WALTER BAUMY1/9/2008JOHNS PENDLETON COURT REPORTERS800 562-1285Page 1UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTEASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANAIN RE: KATRINA CANAL BREACHES CIVIL ACTIONCONSOLIDATED LITIGATION NO. 05-4182 K2JUDGE DUVALPERTAINS TO MAG. WILKINSON(Robinson, No. 06-2268)Deposition of WALTER O. BAUMY, JR.,given at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers NewOrleans District offices, 7400 Leake Avenue,New Orleans, Louisiana 70118-3651, on April9th, 2008.REPORTED BY:JOSEPH A. FAIRBANKS, JR., CCR, RPRCERTIFIED COURT REPORTER #75005
WALTER BAUMY1/9/2008JOHNS PENDLETON COURT REPORTERS800 562-12852 (Pages 2 to 5)
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APPEARANCES:
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REPRESENTING THE PLAINTIFFS:
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LAMBERT AND NELSON
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(BY: HUGH P. LAMBERT, ESQUIRE)
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701 Magazine Street
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New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
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504-581-1750
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- and -
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BRUNO & BRUNO
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(BY: JOSEPH M. BRUNO, ESQUIRE)
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(BY: FLORIAN BUCHLER, ESQUIRE)
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(BY: SCOTT JOANEN, ESQUIRE)
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855 Baronne Street
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New Orleans, Louisiana 70113
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504-525-1335
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- and -
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SHER, GARNER, CAHILL, RICHTER, KLEIN &
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HILBERT, L.L.C.
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(BY: MATTHEW CLARK, ESQUIRE)
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909 Poydras Street, 28th Floor
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New Orleans, Louisiana 70112-1033
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504-299-2100
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REPRESENTING THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
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TORTS BRANCH, CIVIL DIVISION
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(BY: ROBIN SMITH, ESQUIRE)
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P.O. Box 888
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Benjamin Franklin Station
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Washington, D.C. 20044
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202-616-4289
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REPRESENTING THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS:
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CORPS OF ENGINEERS, OFFICE OF COUNSEL
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(BY: NICK MARZONI, ESQUIRE)
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7400 Leake Avenue
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New Orleans, Louisiana 70118-3651
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504-862-2843
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ALSO PRESENT:
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JOSEPH E. BEARDEN, III, ESQ.
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KEA SHERMAN, ESQ.
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CHARLES SUTTON, ESQ.
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ROBERT B. FISHER, JR., ESQ.
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JOHN L. ROBERT, III, ESQ.
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CHRISTOPHER THATCH, ESQ. (VIA I-DEP)
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ADAM CHUD, ESQ. (VIA I-DEP)
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VIDEOGRAPHER: KEN HART (HART VIDEO)
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S T I P U L A T I O N
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IT IS STIPULATED AND AGREED by and
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among counsel for the parties hereto that the
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deposition of the aforementioned witness may be
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taken for all purposes permitted within the
6
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, in accordance
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with law, pursuant to notice;
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That all formalities, save reading
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and signing of the original transcript by the
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deponent, are hereby specifically waived;
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That all objections, save those as to
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the form of the question and the responsiveness
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of the answer, are reserved until such time as
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this deposition, or any part thereof, is used
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or sought to be used in evidence.
161718
* * *
19202122
JOSEPH A. FAIRBANKS, JR., CCR, RPR,
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Certified Court Reporter in and for the State
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of Louisiana, officiated in administering the
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oath to the witness.
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WALTER O. BAUMY, JR.
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203 Reiher Road, Mandeville, Louisiana 70471, a
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witness named in the above stipulation, having
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been first duly sworn, was examined and
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testified on his oath as follows:
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MR. SMITH:
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No stipulations. It'll be
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pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil
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Procedure.
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MR. BRUNO:
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Which I believe are the usual
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stipulations, but anyway --
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MR. SMITH:
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Just for the record.
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MR. BRUNO:
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Just for the record, you know.
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I'm happy to work with these people.
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EXAMINATION BY MR. BRUNO:
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Q. All right. Mr. Baumy, you've already
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given your deposition in the Robinson case as a
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30(b)(6) representative of the United States
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Army Corps of Engineers, isn't that true?
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A. Yes.
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Q. And I have that deposition here, and
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please know that I have no intent to recover
WALTER BAUMY1/9/2008JOHNS PENDLETON COURT REPORTERS800 562-12853 (Pages 6 to 9)
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the same ground. And so I'd like to follow
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along some of these things that have already
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been covered.
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You are the Chief of the Engineering
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Division at the New Orleans District Office of
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the United States Army Corps of Engineers here
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in New Orleans; is that correct.
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A. Yes.
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Q. All right. Would you please share
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with us whether or not there is a written
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description for that position that exists
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within this district.
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A. Yes. There is.
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Q. All right. And where might I find
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that?
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A. Personnel office.
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Q. Okay.
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MR. BRUNO:
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Robin, would you kindly give us a
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copy of that, please?
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MR. SMITH:
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Yes.
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EXAMINATION BY MR. BRUNO:
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Q. Can you, for the record -- and I know
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that I'll be testing your memory, and I don't
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expect you to be able to recite it verbatim,
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but can you give me a general sense of what
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your job description is.
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A. Whew. I haven't looked at that in a
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while. I can give you a sense of, um -- I have
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oversight of the engineering program at the New
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Orleans District. And, you know, we
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participate in new projects, design aspects, it
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could be in the early report phase where a
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project is being evaluated for suitability, is
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it beneficial to put in a particular locale,
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and then once done, document the design and
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different phases of that project through, um --
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through the advertisement phase, actually
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preparing the plans and specifications.
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So we produce plans and
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specifications, we produce designs associated
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with navigation, flood control and
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environmental restoration type projects. We
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also participate in the operations phase in
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some cases, sometimes limited, sometimes more
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extensive. We do have a formal periodic
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inspection program for structures within the
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New Orleans District, and there's approximately
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forty to forty-five structures in that program.
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That's sort of the engineering side of it.
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I'm also responsible for participating
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on the district 's executive staff, um --
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advising the commander in particular areas, as
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well as helping to arrive at decisions on
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anything that would -- we would come across.
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Manage an organization that before the
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storm was near 300 people, and associated with
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that had broad personnel and organizational
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management responsibilities, developing an
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overall budget for the particular year, and
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then execution of that budget. Development of
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personnel staff for the future, training and
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also job selections, position descriptions,
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things of that nature, disciplinary actions.
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So it's a combination job of wearing numerous
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hats to support the engineering efforts at the
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district, but at the same time management of a
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large workforce.
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Q. Just curious. You said before Katrina
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300. How many now?
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A. Oh, I have 83 vacancies in my group
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right now. So it's probably in the 220 range
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if I'm not mistaken.
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Q. Okay. And those are folks who for
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whatever reason have moved away?
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A. It runs the gamut. Some have retired,
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some have accepted other jobs, some have moved
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away. It's just personal choice.
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Q. Okay. All right. You spoke quickly,
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of course as you should, and I would like to
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just make certain that I've written these
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things down appropriately.
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First, new projects. What is a new
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project?
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A. Well, the Corps has various phases of
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a project. Reconnaissance phase is generally
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the start of a project from the engineering
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standpoint, and that would move into the
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feasibility phase, and again you're getting --
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working towards authorization for construction
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of a project.
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Q. All right. Can I get a sense of,
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though -- you know, the word project is a broad
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word, I'm sure you'd agree.
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A. Sure.
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Q. -- generally, the kinds or types of
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projects which fall within the ambit of
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responsibility of your -- in your role as
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chief. What types of projects? Do you billed
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