications, Inc.
McMoRan Exploration Co.
Phelps Dodge Corp.
RAG AG (Germany)
Reunion Industries, Inc.
Sharpe Resources Corp. (Canada)
Spinnaker Exploration Co.
St. Mary Land and Exploration Co.
Western Garnet International
Williams Cos. (The) Inc.

Additionally, employees may have financial assets in other business 
sectors that subject them to the conflict of interest regulations. 
Ownership of any stock held by (1) the employee, (2) their spouse or minor 
child, (3) their general partner, (4) an organization in which they serve 
as an officer, director, trustee, general partner, or employee, and (5) a 
person with whom they are negotiating for or have an arrangement 
concerning prospective employment is attributed to the employee.  If the 
employee has official duties that relate to the company in which such 
stock is held, they may be required to divest the stock or recuse 
themselves from any involvement in matters relating to that company.  For 
example, employees who purchase computer hardware or contract for computer 
systems software should not own stock in companies that may engage in 
these procurement actions.  Employees who engage in contracting activities 
must be particularly alert to conflicts of interest where companies whose 
stock they hold may bid on contracts under their jurisdiction. 

Advice and guidance concerning all financial interests can be obtained 
from the Deputy USGS Ethics Counselor, Virginia G. Miles, at phone: 
703/648-7474; e-mail, vmiles@usgs.gov or regular mail USGS, Mail Stop 
603, National Center, Reston, Virginia 20192.  If you need a printed or 
electronic copy of Financial Guide #20, you may request it by providing 
your address by return e-mail to the Ethics Counselor.