CH2M Hill Denies Conflict of Interest

"CH2M Hill followed the US Department of Defense procurement processes fully, and complied with all disclosure requirements which were fully transparent about our business relationships," according to the company, which had about $2.1 billion in sales last year.

"Current and prospective business relationships were disclosed through that process or as a matter of public record, " the firm, with more than 11,000 employees, adds. "There is absolutely no conflict of interest in connection with our work with the Public Works Sector Program Management Office."

As part of the Public Works Sector Program Management Office support team in a joint venture with Parsons Corp, CH2M Hill coordinates and integrates task orders for the Coalition Provisional Authority and the Iraq Public Works Ministry for water, wastewater and solid waste projects. It also provides program management and integration support to the CPA and provides engineering support service.

Ethics expert O.C. Ferrell says there will be at least perceived or real conflicts with any large engineering and contracting firm, because they so often do business with each other.

But Ferrell, co–director of the Center at Business Ethics at Colorado State University, says that it makes no sense to bar CH2M Hill, or other large engineering and construction firms from doing business with the government because of the conflict.

Rather, he says that all of the potential conflicts should be disclosed at the start of the contract, and companies need to be monitored to make sure they are meeting high ethical standards.