|
|||||||
Deposition from United States v. SFWMD, et al., Case No. 88-1886-CIV-HOEVELER |
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
Deposition from United States v. SFWMD, et al., Case No. 88-1886-CIV-HOEVELER |
|||||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
252
1 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE
2 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
3
****************************
4 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, *
Plaintiff *
5 * Case Number
VS. * 88-1886-CIV
6 * Hoeveler
SOUTH FLORIDA WATER *
7 MANAGEMENT DISTRICT, ET AL., *
Defendants *
8 *****************************
9
10 Deposition of WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.,
11 taken on behalf of the defendants South Florida
12 Water Management District and John R. Wodraska
13 pursuant to the applicable rules of the Federal
14 Rules of Civil Procedure, before Linda Marie
15 MacDonald, Registered Professional Reporter and
16 Notary Public within and for the Commonwealth
17 of Massachusetts, at the offices of Skadden,
18 Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, One Beacon Street,
19 Boston, Massachusetts, on Thursday, February 7,
20 1991, commencing at 9:32 a.m.
21
22
23 LINDA MARIE MacDONALD, RPR-CM
REGISTERED PROFESSIONAL REPORTER
24 60 LAWRENCE ROAD, PLYMOUTH, MA 02360
(508) 747-6615
253
1 A P P E A R A N C E S:
2 UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
By A.U.S.A Richard Harrison
3 155 South Miami Avenue, Suite 600
Miami, FL 33130
4 for the United States of America.
5 U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
By Trial Attorney Beverly Sherman Nash
6 601 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W., Room 868
P.O. Box 6633
7 Washington, D.C. 20044
for the United States of America.
8
SKADDEN, ARPS, SLATE, MEAGHER & FLOM
9 By Attorney Laura B. Ahearn
1440 New York Ave., N.W.
10 Washington, D.C. 20005
for South Florida Water Management
11 District and John R. Wodraska.
12 PEEPLES, EARL & BLANK
By Attorney Rick J. Burgess
13 One Biscayne Tower, Suite 3636
Miami, FL 33131
14 for the cities of Belle Glade and
Clewiston, defendant intervenors.
15
STATE OF FLORIDA OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL
16 By Asst. Gen. Counsel David A. Crowley
Department of Environmental Regulation
17 Twin Towers Office Building
2600 Blair Stone Road
18 Tallahassee, FL 332301
for the Florida Department of
19 Environmental Regulation.
20
A L S O P R E S E N T:
21
George Shih, Statistician, SFWMD
22 Douglas Robson, Consultant, SFWMD
John Davis, Consultant, Belle Glade and
23 Clewiston
Peter Ghavami, Legal Assistant, Skadden
24 Arps
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
254
1 I N D E X
Witnesses Examination
2
WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
3 (By Ms. Ahearn) 255
4
5
6
7
8
9
10 E X H I B I T S
11 Number For ID
12 DX 20 Letter to Smith from Walker 287
dated 12/11/89, with attachments
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
255
1 P R O C E E D I N G S
2 WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.,
3 having been previously duly sworn, was deposed
4 and testified as follows:
5 CONTINUED DIRECT EXAMINATION
6 BY MS. AHEARN:
7 Q. Good morning, Dr. Walker.
8 A. Good morning.
9 Q. I think that we had asked you yesterday to
10 bring a couple of additional items with you
11 this morning. Have you brought any additional
12 materials for your deposition?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. And what are those?
15 A. I brought copies of my resume and project
16 summaries, and I brought copies of the floppy
17 disks that are essentially -- that contain the
18 same information that was transferred to the
19 District. This is the data that was off my
20 computer.
21 Q. Would this reflect the same number of diskettes
22 as the number you copied and sent to the United
23 States attorneys to be produced?
24 A. Yes.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
256
1 Q. And what was the total number of diskettes?
2 A. Twenty-five.
3 (Off the record)
4 Q. Dr. Walker, yesterday I asked you about more
5 recent entries on your computer that would have
6 been -- files that would have been created
7 after the time you prepared these diskettes,
8 the 25 diskettes, and I believe you told me
9 that you did not have any more recent files
10 that concerned the South Florida litigation.
11 Have you created any new files that
12 concern any project or analysis that relates to
13 the Everglades?
14 A. Not to my recollection, no.
15 Q. Now, you told us that you personally in your
16 mind know the details of your programs and how
17 step by step they operate and function,
18 correct?
19 A. Correct.
20 Q. And there's no other individual who shares that
21 type of detailed understanding of your
22 programs?
23 A. That's correct.
24 Q. Has there been any independent verification of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
257
1 the programs you've written for the South
2 Florida litigation?
3 A. What do you mean by "independent"?
4 Q. Has any other scientist reviewed your programs
5 to see exactly how they're structured, how they
6 run, how they are executed, to ensure that that
7 is all accurate?
8 A. No.
9 Q. Has any other expert taken your program and run
10 it with test data sets?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Has any other scientist reviewed your programs
13 to determine whether it is consistent with
14 generally accepted methods and techniques in
15 the scientific community?
16 A. No other scientists have reviewed the programs
17 that I created.
18 Q. Have your programs been accepted by the
19 scientific community -- I mean the programs you
20 have created for the South Florida litigation?
21 A. No other scientists have reviewed the programs
22 that I wrote.
23 Q. So no other scientist has said, "That's a good
24 program. I would use it. I think it's
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
258
1 acceptable, given the standards of the
2 scientific community"?
3 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered. If
4 they haven't reviewed them --
5 A. No other scientists have reviewed my programs.
6 Q. So no other scientist would have made such a
7 conclusion, correct?
8 A. No other scientist has reviewed my programs.
9 Q. Are there recognized QA/QC standards for the
10 creation of computer programs?
11 A. There are procedures that one can exercise in
12 the process of creating a program.
13 Q. Where would I find a list or a description of
14 those procedures, recognized QA/QC procedures?
15 A. Oh, there are -- there are textbooks written on
16 that subject.
17 Q. Can you, please, identify those textbooks that
18 you would find authoritative in this regard?
19 A. I can't recall any in particular offhand.
20 Q. Have you relied on any such textbooks in
21 creating the programs you have used in the
22 South Florida litigation?
23 A. Not directly.
24 Q. Have you relied simply on your general
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
259
1 background, having a general familiarity with
2 those textbooks?
3 A. I have relied on my general background and my
4 professional experience in creating and testing
5 programs.
6 Q. Have you tested programs created by other
7 scientists?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. On how many occasions?
10 A. Once that I can recall.
11 Q. Can you tell me about those circumstances?
12 A. That was in conjunction with the work for the
13 Environmental Protection Agency on the stream
14 water quality model QUAL-IIE.
15 Q. And that was the model you told me yesterday
16 that was generated by EPA?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. In your review of that model, did you find that
19 the model was flawless?
20 A. I made some suggestions regarding the processes
21 that that model was simulating. In other
22 words, I don't recall finding any problems in
23 the computer program per se; more in what the
24 model was attempting to do, the way it was
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
260
1 simulating the processes in the stream.
2 Q. So it was more a theoretical point as opposed
3 to the --
4 A. Correct.
5 Q. -- technical application through a computer
6 model?
7 A. Correct.
8 Q. How long did it take to develop the QUAL-IIE
9 model?
10 A. The QUAL-IIE model was developed from an
11 earlier version which was called QUAL-II, and I
12 believe the first version of that came out in
13 the mid 1970s.
14 Q. And QUAL-II was also created by EPA or under a
15 contract?
16 A. It was under -- I believe by the EPA.
17 Q. And what was the time period that it took to
18 develop the QUAL-II model from initiation of
19 the project to production of the final model?
20 A. I don't know exactly.
21 Q. Do you know if it was over a period of two
22 years?
23 A. I don't know how long it took.
24 Q. Are you familiar with a program known as WASP?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
261
1 A. I'm generally familiar with it.
2 Q. Could you, please, explain your general
3 familiarity?
4 A. WASP is short for water analysis simulation
5 program. That is another program that was
6 developed for or by the EPA, and it is for use
7 in predicting, simulating water quality in a
8 wide variety of surface water systems.
9 Q. Could it be applied appropriately to inflow
10 structures to Everglades National Park?
11 A. I have never used the model myself, and I'm not
12 familiar enough with it to be able to state
13 whether or not it could be adapted for use to
14 the inflow structures.
15 Q. Would that also be true, then, to inflow
16 structures to the Water Conservation Areas,
17 marsh stations and EAA canals? Can you tell me
18 if the WASP model would be appropriate to apply
19 to any of those other locations in South
20 Florida?
21 A. I can't say.
22 Q. You can't say whether or not you would be able
23 to tell me the model is appropriate?
24 A. I just stated I'm not familiar enough with the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
262
1 details of the model to be able to state
2 whether or not it could be applied to
3 particular structures.
4 Q. Do you anticipate writing an operations manual
5 or operating instructions for the programs you
6 have created for the South Florida litigation?
7 A. Which programs are you referring to?
8 Q. Well, yesterday we talked about a number of
9 them. How about the TREN programs which I
10 believe we identified? I believe we called
11 them the KTEST, the RMED, those TREN programs?
12 A. No, I do not anticipate writing an operations
13 manual for those programs.
14 Q. Do you anticipate writing operation manuals for
15 any of the programs that are among the computer
16 diskettes that you have supplied for this
17 deposition?
18 A. No.
19 Q. And currently do written operating instructions
20 exist for any of those programs?
21 A. No.
22 Q. Could I, please, have you turn to Exhibit 18.
23 Dr. Walker, do the diskettes that you
24 have provided, the 25 diskettes, contain all of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
263
1 the files needed to run all of the programs
2 which you have offered or prepared for the
3 South Florida matter?
4 A. Yes.
5 Q. And am I correct, these programs are designed
6 and the databases that go with them are
7 designed all to be run on one computer
8 independently?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. So you don't need to interface or access some
11 other computer or distant database in order to
12 have everything you need to run the program?
13 A. That's correct.
14 Q. Could you, please, identify in Exhibit 18 each
15 directory entry that reflects surface water
16 quality data?
17 A. Would you like that identification on a
18 page-by-page basis, or do you just want the
19 directories?
20 Q. Why don't you go through and, when you find a
21 page that has such an entry, tell us the page
22 number and the directory name. For example, on
23 page 2 is there a directory named "BLANK" that
24 contains --
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
264
1 A. Surface water quality data?
2 Q. Yes.
3 A. On page 3 in the directory entitled
4 G:\FLOPPIES\DISK2.
5 Q. I think it might help us expedite it if each
6 time you identify that surface water data,
7 could you tell us what the source of the data
8 is in terms of agency or generator of the data?
9 Then we won't have to go back through this
10 again.
11 A. Okay. Going back to page 3 in the directory
12 G:\FLOPPIES\DISK2, the file -- the directory
13 contains data supplied by the District. On
14 page 4 the directory G:\FLOPPIES\DISK4\STDS
15 contains data supplied by the District as well
16 as some data files created by myself. On page
17 7 in the directory G:\FLOPPIES\DISK9, that
18 directory contains water quality data supplied
19 by the US Geological Survey. On page 7 the
20 directory G:\FLOPPIES\DISK10 also contains
21 files of surface water quality data supplied by
22 the US Geological Survey.
23 On page 8 the directory
24 G:\FLOPPIES\DISK11 contains water quality data
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
265
1 supplied by the District. On page 8 the
2 directory G:\FLOPPIES\DISK11 also contains
3 water quality data supplied by the District.
4 Q. Excuse me. Was that last reference to DISK12?
5 A. DISK12. On page 8 the directory
6 G:\FLOPPIES\DISK13 also contains surface water
7 quality data supplied by the District. On
8 page 9 the directory G:\FLOPPIES\DISK14
9 contains water quality files that were supplied
10 by Everglades National Park, but I believe they
11 reflect data collected by the District.
12 On page 11 the directory
13 G:\FLOPPIES\DISK22 contains surface water
14 quality data supplied by the District. On
15 page 11 the directory G:\FLOPPIES\DISK23
16 contains surface water quality data supplied by
17 the District. On page 12 the directory
18 G:\FLOPPIES\DISK24 contains surface water
19 quality data supplied by the District. On
20 page 24 the directory G:\DBASE contains water
21 quality files that were derived from surface
22 water quality data supplied by the District.
23 Q. Is there a particular extension on the file
24 names here that would allow us to identify
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
266
1 those data files?
2 A. Some of the water quality data would have the
3 extension WK1. Some of the water quality data
4 would have the extension DAT. On page 27 the
5 directory G:\COE contains water quality data
6 supplied by the Corps of Engineers as well as
7 water quality data supplied by the District.
8 Q. Can you tell us which files represent which
9 source?
10 A. No. I cannot recall. On page 28 the directory
11 G:\ANAL contains surface water quality data
12 files that were derived from data files
13 supplied by the District. On page 30 the
14 directory G:\SLACK contains surface water
15 quality data files that were derived from files
16 supplied by the District.
17 Q. Is there a particular extension here that will
18 identify those data files?
19 A. The extension -- certain of the files with the
20 extension DAT would be the water quality files.
21 Q. Who performed that derivation?
22 A. Would you be more specific?
23 Q. Who did the work that created these files that
24 are derived from the District data?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
267
1 A. I did. I believe that's the extent of the
2 directories containing surface water quality
3 data.
4 Q. Can you, please, identify the surface water
5 quality data set or sets that you rely upon in
6 Exhibit 17, your water quality trends report of
7 September 1990?
8 MR. HARRISON: Was your question
9 directed toward the final report, the September
10 1990 --
11 MS. AHEARN: That is the final report.
12 Yes.
13 MR. HARRISON: Okay.
14 A. Those files would be contained in a directory
15 G:\DBASE on pages 24 through 26.
16 Q. When you told us that those surface water
17 quality data files were derived from District
18 data, what do you mean by "derived"?
19 A. The District supplied the data in the form of
20 an ASCII printout similar to a word processing
21 file. The process of derivation involves
22 converting that word processing file into a
23 data structure format that can be accessed by
24 the software that does the trend analysis.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
268
1 Q. Do any of the data values change through this
2 derivation process?
3 A. The only values that were changed as a result
4 of setting up these data files is -- has to do
5 with the assignment of small positive values
6 for the measurements that were reported below
7 detection limits, and that process is described
8 in Exhibit 17.
9 Q. Other than that, we didn't change any of the
10 numbers in deriving the G:\DBASE directory from
11 the District ASCII printouts?
12 A. That's correct.
13 Q. Dr. Walker, have you performed trend analyses
14 on the other water quality data sets that you
15 have now identified in Exhibit 18?
16 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered. I
17 think we went through that yesterday, which
18 trend analyses he had and had not performed.
19 MS. AHEARN: I don't think I could have
20 asked this question because we hadn't
21 identified data sets.
22 MR. HARRISON: We didn't apply it to
23 these.
24 A. Certain of the other water quality data sets
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
269
1 have been used in trend analysis, yes.
2 Q. Would it be easier for you to tell me what you
3 did do trend analyses on or which of them you
4 didn't do trend analyses on? I'd like to go
5 through and have you make that distinction, and
6 if you can tell me which you think would be
7 more expeditious.
8 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, I think your
9 question needs to be clarified as to whether he
10 has begun, whether he has completed trend
11 analysis. I mean, "doing trend analyses" is a
12 little general at this point.
13 MS. AHEARN: Thank you for the point of
14 clarification.
15 Q. If you can, please, identify for me all
16 additional databases -- surface water quality
17 sets which you have employed in trend analyses
18 to date.
19 A. Exclusive of the ones contained in the
20 directory G:\DBASE?
21 Q. You've obviously performed a trend analysis of
22 that.
23 A. Trend analyses were also conducted using
24 information contained in the directory G:\ANAL
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
270
1 on page 16 -- 28. Page 28. Excuse me.
2 MR. BURGESS: I'm sorry. Page 28, what
3 was the file name?
4 THE WITNESS: The directory is G:\ANAL.
5 MR. BURGESS: Thank you.
6 Q. Is this surface water quality data set
7 different from the surface water quality data
8 set you used for Exhibit 17?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. When did you perform the trend analysis on the
11 water quality data set that's in G:\ANAL?
12 A. That is an ongoing process. The initial work
13 was begun in December of 1990.
14 Q. Does Exhibit 18 reflect output files for that
15 ongoing work?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And where will we find those?
18 A. Those would be found on page 21 in the
19 directory G:\TOOLS\MULTI.
20 Q. Any particular extension that denotes these
21 output files?
22 A. .PRN, .LST, .RXD.
23 Q. How does the period of record for the data set
24 in G:\ANAL compare to the period of record
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
271
1 employed for Exhibit 17?
2 (Pause)
3 MR. BURGESS: Madam Court Reporter,
4 could you read back the pending question?
5 (The record was read as requested.)
6 MR. BURGESS: Thank you.
7 A. You would have to be more specific about which
8 particular file you're referring to in order
9 for me to answer that question.
10 Q. Do the files within G:\ANAL differ from one
11 file to the other?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. Would you be able to tell us the period of
14 record reflected in each file entry in G:\ANAL?
15 A. Approximately, yes.
16 Q. Okay. If you could give us those approximate
17 periods of record, please.
18 A. For each file?
19 Q. Please.
20 A. The total period of record reflected in the
21 file BOTH.RXD would be December of 1977 through
22 September of 1989. The total period of record
23 reflected in the file MARSH.WK1 would be
24 approximately 1985 through 1989.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
272
1 The total period of record reflected in
2 the file INFLOWS.WK1 would be December 1977
3 through September 1989. The same period of
4 record would be appropriate for the file
5 BOTH.WK1, and the file MARSH_D.WK1 would
6 reflect the period of record 1985 through 1989,
7 approximately. The remaining file in that
8 directory is not a data file.
9 Q. Do any of the surface water quality data sets
10 you have identified in Exhibit 18 include data
11 that is more recent than 1989?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Do you have in your possession surface water
14 quality data from Southern Florida that is more
15 recent than 1989?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. In what form is that data at the present time?
18 A. It's not in raw form.
19 Q. In what form is it?
20 A. It's in the form of a flow-weighted mean
21 concentration calculated by the South Florida
22 Water Management District for the S12 structure
23 and for the S333 structure for 1990.
24 Q. And how did you acquire this more recent data?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
273
1 A. That was faxed to me a week or two ago.
2 Q. Faxed by whom?
3 A. I believe it was the Justice Department.
4 Q. Is this among the documentation you provided
5 for your counsel to be produced in conjunction
6 with your deposition?
7 A. No. It's not part of the data that I have
8 analyzed or used in formulating my opinions.
9 Q. Have you reviewed that data yet?
10 A. I have not analyzed it.
11 Q. Have you looked it over?
12 A. I have -- I have looked at the page, but I have
13 not analyzed or interpreted it or used it to
14 formulate any opinions.
15 Q. Will you be looking at this data?
16 A. I expect to, yes.
17 MS. AHEARN: Counsel, could I ask that a
18 copy of that be produced?
19 MR. HARRISON: Yes, you can. I think
20 that he just -- and I have no problem producing
21 it. He said he just got it two weeks ago from
22 the Water Management District. Do we know any
23 more about the source of this? Do you have it
24 in your possession at your house?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
274
1 THE WITNESS: Excuse me. It was faxed
2 to me by the Justice Department. It was
3 supplied originally -- it was generated by the
4 Water Management District and it was part --
5 essentially, it was overheads presented --
6 given in a presentation to the South Florida
7 Water Management board a number of weeks ago.
8 MS. AHEARN: If you could bring a copy.
9 MR. HARRISON: I have no problem.
10 MS. AHEARN: Thank you.
11 Q. Any other data in your possession on South
12 Florida water quality that is more recent than
13 1989?
14 A. No.
15 Q. Could you turn to page 4 in Exhibit 18? I
16 believe you told us that entries for
17 G:\FLOPPIES\DISK4 contained data files both
18 from the District and data files created by
19 you.
20 What is the source of the data from
21 which you created data files contained in this
22 directory?
23 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, I believe that
24 the witness said it was the DISK -- and I may
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
275
1 be mistaken, but it was the DISK4\STDS that he
2 just testified to.
3 MS. AHEARN: Thank you.
4 MR. HARRISON: I don't know if there's a
5 difference or not.
6 Q. I guess I should phrase my question in terms of
7 the subdirectory just identified by
8 Mr. Harrison.
9 A. The source of the data in this directory is
10 ultimately South Florida Water Management
11 District.
12 Q. The derivation process for the files that you
13 created here in this subdirectory, is that
14 different from the derivation process you
15 explained in connection with the prior set of
16 files which you identified as having been
17 derived by you from ASCII disks or ASCII-
18 formatted data from the District?
19 A. No.
20 Q. So it's the same process reflected here?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. On -- excuse me. Were about to say something?
23 A. Nothing.
24 Q. On page 9 under directory FLOPPIES\DISK15, are
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
276
1 those data files?
2 A. I am not certain what's in those data files.
3 They could be water quality files. They could
4 be hydrology files.
5 Q. But you believe that they are data files?
6 A. I believe they are data files.
7 Q. What is the source of this data?
8 A. I don't recall for certain.
9 Q. Have you performed any type of analysis of the
10 data on DISK15?
11 A. I may have.
12 Q. If you had, would that be reflected in output
13 files among your computer entries?
14 A. I can't say for certain.
15 Q. If you had generated output files, can you tell
16 us how you would have named them such that we
17 can identify them?
18 A. Well, I'm not sure what's in those data files,
19 so I can't tell you what I would have done with
20 any output from any processing of those files.
21 Q. Under the directory entry FLOPPIES\DISK16, is
22 that data?
23 A. What type of data?
24 Q. Could you tell me what kind of data is
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
277
1 contained on FLOPPIES\DISK16?
2 A. I don't recall exactly what's in that file.
3 Q. So would you recall its source?
4 A. No.
5 Q. And do you recall if you have analyzed this
6 data?
7 A. I can't -- I can't recognize the file name, so
8 I can't tell you whether I've analyzed it or
9 not.
10 Q. On DISK17 does that contain data?
11 A. That contains data, yes.
12 Q. And do you remember the type of data here?
13 A. I believe that would contain rainfall quality
14 data supplied by the District.
15 Q. Have you analyzed this data?
16 A. A portion of it.
17 Q. When did you do those analyses?
18 A. In the summer of 1989.
19 Q. Did you rely on this data in any memoranda you
20 have prepared in conjunction with the South
21 Florida case?
22 A. I prepared a preliminary report on rainfall
23 phosphorus concentrations at the Everglades
24 Research Center.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
278
1 Q. Have you used this data in any analyses
2 conducted more recently than summer of 1989?
3 A. Not to my recollection.
4 Q. You've identified two surface water quality
5 data sets which you have employed in trend
6 analyses.
7 Are there any additional surface water
8 quality data sets reflected in Exhibit 18 on
9 which you have performed trend analyses?
10 A. If you could be specific about which two
11 surface water data sets you think I've
12 identified, I'll answer your question.
13 Q. I believe you identified the data set which you
14 employed and rely upon in Exhibit 18, and you
15 also identified the data set that is on
16 directory G:\ANAL.
17 A. That's one.
18 Q. That is one -- you treat that as one data set?
19 A. That's one directory that contains a data set
20 used in trend analysis.
21 Q. Dr. Walker, let me make sure I'm straight. My
22 understanding is that you've identified two
23 directories that contain surface water quality
24 data that you have used in trend analyses.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
279
1 Those directories are G:\DBASE and G:\ANAL.
2 Are there any other directories that
3 contain surface water quality data on which you
4 have conducted trend analyses?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Do the surface water quality data entries which
7 you have identified in Exhibit 18 reflect all
8 of the surface water quality data for South
9 Florida which you have reviewed or utilized in
10 your work on South Florida?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Dr. Walker, could you, please, give me
13 sequentially the instructions on how to execute
14 your RMED program?
15 Dr. Walker, I recognize this is maybe a
16 tedious task for you but, you know, we've
17 established that this information exists in
18 your head and nowhere else. It seems to me
19 that the RMED program is maybe smaller than
20 your other two, and that's why I've selected
21 that.
22 If you believe that you could go through
23 this process with one of your other programs
24 more expeditiously, I'd ask that you let me
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
280
1 know that. But the RMED program has been
2 selected by me because I would anticipate you
3 can do that most easily.
4 A. I can tell you in general terms the steps
5 involved in executing the RMED program.
6 Q. Thank you.
7 MR. HARRISON: Just for the record,
8 Counsel, in response to your statement,
9 Dr. Walker has also testified that from
10 Exhibit 18 itself, without additional
11 instructions, that a computer-literate person
12 should be able to put these files up on the
13 screen and figure out how to use them. That's
14 my recollection.
15 MR. BURGESS: Do you want to define
16 "computer-literate"?
17 MR. HARRISON: Somewhere beyond me, I'll
18 tell you that much.
19 (Laughter)
20 A. Assuming that one has the data files prepared
21 in the format that I have prepared them and as
22 are contained on the disks in the directories
23 that are identified, in order to run the RMED
24 program, one would have to use a word processor
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
281
1 or other editor to edit the file RMED.DAT.
2 In that file, RMED.DAT, are the
3 instructions that essentially define which data
4 files are accessed, which stations are
5 analyzed, which water quality variables are to
6 be analyzed, and possibly some other
7 directions, possibly period of record or date
8 range. I don't recall exactly. And once one
9 is through editing that file RMED.DAT, then one
10 executes the program from the DOS prompt by
11 typing "R-M-E-D."
12 Q. Then the computer runs the program?
13 A. Correct.
14 Q. And generates an output file at that point?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. Are all of the files which need to be accessed
17 or called up in the course of executing the
18 RMED program found within the same directory?
19 A. No.
20 Q. How many directories must be accessed to run
21 the RMED program?
22 A. There would be one directory other than the
23 RMED directory.
24 Q. And that directory is?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
282
1 A. That directory would depend upon -- would be
2 specified in the file RMED.DAT.
3 Q. And that is identifying a separate directory
4 that includes the data files to be accessed?
5 A. That's correct.
6 Q. Do your other trend analyses programs run on
7 basically the same principles?
8 A. The same general concept. The level of
9 complexity may vary from one program to
10 another, but the same general approach is used.
11 Q. Which is the most complex program?
12 A. The KTEST program.
13 Q. And how is it more complex than the others?
14 A. From the point of view of operating or running
15 the program, the procedure is exactly the same.
16 It's just that the amount of information that
17 you have to provide in the input data file is
18 more extensive.
19 Q. Do you need to access more than the KTEST
20 directory to run the KTEST analysis?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. How many additional directories?
23 A. One.
24 Q. And is that to specify within the program as
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
283
1 being a data retrieval command?
2 A. It's specified in the input data file to the
3 program.
4 Q. And what is the code you type to execute the
5 program?
6 A. "K-T-E-S-T."
7 Q. Are there any of your programs here where you
8 type something other than the name of the
9 directory containing the program in order to
10 execute that program?
11 A. Some of the programs may contain what are
12 called batch files that provide different ways
13 of executing -- executing the specific program
14 by accessing different data -- input data
15 files, but essentially the procedure is the
16 same as I have described.
17 (Off the record)
18 Q. Dr. Walker, does Exhibit 18 reflect any
19 directories or files containing inflow water
20 quality data from the Corps of Army Engineers?
21 A. Inflow to what?
22 Q. Let me just say inflow as opposed to marsh
23 water quality data.
24 A. Again, inflow -- inflow to what?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
284
1 Q. Does Exhibit 18 contain water quality data
2 collected by the Corps of Army Engineers at any
3 structure within the Central and South Florida
4 Flood Control Project?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. And could you, please, identify those entries
7 in Exhibit 18 for us?
8 A. The only one that I recognize with certainty is
9 the directory G:\COE on page 27.
10 Q. There may be other Corps data entries here?
11 A. Possibly.
12 Q. Does this directory G:\COE contain water
13 quality data collected from within canals?
14 A. Yes. I believe there would have been some
15 canal stations included.
16 Q. Does it also contain water quality samples
17 collected from marshes?
18 A. To my recollection, no.
19 Q. Have you reviewed any marsh water quality data
20 from the Corps of Army Engineers?
21 A. No, not to my recollection.
22 Q. Have you done any type of analysis on the data
23 which is in directory G:\COE?
24 A. Yes.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
285
1 Q. And what was that type of analysis?
2 A. Essentially, a statistical summary of the data
3 collected by the Corps at various stations
4 represented in those files.
5 Q. Did you use one of your programs to do this
6 analysis?
7 A. Which program are you referring to?
8 Q. I guess that's my question. You know, you have
9 identified programs here that you authored that
10 do various things with data sets.
11 Have you used any of those computer
12 programs in performing this analysis of the
13 Corps data?
14 A. Yes. I would have used some of them.
15 Q. Can you identify those?
16 A. Well, I would have used Lotus 1-2-3, and I
17 would have used the FLUX program, F-L-U-X. And
18 that's all I recall.
19 Q. When did you perform this analysis?
20 A. In the fall of 1989.
21 Q. Did you create output files as a result of this
22 analysis?
23 A. I believe I created a listing of the data with
24 a statistical summary.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
286
1 Q. Is that an entry that we can find in
2 Exhibit 18?
3 A. I'm not certain.
4 Q. Did you create this summary in a hard copy
5 form?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Is that among the materials you provided for
8 this deposition?
9 A. It's among the materials I provided to the
10 Justice Department.
11 Q. Have you previously provided that summary to
12 any other entity or individual prior to passing
13 a copy on to the Justice Department for your
14 deposition?
15 A. I provided a copy of it to Dr. Bo Smith of the
16 Army Corps of Engineers in Jacksonville.
17 Q. And when was that?
18 A. In the fall of 1989.
19 Q. Can you tell me if this summary is entitled or
20 labeled in such a way that I can sort through
21 documents and see if I can identify it?
22 A. It would be attached to a letter to Dr. Smith
23 with my letterhead on it.
24 Q. Did you give that letter to the Department of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
287
1 Justice?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Do you know if the Department of Justice has
4 passed that on to the other parties?
5 A. I do not know.
6 Q. Other than by reference to that letter, can you
7 tell me what this summary would look like so
8 that I can try and identify it?
9 A. There would be a letter containing three or
10 four pages of text and three or four pages of
11 listing of data. There may be a graph, and
12 some references.
13 (Exhibit No. 20 marked for
14 identification)
15 Q. Dr. Walker, we have just had the court reporter
16 mark a document which Mr. Harrison has
17 characterized as work product. I recognize you
18 just described your letter to Dr. Smith as
19 being on your letterhead.
20 Apart from that difference, can you
21 identify what's been marked as Exhibit 20 as
22 the letter and attachment concerning your
23 analysis of Corps data?
24 A. It appears that the text of the letter is
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
288
1 complete, but the exhibit does not contain all
2 of the attachments that were included in that
3 original -- that were included with that
4 original letter to Dr. Smith.
5 Q. And is that because the last page should
6 contain graphs which are not printed, they do
7 not appear on the last page here of Exhibit 20?
8 A. That is one of the items missing, to my
9 recollection.
10 Q. What are the other omissions that you recall
11 here?
12 A. I believe there were excerpts from a manual
13 prepared by the North American Lake Management
14 Society describing recommendations for
15 phosphorus analyses conducted under the clean
16 lakes monitoring program.
17 Q. That would have been attached to the hard copy
18 version printed on your letterhead?
19 A. Well, I wouldn't have printed the manual on my
20 letterhead, but that would have been attached
21 to the original -- my original correspondence
22 with Dr. Smith.
23 Q. And that correspondence you would have printed
24 out on your personal letterhead or your
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
289
1 business letterhead?
2 A. I believe so. The first page of this
3 attachment would have been on my letterhead.
4 Q. Does Exhibit 20 appear to you to lack any text
5 or attachments which you would have created on
6 your own computer?
7 A. Well, I don't recall exactly what -- all the
8 details of the attachments and the tables that
9 were included in the original transmission. I
10 know that this particular item I'm looking at,
11 Exhibit 20, is missing the figure on the last
12 page. The figures that are -- and those
13 figures would have been created on my own
14 computer.
15 Q. Can I turn your attention to page 28 of
16 Exhibit 18. Can you tell me if Exhibit 20
17 represents a printout of the file called
18 COE.TXT?
19 A. I can't say with certainty, but it could very
20 well contain that.
21 Q. Have you a belief whether Exhibit 20 represents
22 a printout --
23 A. I believe that's a reasonable assumption.
24 Q. Who asked you to prepare this analysis for
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
290
1 Dr. Smith?
2 A. The Justice Department.
3 Q. In your letter you say it was "at the request
4 of the National Park Service and your office,"
5 meaning Dr. Smith's office, correct?
6 A. But I was working all the time for the Justice
7 Department. The National Park Service and the
8 Corps of Engineers had had some discussions
9 regarding the issues described in this letter,
10 and I was requested by the Justice Department
11 and by the National Park Service to prepare
12 this analysis.
13 Q. Who originated the request for the analysis?
14 A. That was in a meeting that -- the meeting that
15 was held at the Everglades Research Center with
16 the Justice Department attorneys and Everglades
17 National Park staff in December of 1989.
18 Q. This is the meeting at which you outlined the
19 research projects?
20 A. That's correct.
21 Q. Who at the National Park Service requested this
22 analysis?
23 A. I believe it was Dr. Soukup.
24 Q. Who at Dr. Smith's office requested the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
291
1 analysis?
2 MR. HARRISON: I would caution the
3 witness to not speculate. If you know,
4 certainly give her the answer.
5 A. I do not know who at the -- at Dr. Smith's
6 office specifically requested the analysis.
7 Q. Did you discuss that with Dr. Smith?
8 A. No.
9 Q. Did you discuss with Dr. Smith why the analysis
10 was requested?
11 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered.
12 A. No.
13 Q. Did you discuss with Dr. Soukup why the Park
14 Service was requesting the analysis?
15 A. Yes.
16 Q. And what did Dr. Soukup tell you?
17 MR. HARRISON: If -- I want to interpose
18 an objection. If the witness can answer with
19 respect to any scientific reason that
20 Dr. Soukup may have requested this data, I have
21 no problem with that answer. If the reason,
22 however, does get into litigative strategy as
23 to the use to be made by the United States, I
24 would ask the witness not to answer that
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
292
1 question.
2 MS. AHEARN: I think there's been a
3 clear waiver if in fact this is all litigation
4 strategy.
5 Q. Dr. Walker, could you, please, answer my
6 question?
7 MR. HARRISON: I certainly disagree with
8 that, Counsel. There's certainly been no
9 waiver. I'm giving the witness very broad
10 latitude to give you the science, even the
11 science that has come out of these various
12 meetings which are privileged. But I will not
13 let him go into the use to be made of that
14 science. If the reasoning has to do with uses
15 to be made by United States attorneys in this
16 case, I'm not going to let him answer that.
17 A. I'd like to confer with counsel before I can
18 answer this question.
19 Q. Because you don't know if Dr. Soukup was
20 telling you -- you've told me he did explain to
21 you why the analysis was requested, correct?
22 A. In general terms, yes.
23 Q. Okay. And you don't know if those reasons are
24 counsel's litigation strategy or scientific
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
293
1 reasons?
2 A. I don't know what counsel construes as
3 litigation strategies.
4 Q. That's right. Neither do I. And that's why
5 this is so very difficult, because we have
6 attorneys deciding ad hoc what they think is
7 science or litigation strategy.
8 MR. HARRISON: I resent that statement.
9 It is not ad hoc. We have let you go into the
10 science that was generated at many of these
11 meetings regardless of whether the meetings
12 were privileged. And I'm just going to give
13 you an example, and I don't know the answer,
14 either.
15 MS. AHEARN: I --
16 MR. HARRISON: But if Dr. Soukup
17 requested this because of a request that came
18 from Steve Herman to analyze Corps data for
19 some reason or another in use in this
20 litigation, I can understand Dr. Walker's
21 reluctance to blurt that out without consulting
22 with counsel.
23 MS. AHEARN: I think if the Department
24 of Justice is asking scientists to do
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
294
1 scientific inquiries and not informing them
2 that this is for litigation, the litigation
3 only, and is privileged work product and should
4 remain confidential, you have not preserved any
5 privilege in the first instance.
6 Since this witness doesn't know that
7 this was work for the Department of Justice, it
8 should be maintained confidential, I think by
9 definition no privilege applies.
10 MR. HARRISON: That's very interesting
11 considering last week Larry Grosser was shut
12 down on a question when Dr. Shih brought two
13 gentlemen into his office and he had no idea
14 there was any confidentiality with the remarks.
15 Counsel, you have taken identical
16 positions; and until the witness is comfortable
17 that this is not litigation strategy that
18 you're asking him to reveal, I'm going to have
19 him not answer the question. Let's move on.
20 Q. Dr. Walker, Dr. Soukup did give you reasons for
21 conducting the analysis; that's correct?
22 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, I'm not going to
23 let him go into this any further until he has a
24 chance to consult. It is now eleven o'clock.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
295
1 We have been going at least an hour and a half.
2 I think it's time for about a five-minute
3 break.
4 MS. AHEARN: I will be ready to stop in
5 just one moment, please. I think that that is
6 not an objectionable question.
7 Q. Would you, please, answer it?
8 MR. HARRISON: He's already answered
9 that, yes, there were reasons given. The
10 answer is on the record, Counsel.
11 A. At the meeting that was held in December of
12 1989 Dr. Soukup and the attorneys from the
13 Justice Department described reasons for why
14 they wanted me to perform this analysis.
15 Q. And you can't tell if Dr. Soukup's reasons were
16 scientific reasons or litigation strategy
17 reasons unless you go confer with your counsel
18 first, correct?
19 MR. HARRISON: Objection. It is not up
20 to Dr. Walker, who is a scientist, to determine
21 what is and is not privileged, Counsel. It's
22 up to me and the court ultimately. And if he
23 feels that he is stepping over this line, he
24 has a right to confer. I will make the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
296
1 decision as to whether we're claiming
2 privilege. Dr. Walker has no business making
3 these decisions.
4 MS. AHEARN: I'm only asking Dr. Walker
5 what he knows.
6 MR. HARRISON: No, you're not. You're
7 asking his opinion as to whether it's strategy
8 or science, Counsel, and I completely object to
9 that line of questioning. It calls for a legal
10 conclusion.
11 MS. AHEARN: Could you, please, reread
12 my question?
13 (The record was read as requested.)
14 MR. HARRISON: I direct you not to
15 answer.
16 MS. AHEARN: Let me rephrase my
17 question.
18 Q. Do you know, Dr. Walker, sitting here whether
19 the reasons Dr. Soukup gave you for this
20 analysis were scientific reasons or litigation
21 strategy reasons?
22 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Calls for
23 legal conclusion. And there's also no basis to
24 know whether or not he participated in those --
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
297
1 in the reasons if they were litigation
2 strategy. There's no foundation and it calls
3 for a legal conclusion, and it also may get
4 into attorney/client privilege. I direct the
5 witness not to answer the question.
6 Q. I'm only asking you what you know, Dr. Walker.
7 MR. HARRISON: I direct the witness not
8 to answer the question. Ms. Ahearn, we can sit
9 here all day and do this if you want. He is
10 not going to answer the question.
11 MS. AHEARN: Let's take a break.
12 MR. HARRISON: Thanks.
13 (Short recess)
14
15 MR. HARRISON: Before the break there
16 was a discussion -- there was a question
17 regarding, as I recall, correct me if I'm
18 wrong, Counsel, you had asked Dr. Walker
19 whether Dr. Soukup had given him any reasons
20 for why the Park Service want the Corps'
21 statistical water quality data analyzed, and he
22 was uncomfortable because it was certainly in
23 the presence of attorneys.
24 After consultation with him, the reason
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
298
1 that was given to him by Dr. Walker I believe
2 although certainly could be considered work
3 product and attorney/client but prior -- after
4 the court's order, since it is of a scientific
5 nature and it does not deal specifically with
6 litigation strategy, I'm going to let
7 Dr. Walker answer the question.
8 MS. AHEARN: Dr. Harrison -- excuse me.
9 Mr. Harrison --
10 MR. HARRISON: Yes.
11 MS. AHEARN: -- do we have a pretty
12 clear formula now of when Dr. Walker can tell
13 me what scientists have told him if it is of a
14 scientific nature and does not absolutely
15 necessarily relate to the lawsuit?
16 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, the formula
17 clearly is that this was told to him at the
18 request of and in the presence of Department of
19 Justice trial lawyers, and I can defend it
20 under attorney/client privilege, period.
21 That's the formula, and that's the formula that
22 the District has taken in its privilege list
23 throughout. But I am going to allow him to
24 answer that because even though it certainly
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
299
1 could be attorney/client privilege and I could
2 sit here and withhold it, it is my belief, I
3 think that it does go to a scientific nature.
4 And, no, there is never going to be a
5 clear formula when I am letting you wade into
6 meetings that are privileged meetings. I am
7 also going to analyze what the substance of
8 that information is that's going to come out
9 because I think all of it is technically
10 privileged.
11 Q. Dr. Walker, what were the reasons given to you
12 by Dr. Soukup for performing the analysis of
13 the Corps data reflected in Exhibit 20?
14 A. This analysis was conducted approximately one
15 month before we began discussions with the
16 District regarding ONRW standards for the Park
17 inflows. There were a variety of water quality
18 databases collected by various agencies,
19 including the Corps of Engineers and including
20 the District, that could be used in setting
21 those standards, and the purpose of this
22 particular exercise that I went through was to
23 examine the applicability of the data produced
24 by the Corps of Engineers for the purpose of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
300
1 setting water quality standards at the Park
2 inflows.
3 Q. In your mind, are analyses for the purpose of
4 setting water quality standards analyses which
5 are performed for litigation purposes?
6 MR. HARRISON: I object to the form of
7 the question.
8 A. In my mind, if the analysis is requested by an
9 attorney or in the presence of an attorney,
10 then it is possibly subject to confidentiality
11 because of the attorney/client relationship.
12 Q. Is the ONRW standards setting process a part of
13 this litigation?
14 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered.
15 Dr. Walker already testified yesterday that he
16 considered it part of the same project he was
17 hired by the Department of Justice to do.
18 MS. AHEARN: The DOJ project. I have
19 asked him a different question here.
20 A. It was -- one of the tasks that I was assigned
21 in working for the Justice Department was to
22 work with the Park Service and attend these
23 meetings under the ONRW process.
24 Q. Would the ONRW process proceed if there was no
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
301
1 litigation?
2 A. I could only speculate on that. I don't know.
3 Q. Is the ONRW process provided for by law
4 independent of this litigation?
5 A. I'm not familiar with the legal aspects of the
6 ONRW process.
7 Q. Are you familiar with the statutory provisions
8 that require and define the ONRW standards
9 setting process?
10 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered. I
11 object. Calls for a legal conclusion.
12 A. No.
13 Q. You're not familiar with those statutes --
14 A. No.
15 Q. -- correct?
16 Do you anticipate that the court in this
17 litigation will set ONRW standards?
18 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Calls for a
19 legal conclusion, entirely beyond the scope of
20 this witness' expertise as to what the court
21 will or will not do. It's pure speculation.
22 A. I would not speculate on that.
23 Q. Do you have any anticipation, any belief on
24 that whatsoever?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
302
1 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Same grounds.
2 Q. You can still answer.
3 A. No, I have no particular anticipation whether
4 the court will specify ONRW standards.
5 Q. One way or another, you don't know whether the
6 court will or will not?
7 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
8 A. I cannot speculate what the court will do.
9 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered three
10 times now, Counsel. It borders on badgering.
11 Q. Is it your understanding that the relief that
12 the United States seeks through this litigation
13 will impact the ONRW standards?
14 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Same grounds.
15 Same question by a different guise. Calls for
16 a legal conclusion, calls for speculation,
17 beyond this witness' basis of knowledge or
18 foundation.
19 A. I do not know whether any such relief would be
20 explicitly linked to ONRW.
21 Q. Do you anticipate that the court will need to
22 be informed about the scientific analyses you
23 have performed --
24 MR. HARRISON: Objection.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
303
1 Q. -- in connection with the ONRW standards
2 setting process?
3 MR. HARRISON: Objection to any question
4 what Dr. Walker anticipates the court will do
5 or will need with respect to an outcome in this
6 litigation. It is completely an improper
7 question, Counsel, and you're wasting time.
8 Q. Can you answer my question?
9 A. No, I cannot.
10 Q. You have performed certain analyses, prepared
11 materials which relate specifically to the ONRW
12 standards process; isn't that correct?
13 A. That's correct.
14 Q. Did you perform those analyses and prepare
15 those materials with the anticipation that they
16 would be used as evidence in the litigation?
17 MR. HARRISON: I'm going to object, but
18 I'll let him answer it. I think you're moving
19 into attorney/client privilege.
20 A. The thought of whether or not these particular
21 materials would be used as evidence in the
22 litigation never -- never occurred to me.
23 MR. HARRISON: By "these materials," I
24 think that needs to be clarified. Are you
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
304
1 talking about ONRW materials?
2 THE WITNESS: The materials I prepared
3 in conjunction with ONRW.
4 Q. Were there any other reasons Dr. Soukup gave
5 you for analyzing the Corps data in December of
6 1989?
7 A. Not to my recollection.
8 Q. Do you recall any reasons voiced by the Corps
9 of Army Engineers for this analysis?
10 A. No reasons, no.
11 Q. Didn't the Corps want to see its database used
12 in the ONRW standard process?
13 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Calls for
14 speculation. No foundation to show he would
15 know that. You have not laid a foundation.
16 But you may answer if you can.
17 A. I previously stated that one -- the reason for
18 this analysis was to examine the -- whether or
19 not the Corps data were appropriate for
20 inclusion in the process.
21 Q. Did the Corps have a position on that?
22 A. I did not speak to anyone at the Corps or have
23 any discussions with people at the Corps on
24 that topic.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
305
1 Q. Did you have discussions with anyone at the
2 Corps about the analysis of the Corps water
3 quality data?
4 A. I had contacts with people at the Corps
5 regarding obtaining the data for my analysis.
6 Q. You didn't discuss with anyone at the Corps the
7 reasons for performing the analysis?
8 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered.
9 A. No.
10 Q. Have you discussed with anyone at the Corps
11 whether they would like to see their data used
12 in the ONRW standards?
13 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered.
14 A. Would you repeat that question?
15 MS. AHEARN: Could you read it back,
16 please?
17 (The record was read as requested.)
18 A. No.
19 Q. Have you discussed with anyone at the Corps
20 whether they would like to see their data used
21 in conjunction with the litigation?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Have you discussed that with Dr. Soukup,
24 whether he would like to see you use the Corps
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
306
1 data in conjunction with the litigation?
2 A. The discussion I had with Dr. Soukup was a
3 request for me to analyze the data and
4 determine whether or not it was valid to
5 include the data in setting ONRW standards.
6 Q. So from your answer I understand that you never
7 discussed with Dr. Soukup this other issue of
8 using the Corps data for litigation purposes?
9 MR. HARRISON: Objection.
10 Mischaracterization.
11 A. The discussion I had with Dr. Soukup regarding
12 this particular task was -- occurred in the
13 presence of attorneys, and it was a task that
14 was agreed among attorneys and Dr. Soukup and
15 myself, and I was asked to perform the
16 analysis. I can't separate objectives.
17 MR. HARRISON: The witness obviously
18 cannot go into Dr. Soukup's mind as to any
19 other reasons that were not directly
20 communicated to this witness. If he has a
21 mental impression from a meeting that included
22 attorneys, there is no way that you can
23 separate that mental impression from
24 attorney/client privilege.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
307
1 He has already told you what Dr. Soukup
2 told him the reasons were, and that's as far as
3 this needs to go where you are clearly getting
4 into the mental impressions of the attorneys as
5 to perhaps other reasons why we wanted this
6 data analyzed. But that is -- he has already
7 testified as to what Dr. Soukup told him, and
8 that's as far as this issue is going to go.
9 Q. Dr. Walker, on Exhibit 20 in the first line you
10 state that you have reviewed water quality data
11 collected by the Corps. When did that review
12 take place?
13 A. In the fall of 1989.
14 Q. When did you obtain that water quality data?
15 A. In the fall of 1989.
16 Q. Who provided that data to you?
17 A. The Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville district
18 office.
19 Q. Any particular individual there who you
20 contacted to obtain this data?
21 MR. HARRISON: If you recall,
22 Dr. Walker. Please don't speculate.
23 A. The person's name was Jim McAdams.
24 Q. Did you tell Mr. McAdams why you wanted the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
308
1 data?
2 A. I don't recall.
3 Q. Do you recall if you discussed with him what
4 you were going to do with the data?
5 A. I don't recall.
6 Q. The data which Mr. McAdams provided to you, was
7 that entered onto your computer after you
8 received it?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Is it the Corps data which you have identified
11 for us on page 27 of Exhibit 18?
12 A. Page 27 of Exhibit 18 contains the directory
13 G:\COE, which contains the water quality data
14 which I would have extracted from files
15 provided by the Corps of Engineers.
16 Q. Do you still have those original files you
17 received from the Corps?
18 A. Yes, I do.
19 Q. Were they produced in conjunction with this
20 deposition?
21 A. Yes, they were.
22 Q. What format are they in?
23 A. They are in the form of -- there may have been
24 some printouts that were included in the box
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
309
1 that I supplied to the Justice Department as
2 well as there are some data files contained on
3 the floppy disks that I provided.
4 Q. At any other time did you obtain water quality
5 data for Park inflows from the Corps of Army
6 Engineers?
7 A. The only time that I recall receiving such data
8 was in the fall of 1989.
9 Q. From Mr. McAdams?
10 A. Correct.
11 Q. In the third sentence of Exhibit 20 you state
12 that you have focused exclusively on total
13 phosphorus.
14 Subsequently, have you looked at any
15 other parameters in the Corps water quality
16 data?
17 A. Not to my recollection.
18 Q. Would you have any reason at this time to
19 reject the Corps data for use with any
20 parameter other than total phosphorus?
21 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Foundation.
22 If he hasn't looked at it, how can he know what
23 to reject?
24 A. Reject for what purpose?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
310
1 Q. For the purpose of use in ONRW standards
2 setting.
3 A. I have not looked at other parameters. And the
4 other -- the other reason why I suspect that
5 the Corps data would not be appropriate is
6 because the stations are not appropriately
7 located, as is described in my letter of
8 December 11th, 1989.
9 Q. Other than the location of the stations, have
10 you other suspicions as to why you wouldn't
11 want to use the Corps data for other
12 parameters?
13 A. I have no suspicions. I have not analyzed the
14 other parameters. I have no opinion.
15 Q. Would you be able to render such an opinion
16 regarding potential use of the Corps data for
17 parameters other than total phosphorus for the
18 purpose of use in the litigation?
19 A. I can't speculate on whether I -- what I would
20 be able to say about the Corps data.
21 Q. Do you intend to be looking at the Corps data
22 further in conjunction with this litigation?
23 A. I don't know.
24 Q. And is that because an attorney hasn't yet told
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
311
1 you?
2 MR. HARRISON: Objection. If he doesn't
3 know, he doesn't know.
4 Q. Is there a reason why you don't know whether
5 you'll use this data or not?
6 A. I don't know whether I will examine this data
7 further as part of the litigation or not.
8 Q. Now, in Paragraph 1 you state that the data are
9 adequate for determining compliance with the
10 existing MOA standard. Do you maintain that
11 opinion as of today?
12 A. The stations are inadequately located for
13 determining compliance at all of the ENP inflow
14 points.
15 Q. What are the locations specified in the MOA for
16 determination of compliance?
17 A. I don't recall exactly.
18 Q. As of December 11, 1989, had you had any
19 discussions with the District in terms of
20 revised standards they were considering for
21 Park inflows?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Had you had any discussions with the Department
24 of Environmental Regulation about standards
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
312
1 that they were considering for Park inflows?
2 A. No.
3 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, just so it's
4 clear, are you talking about Park inflows
5 regardless of whether it's the litigation,
6 ONRW, the MOA, anything? Or were you focusing
7 still on the MOA?
8 MS. AHEARN: I'll ask more questions to
9 clarify that if you like.
10 MR. HARRISON: Well, thus far I took it
11 to mean it was in conjunction with the MOA
12 because it followed those questions.
13 Q. Dr. Walker, isn't it true that at this time
14 there is a Memorandum of Agreement dated in
15 1984 which specifies numeric standards for
16 water quality inflows to the Everglades
17 National Park?
18 MR. HARRISON: I object to the
19 characterization "MOA." You may answer.
20 A. Yes, I believe there is such an agreement.
21 Q. Are there other potential or revised standards
22 for inflows into Everglades Park that have been
23 considered over the last two years?
24 MR. HARRISON: I object to form. In any
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
313
1 context, Counsel? Are we still dealing with
2 the MOA?
3 Q. We have MOA standards today, correct?
4 A. My answer is yes.
5 Q. Okay. There are some prospective standards
6 under consideration. What kinds of standards
7 are those that you're aware of?
8 A. The ONRW standards.
9 Q. Okay. Any other revised or potential standards
10 which you have discussed with other parties
11 interested in South Florida water quality?
12 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, I'm still going
13 to object. I don't know whether you're going
14 to the scientific number of the standard or the
15 legal nature of a standard, such as a state
16 water quality standard.
17 MS. AHEARN: How about a label on a
18 standard? You were concerned that my question
19 was vague because I wasn't discriminating among
20 types of standards.
21 MR. HARRISON: Okay.
22 MS. AHEARN: So I want to find out when
23 Dr. Walker uses particular terms, which of the
24 particular standards is he referring to.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
314
1 A. Could you repeat your question, please?
2 Q. Okay. You are aware of existing Memorandum of
3 Agreement standards and potential ONRW
4 standards, correct?
5 A. Correct.
6 Q. What other types of standards for water quality
7 inflows to Everglades National Park are you
8 aware of?
9 A. Those would be standards that are associated
10 with the federal remedy for the lawsuit.
11 Q. Any other types of standards that you're aware
12 of?
13 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, do you mean
14 standards specifically applying to the Park or
15 state standards which might apply to all
16 Class 3 waters? I mean, is this specifically
17 to the Park?
18 A. There may be others, but I'm unsure.
19 Q. Let me ask it this way: You have dealt with
20 MOA standards, potential ONRW standards and
21 potential standards that might be part of a
22 remedy through the litigation, correct?
23 A. I have not dealt with MOA standards.
24 Q. You are aware of their existence?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
315
1 A. Yes.
2 Q. And you have dealt with the other two types of
3 standards?
4 A. That's correct.
5 Q. Have you dealt with any other types of
6 standards for inflows to the Park?
7 A. I'm not sure what you mean by "types of
8 standards."
9 Q. Any other category of standards for total
10 phosphorus concentrations in inflows to the
11 Park. I mean, is there some alternative
12 program to ONRW? Is there a national
13 standard?
14 A. The only other one program that I recall is the
15 OFW program.
16 Q. Have you been involved in analysis and
17 development of OFW standards for the Park? I
18 don't mean these to be trick questions. I'm
19 just --
20 A. It's hard to distinguish that from the other
21 standards.
22 Q. It probably is. I just want to make sure that
23 our terminology is clear, that we recognize
24 that you would refer to MOA standards, ONRW
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
316
1 standards as those being -- that are discussed
2 in your meetings on behalf of the Park with the
3 District and DER and sometimes EPA, and then
4 another type of standard which might be part of
5 the litigation remedy.
6 A. Correct.
7 Q. When you refer to revised standards, are you
8 referring to that ONRW type of standard?
9 MR. HARRISON: Objection. I don't know
10 that it's been shown that he refers to revised
11 standards.
12 A. I'm not sure where the term "revised" comes
13 from. What are you referring to?
14 Q. Have you ever used that term?
15 A. I may have.
16 Q. As of December 11, 1989, had you discussed the
17 ONRW standards with anyone other than someone
18 affiliated with the federal government either
19 as an employee of the federal government or a
20 consultant on the South Florida litigation?
21 A. Not to my recollection.
22 Q. In Paragraph 1 here if you look down on the
23 fifth line, you talk about the revised
24 standards. Does that reference to the revised
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
317
1 standards refer to the ONRW standards?
2 A. It could have referred to the ONRW standards
3 and/or to the standards that were referenced in
4 the -- I believe it was the first draft of the
5 SWIM plan.
6 Q. You don't know what you were referring to
7 there?
8 A. New standards for Park inflows were discussed
9 both in the draft of the SWIM plan and with
10 respect to the ONRW. I have trouble
11 distinguishing the two.
12 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, he is not an
13 attorney, and it's very easy for choices of
14 words to be used like "standards" or "revised
15 standards." But if you're going to be asking
16 him to compare the legal criteria of MOA
17 standards versus ENP inflows, it's beyond the
18 scope.
19 MS. AHEARN: I wasn't asking for a legal
20 explication, just a definition of the term he
21 used in his own writing.
22 MR. HARRISON: I think he's given you
23 that.
24 Q. Could you, please, turn to page 2 of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
318
1 Exhibit 20? At the bottom you state:
2 ...the Corps of Engineers could
3 provide potentially important data sets
4 independent of those provided by SFWMD
5 for tracking phosphorus concentrations
6 at Park inflows.
7 MR. HARRISON: I'm going to note that
8 that's not where the sentence began, that there
9 were some provisos and conditions attached to
10 that.
11 MS. AHEARN: Thank you. And I'll admit
12 that I read only part of that sentence.
13 Q. To your knowledge, is the Corps of Army
14 Engineers currently undertaking to do this?
15 A. You're referring to the sentence that says:
16 With future refinements to the
17 sampling program design and analytical
18 procedures, the Corps of Engineers could
19 provide potentially important data sets
20 independent of those provided by SFWMD
21 for tracking phosphorus concentrations
22 at Park inflows?
23 Q. Correct.
24 A. To my knowledge at this time there are no plans
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
319
1 for that exercise.
2 Q. Are there any plans for any other federal
3 agency to undertake this exercise?
4 A. There have been no such programs that have been
5 designed to my knowledge.
6 Q. At the top of page 2, the first paragraph, the
7 second line you write:
8 I suggest that these values be
9 verified by referring to laboratory
10 records and field notes.
11 MR. HARRISON: Second line? That's
12 about the fourth --
13 MS. AHEARN: Excuse me. Second
14 sentence.
15 Q. Has that been done?
16 A. I don't know.
17 Q. Have you obtained laboratory records and field
18 notes from the Corps?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Have you obtained laboratory records and field
21 notes from the District?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Have you reviewed such records and notes from
24 either the Corps or the District?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
320
1 A. I have not had access to them, and I have not
2 reviewed them.
3 Q. To your knowledge, has any other person working
4 on the South Florida litigation reviewed
5 laboratory records and field notes for the
6 Corps water quality monitoring?
7 A. I don't know.
8 Q. Do you know if anyone's done that for the
9 District water quality monitoring?
10 A. I don't know.
11 Q. How about for water quality monitoring
12 conducted by the National Park Service?
13 A. The Park Service does not conduct an
14 independent water quality monitoring program.
15 The Park Service collects samples that are
16 analyzed by the District.
17 Q. To your knowledge, has anyone reviewed the
18 laboratory records and field notes that reflect
19 the sampling effort that the Park does
20 undertake?
21 MR. HARRISON: You mean the laboratory
22 notes that are prepared by the Water Management
23 District on those --
24 MS. AHEARN: That relate to samples
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
321
1 collected by the Park.
2 MR. HARRISON: He just testified those
3 are performed by the Water Management District,
4 those analyses of those samples.
5 MS. AHEARN: That's fine.
6 Q. There are samples collected by the Park,
7 correct?
8 A. Correct.
9 Q. Have you looked at laboratory records and field
10 notes that relate to those samples?
11 MR. HARRISON: Is the question just
12 whether he is aware of whether someone else --
13 what the Government in this case is reviewing,
14 those records?
15 A. I'm aware that Daniel Scheidt has
16 responsibility for running that monitoring
17 program. Whether he's looked at the records
18 and examined the field notes, I'm unaware.
19 Q. And you haven't done that, just so we make sure
20 this is clear --
21 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered.
22 Q. -- correct?
23 A. That's correct.
24 Q. Does the USGS collect water quality samples in
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
322
1 South Florida?
2 A. Not currently to my knowledge.
3 Q. They did previously?
4 A. On occasion, yes.
5 Q. To your knowledge, has anyone working on the
6 South Florida litigation reviewed laboratory
7 records and field notes for the water quality
8 samples that USGS has collected?
9 A. Not to my knowledge.
10 Q. Are you aware of any other agencies that have
11 collected water quality samples within the
12 Everglades Agricultural Area, the Water
13 Conservation Areas and Everglades National
14 Park?
15 MR. HARRISON: Any other agency other
16 than what, Counsel?
17 MS. AHEARN: Than those that we have
18 just discussed in the last few prior questions.
19 MR. HARRISON: I object. I think it's
20 ambiguous. We have been talking about a lot of
21 agencies.
22 A. Are you talking about state or federal
23 agencies?
24 Q. Dr. Walker, is it accurate that the following
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
323
1 agencies have collected water quality samples
2 within the Water Conservation Areas and the
3 Park, that geographic range, let's say from
4 1950 to present: the South Florida Water
5 Management District, Corps of Army Engineers,
6 USGS and the National Park Service? To your
7 knowledge, is that accurate?
8 MR. HARRISON: I'm going to object to
9 form. It's not clear whether you mean have
10 they all collected samples in all of those
11 areas or any of those areas.
12 Q. Within that geographic area I defined, anyplace
13 within that geographic area.
14 A. To my knowledge, sampling activities have been
15 undertaken by each of those agencies within
16 those broad geographic bounds.
17 Q. Are you aware of any entities, including
18 governmental agencies, that have collected
19 water quality samples within those geographic
20 bounds?
21 MR. HARRISON: Object to form.
22 "Entities" is not defined. Would that include
23 a single person, Counsel?
24 MS. AHEARN: It wouldn't unless that
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
324
1 person is, for example, acting on behalf of a
2 university or a company that's doing a study.
3 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
4 A. I'm totally confused as to what you're asking.
5 Q. All right. Well, thanks for letting me know.
6 Are you aware of any other water quality
7 samples that have been taken by anyone within
8 the geographic area we have described, the
9 Water Conservation Areas and Everglades
10 National Park?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Would you identify those persons and/or
13 entities which you are aware have taken those
14 types of samples within that geographic range?
15 A. Dr. Ronald Jones, the University of Florida.
16 There may have been some samples collected by
17 consulting firms. That's all that I can
18 recall.
19 Q. How about the Environmental Protection Agency?
20 A. I don't recall any sampling activities -- oh,
21 excuse me. I'm not sure whether the
22 Environmental Protection Agency has taken
23 samples for water quality.
24 Q. How about the Florida Department of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
325
1 Environmental Regulation?
2 A. I'm not aware that they have any routine
3 monitoring activity in that region.
4 Q. Are you aware of them taking any samples on a
5 nonroutine basis?
6 A. Not specifically. I don't recall.
7 Q. How about the Florida Sugar Cane League?
8 A. I believe that would have been included in my
9 category of consultants.
10 Q. Can you identify those consultants?
11 A. I believe Dr. Curtis Richardson, Duke
12 University, and possibly some other engineering
13 firms.
14 Q. How about the Fish and Wildlife Service?
15 A. I don't recall any routine monitoring activity
16 on their part.
17 Q. How about nonroutine water quality sampling?
18 A. I don't recall any.
19 Q. Have you used or relied upon the water quality
20 samples collected by Dr. Jones in any of the
21 work you have performed on behalf of the
22 Department of Justice?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Have you seen that data?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
326
1 A. No.
2 Q. How do you know that he's done this, collected
3 the samples?
4 A. From conversations with him.
5 Q. Direct conversations with Dr. Jones?
6 A. In the presence of attorneys when we were at
7 research planning meetings.
8 Q. Has he told you what his data show?
9 A. I don't recall specifically.
10 Q. Now, you identified the University of Florida.
11 Are there particular projects or researchers
12 there that you are aware of that have generated
13 water quality samples?
14 MS. NASH: Read back that question,
15 please?
16 (The record was read as requested.)
17 MR. HARRISON: Okay. You may answer.
18 A. There was a sampling program on rainfall
19 quality conducted by the University of Florida
20 in that region.
21 Q. Do you know the dates of that project?
22 A. Late 1970s.
23 Q. And do you know who conducted that project?
24 A. I believe it was Hendry and Brezonik.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
327
1 MR. BURGESS: I'm sorry? I couldn't
2 hear you.
3 THE WITNESS: Hendry, H-E-N-D-R-Y, and
4 Brezonik, B-R-E-Z-O-N-I-K.
5 Q. Both of those researchers are affiliated with
6 the University of Florida?
7 A. At the time that the sampling was done, I
8 believe so.
9 Q. Do you know where those two researchers are
10 working now?
11 A. I believe that Dr. Brezonik is at the
12 University of Minnesota. I do not know where
13 Mr. Hendry is located.
14 Q. Have you used or relied upon this water quality
15 data from the late seventies by Hendry and
16 Brezonik in your work on the South Florida
17 matter?
18 A. Not directly as yet.
19 Q. Do you intend to use or rely upon this data?
20 A. I may.
21 Q. Have you seen any water quality data from
22 Dr. Curtis Richardson?
23 A. Not that I recall, no.
24 Q. Why is it that you think he has collected such
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
328
1 data?
2 A. Well, I am aware that he is conducting a
3 research project in the Water Conservation
4 Areas.
5 Q. And you presumed that that research project
6 would just naturally include water quality?
7 A. Would involve some water quality sampling.
8 Q. Have you seen any presentations by Dr. Curtis
9 Richardson concerning his research in South
10 Florida?
11 A. Yes.
12 Q. Is this a presentation you personally attended?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. And when and where was that?
15 A. It would have been in the fall of 1989 at --
16 the fall or summer of 1989 at the South Florida
17 Water Management District headquarters.
18 Q. Did you see presentations by other scientists
19 at that time?
20 A. At that same meeting?
21 Q. At that same meeting.
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. And what other scientists' presentations did
24 you observe?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
329
1 A. A presentation by Walt Dineen. That's all I
2 recall.
3 Q. Have you used or relied upon any of the
4 information presented during this presentation
5 at the District in your work on the South
6 Florida matter?
7 A. Those presentations provided me with general
8 background information.
9 Q. Have you looked at, considered any specific
10 data or conclusions presented during this
11 session?
12 A. No.
13 Q. Did you stay throughout the whole set of
14 proceedings at the District there that day?
15 (The witness gave no response.)
16 Q. I guess my question is: Did you just show up
17 for the Richardson and Dineen presentations, or
18 were you there and probably saw the
19 presentations, you just don't recall them?
20 MR. HARRISON: I'll let him answer if he
21 can, but no foundation laid that he knows when
22 the proceedings began or ended.
23 A. I did not stay for the entire day.
24 Q. Were there other presentations that you
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
330
1 observed that you just can't recall right now?
2 MR. HARRISON: Objection. If he can't
3 recall, how does he know if he observed them?
4 A. Not that I remember.
5 Q. I just want it clear, it's not that there were
6 people, you just can't remember their names;
7 you just don't remember other presentations?
8 A. I don't recall whether there were other
9 presentations or whether I heard other
10 presentations, but those are the only two that
11 I remember.
12 Q. Okay. Thank you.
13 Dr. Walker, on Exhibit 20 would you,
14 please, turn to the second page of Enclosure
15 No. 1? Just so I'm clear, I don't see a
16 legend, what do the question marks that we see
17 to the right of the most right-hand column
18 signify?
19 A. Well, if you refer to page 1 of that same
20 exhibit, Item No. 3 on the bottom, it says
21 Enclosure 1 reveals two dates, February 23rd of
22 1987 and March 22nd of 1988, when reported
23 phosphorus concentrations were unusually high
24 at all stations. So those were particular
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
331
1 observations that -- where the numbers were
2 generally higher than they were reported on the
3 other dates. And further in that paragraph
4 I suggested to Dr. Smith that those values be
5 checked by referring to field and laboratory
6 notes.
7 Q. Do the question marks denote that these are
8 potential outliers?
9 A. Possibly.
10 Q. An outlier is a number reported by the lab that
11 seems aberrant? Would that be an accurate
12 description of an outlier?
13 MR. HARRISON: Objection. It's not been
14 established whether the lab reports them as
15 outliers or whether somebody analyzing the
16 data. I think it's better just to ask, What is
17 an outlier? There's been no basis for your
18 characterization.
19 A. An outlier is a sample that is not
20 representative of the population that is
21 reportedly being sampled.
22 Q. So an outlier could be not representative
23 either because it's unusually high or because
24 it's unusually low, correct?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
332
1 A. That's correct.
2 Q. Have you identified any items in the Corps
3 water quality database that are potential
4 outliers because they may be inaccurately low?
5 A. Well, that would be very difficult because of
6 the very low or -- very low analytical
7 resolution of the Corps data. By "low," I mean
8 the detection limit is .01. There are several
9 values that are reported at or below .01. So
10 it would be impossible to identify outliers
11 that are low because of the low analytical
12 resolution.
13 Q. Those outliers may exist in the database, but
14 we don't have the technical ability to identify
15 them?
16 A. The resolution of the database is inadequate to
17 identify those values.
18 Q. If you were to find in a given database that a
19 particular percentage of data points could be
20 determined to be outliers because they're
21 overly high, does that suggest that you should
22 have caution about the number of outliers that
23 you cannot see because they're inordinately
24 low?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
333
1 MR. HARRISON: Objection to form.
2 A. That would depend upon how the data were being
3 used.
4 Q. If the data were being used to determine
5 whether a trend in water quality could be
6 detected in a five-year-period-of-record
7 database, would that be relevant for purposes
8 of looking for the existence of overly low
9 outliers?
10 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
11 A. In examining data for trends, I would not use
12 statistical methods that are sensitive to
13 outliers.
14 Q. As a categorical matter in a trend analysis,
15 you would always use a technique insensitive to
16 outliers?
17 A. That's right.
18 Q. Are there any number of such techniques that
19 would be available to you?
20 A. There is an array of techniques.
21 Q. Could you identify those techniques?
22 A. Techniques for trend analysis, is that what
23 you're asking?
24 Q. Yes.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
334
1 A. The Seasonal Kendall test, which is the one
2 that I have used in Exhibit 17, is such a
3 technique.
4 Q. Are there others?
5 A. There are other techniques as well that are --
6 that have been applied to analyzing data for
7 trends.
8 Q. Are those techniques also insensitive to
9 outliers?
10 A. Some of them are.
11 Q. Would you tell me which of those other
12 techniques which are insensitive to outliers?
13 Could you give me their identities?
14 MR. HARRISON: Which are not sensitive
15 to outliers?
16 MS. AHEARN: Yes.
17 A. They are generally any technique that is based
18 upon ranking of the data rather than on
19 absolute values.
20 Q. We have a test commonly referred to as the
21 Seasonal Kendall test. Are there other
22 commonly recognized names for these additional
23 techniques which are insensitive to outliers?
24 A. Spearman's rank correlation might be one.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
335
1 Q. Can you identify any others?
2 A. That's all I can recall.
3 Q. And then there are some additional techniques
4 that have been applied to do trend analyses
5 which you would characterize as being sensitive
6 to outliers?
7 A. There are other techniques that have greater
8 sensitivity to outliers, correct.
9 Q. Can you identify those techniques for me?
10 A. Those would be regression analysis, time series
11 analysis, t-tests.
12 Q. Can you think of any others?
13 A. Those are representative.
14 Q. Have you considered the use of each of these
15 techniques you have just identified for us in
16 your work on the South Florida matter for the
17 Department of Justice?
18 A. Yes, I have.
19 Q. Through that consideration are there any
20 techniques which you have decided not to use
21 after just a conceptual consideration of using
22 that technique?
23 A. In selecting the techniques that I have used in
24 my trend analysis, I reviewed the literature
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
336
1 and selected the techniques that I thought were
2 most appropriate.
3 Q. And through that course, you decided through
4 your literature review consideration at that
5 point, you decided not to consider certain
6 techniques further?
7 A. I decided to use the best methods that were
8 available, the most widely recommended method.
9 Q. Which techniques did you decide not to consider
10 further after your literature review?
11 MR. HARRISON: Objection. It's been
12 asked and answered. The answer is obvious in
13 the report. Wherever the techniques weren't
14 used?
15 A. I selected to reject the methods that are not
16 referenced or used in my report.
17 Q. Which are those, please? Point them out to me.
18 A. I did not use t-tests. I did not use time
19 series analysis, and I did not use Spearman's
20 correlation -- rank correlation.
21 Q. I just want to make sure we're clear because I
22 don't think this question had been asked or
23 answered. These are techniques which you set
24 aside based on your review of the literature?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
337
1 MR. HARRISON: Objection. That's a
2 mischaracterization. Just because you review
3 the literature and you find what you believe to
4 be the best technique doesn't mean you're
5 automatically rejecting -- that you have made a
6 conscious decision to reject it. That's your
7 words, Counsel. It is not the words of the
8 witness.
9 MS. AHEARN: Mr. Harrison, if you have a
10 problem with my phrasing, I'll try it
11 differently.
12 MR. HARRISON: I have had and I'm
13 objecting to form. You're trying to put words
14 in the witness' mouth. He's answered the
15 question.
16 Q. Did you do your literature review and select
17 your techniques before you turned to the data
18 and actually started analyzing the data?
19 A. I have been generally familiar with the
20 literature on this topic, so I would have -- so
21 the literature review would have started a
22 number of years ago.
23 Q. I see. In conjunction with your work on South
24 Florida, have you performed any analysis of any
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
338
1 data utilizing Spearman's rank correlations?
2 A. I have not applied it for testing trends --
3 excuse me, yes. There was a -- I believe that
4 Spearman's rank correlation was used in the
5 preliminary analysis of inflow data that was
6 conducted in the fall of 1989.
7 Q. Is that the analysis you ran with your OTREN
8 program?
9 A. Yes, I believe so.
10 Q. My motive here really isn't that suspect. I
11 just want to find out which of these tests
12 we're going to have to talk about in some
13 detail later and which weren't really key in
14 your analysis. So if that helps speed things
15 up.
16 Did you actually employ the time series
17 analysis?
18 A. No.
19 Q. And did you employ the t-test analysis to any
20 data in conjunction with the South Florida
21 matter?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Can you tell me in what circumstances you used
24 the t-test?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
339
1 A. That would also have been in conjunction with
2 that preliminary analysis of the data that I
3 conducted in the fall of 1989.
4 MS. AHEARN: This would probably be a
5 good place to stop for lunch.
6 (Off the record)
7 (Luncheon recess)
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
340
1 A F T E R N O O N S E S S I O N
2 BY MS. AHEARN:
3 Q. Dr. Walker, just before we left for lunch, you
4 told us that the techniques you would use for
5 trend analyses are insensitive to outliers, and
6 you named a couple of those techniques for us.
7 When you perform a trend analysis on a
8 data set, am I correct, you just leave any
9 potential outliers in that data set when you're
10 applying one of the techniques that you
11 identified to us as insensitive to outliers?
12 A. Yes.
13 Q. When a statistician sees a value in a data set
14 that may be an outlier, doesn't that indicate
15 that there is a value that accurately measured
16 some phenomenon in the real world but we just
17 don't know what it was?
18 MR. HARRISON: I'm sorry. Can I have it
19 repeated?
20 (The record was read as requested.)
21 MR. HARRISON: Objection. There's no
22 way for Dr. Walker to know what a statistician
23 generically would do or what the data set would
24 contain.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
341
1 Q. You can answer.
2 MR. HARRISON: You can answer if you
3 can.
4 A. Well, it's hard for me to generalize what a
5 statistician would do in reaction to any
6 particular data point.
7 Q. When you find a value in a data set, that value
8 reflects a measurement performed on a sample of
9 some phenomenon in the real world; is that
10 correct?
11 A. It may reflect a true measurement.
12 Q. Well, if I have a data set that reflects 20
13 samples and one of the 20 values in my data set
14 may be an outlier, that indicates that I may
15 not have an accurate measure of that sample;
16 but that sample nonetheless existed. Correct?
17 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
18 A. This hypothetical value that this hypothetical
19 statistician might have identified as an
20 outlier would not necessarily even reflect an
21 actual sample.
22 Q. When you look at any data set, you just simply
23 assume that, boy, someone actually collected
24 these samples and they weren't generated out of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
342
1 thin air?
2 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
3 A. If normal quality control procedures are
4 followed in sampling the -- in collecting the
5 data and in transcribing the data and in
6 analyzing the samples and in transcribing the
7 results, one assumes that the sample -- samples
8 as a whole reflect the population that was
9 sampled.
10 Q. In the water quality database that you used in
11 the trend analysis reflected in Exhibit 17,
12 your final report, did you verify that for each
13 data point in the data set, those steps that
14 you just identified -- QA/QC, transcribing the
15 value properly, sampling, measurement and all
16 -- were properly and accurately performed?
17 A. That data set was provided to us by the South
18 Florida Water Management District. It was data
19 collected by their laboratory, and it was data
20 that they represented to us were valid for use
21 in setting water quality standards for Park
22 inflows.
23 We did not have access to the raw data
24 or the data transcription process or to the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
343
1 field notes that would have been necessary to
2 enable us to perform the task that you
3 described.
4 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, just for the
5 record, I would like to note, I don't mean to
6 interrupt, but we requested those several times
7 both under the original documents production,
8 and that's the field notes.
9 MS. AHEARN: Mr. Harrison, I simply
10 asked Dr. Walker if he had done something. It
11 was a question that called for a yes or no
12 answer.
13 MR. HARRISON: Yes. But --
14 MS. AHEARN: Thank you.
15 MR. HARRISON: -- the fact is if we had
16 that information, it would have been possible
17 for him to do that. We have never been
18 provided with field notes for any of the
19 samples.
20 Q. Dr. Walker, since you're an expert, I get to
21 use hypotheticals with you. I'd like you to
22 presume that we have taken 20 separate samples
23 to measure total phosphorus concentrations in
24 surface water and the collection, lab analysis,
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
344
1 transcribing of those results to a data set
2 have resulted in 20 different values; and upon
3 examination of those values, it appears that
4 one value may be an outlier.
5 Is my hypothetical clear to you at this
6 point?
7 MR. HARRISON: I object only in that you
8 have not defined what you mean by "an outlier."
9 A. And you haven't defined what you are sampling
10 or whether you're sampling at the same
11 location.
12 Q. I don't know that those factors are relevant to
13 my hypothetical, but I'll be happy to supply
14 them. Let's say I'm sampling surface water. I
15 thought I had said that. Let's say they're all
16 at the same location. I tell you that this is
17 what's happened. I bring to you data. I give
18 you 20 value points in a data set.
19 Now, your examination of this data set
20 indicates to you that one of these values may
21 be an outlier. Does your identification of a
22 possible outlier nullify the fact that there
23 was a sample taken of that surface water at
24 some time?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
345
1 A. I still don't understand the premise of your
2 hypothetical sampling program. You're sampling
3 it -- you are sampling at one location? Are
4 you sampling over time? Are you sampling over
5 depth? Where are these -- what kind of a
6 sampling program is generating these numbers?
7 Q. Can you explain to me how that's going to be
8 relevant for your determining whether the
9 existence of an outlier negates the fact that
10 there was a value that we attempted to measure
11 in the real world at some given time; it just
12 appears that currently we have measured it
13 imperfectly?
14 My premise is quite simple. I don't
15 think it is conditioned on all these other
16 factors at this point. I recognize that you're
17 trying to be very careful.
18 A. The identification of an outlier depends upon
19 what population -- whether the samples that you
20 are reviewing in a process of identifying that
21 outlier, whether those samples are from the
22 same population. And you haven't specified --
23 you haven't defined the population that you are
24 sampling.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
346
1 Q. Can I specify that these samples are all from
2 the same population?
3 A. What do you mean by "population"?
4 Q. Whatever it is that you require to be the same
5 population such as you'll be able to identify
6 an outlier in a data set.
7 A. Well, if we could be more specific than that,
8 it would be very helpful --
9 Q. Can you give me your --
10 A. -- to answer the question.
11 Q. Can you give me your specific definition of the
12 population?
13 A. You could define a population as a set of data
14 points that would come from a particular
15 location either sampled in replicate at the
16 same time or sampled on different dates over
17 time or sampled with depth at the same date and
18 time. There are lots of different ways of
19 defining the particular sampling population or
20 areas that you're trying to quantify.
21 Q. You need all of these details before we can
22 just conceptually deal with a figure that we
23 want to assume is an outlier?
24 Let me ask you this: In all of those
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
347
1 different types of populations you described,
2 is it conceivable that you will identify data
3 points which are outliers?
4 A. If you apply a methodology for identifying
5 outliers from a particular set of samples that
6 has come from a certain population, then it is
7 possible that methodology will identify an
8 outlier, correct.
9 Q. So outliers aren't unique to only certain types
10 of populations that are sampled and never arise
11 in other populations that are sampled?
12 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
13 A. Outliers may arise as a practical consequence
14 of sampling any population.
15 Q. Let's try it this way. If you could look at
16 Exhibit 20 and turn to the second page of
17 Enclosure 1, and let's look at the entry for
18 2/23/87, the first that you have with the three
19 question marks to the right.
20 Now, further investigation may indicate
21 that this set of values -- or these values are
22 indeed outliers, correct?
23 A. What do you mean by an outlier?
24 Q. Can you give me your definition of an outlier?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
348
1 I think we had a definition on the table
2 before, but let's see if you can give me a
3 definition that we can use right now in trying
4 to get through this what I hope will be brief
5 line of questioning.
6 A. An outlier is a data point that does not
7 reflect the population that was intended to be
8 sampled.
9 Q. So this data point for ENP-8 on 2/23/87, 1.050,
10 may be a value that does not accurately reflect
11 the population sampled at that location on that
12 date by the Corps of Army Engineers?
13 A. That is possible.
14 Q. Now, through review of laboratory records and
15 field logs we might be able to go back and
16 identify some factor that impacted the value
17 that's recorded here, correct?
18 A. That's correct.
19 MR. HARRISON: Object to form.
20 Q. And might we also be able to learn enough
21 information to determine the correct value of
22 the population that was sampled at ENP-8 on
23 this date by the Corps?
24 MR. HARRISON: Object to form.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
349
1 A. In certain circumstances there would be a way
2 of retrieving the correct value.
3 Q. Let's suppose I depose the lab technician on
4 that date and they confirm to us under oath
5 that this was a typographical error and in fact
6 the value was 0.010 on this date.
7 If I then employed that corrected value
8 and I were to take this data set and run a
9 trend analysis on it, will I potentially affect
10 the results of that trend analysis?
11 A. It would depend upon the trend analysis
12 procedure that you would use and upon whether
13 or not the particular data point that you have
14 changed would influence that trend analysis
15 result.
16 Q. It is possible that the correction of the value
17 will impact the result of the trend analysis,
18 correct?
19 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
20 Anything's possible. This is an expert
21 witness.
22 MS. AHEARN: I don't think that anything
23 is possible in statistics. I'm sure that some
24 things aren't possible.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
350
1 MR. HARRISON: No. But the test for an
2 expert opinion is probability, Counsel, to a
3 reasonable degree of certainty, not
4 possibility.
5 A. If you are doing -- if you view a trend
6 analysis, a procedure that operates on a set of
7 data, if you change the data, you may change
8 the output of the procedure.
9 Q. And that is true of the Seasonal Kendall test,
10 correct?
11 A. It is true of the Seasonal Kendall test. But
12 the Seasonal Kendall test is designed to be
13 robust to changes in individual data points.
14 Q. If I had five data points in my data set which
15 were outliers and I could correct them to
16 reflect the actual values of the population
17 sampled, is the Seasonal Kendall test
18 insensitive to that correction of outliers?
19 A. As you increase the number of data points that
20 you change for whatever reason, then you
21 increase the probability that the outcome of
22 the test will change.
23 Q. So the Seasonal Kendall test isn't insensitive
24 to outliers if you have a certain number of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
351
1 outliers in your data set; isn't that correct?
2 A. It's very difficult to specify what that
3 certain number would be.
4 Q. You can't specify the number, but there is a
5 point when the existence of outliers does
6 impact the results of the Seasonal Kendall
7 test; isn't that correct?
8 MR. HARRISON: I object to form. I
9 think it's necessary that you quantify degrees
10 of impact or degrees of insensitivity.
11 A. It depends on the size of the data set, the
12 number of observations and the number of
13 outliers and the degree to which they are
14 outliers. All of those factors would have to
15 be considered on a case-specific basis in order
16 to determine whether or not the Seasonal
17 Kendall test, when applied to a particular data
18 set, is influenced by outliers.
19 Q. And under certain scenarios you could have an
20 impact on the Seasonal Kendall test, could you
21 not?
22 A. If a high percentage of the data points are not
23 representative of the population that was
24 intended to be sampled, then the outcome of the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
352
1 Seasonal Kendall test may be influenced.
2 Q. We talked before in terms of numbers. You just
3 used the term "high percentage." Can you
4 quantify that percentage?
5 A. I can't put a particular quantification on it,
6 no.
7 Q. Dr. Walker, I'd like to have you turn to
8 Exhibit 1 to your deposition. This, as I
9 believe you have told us yesterday, is your
10 April 1989 resume. And you have brought a more
11 current version which we will have copied and
12 distributed to the parties.
13 Since we prepared this as an exhibit,
14 I'd like to proceed and ask you questions on
15 your April 1989 resume. If you see something
16 that you think has been changed in your more
17 recent one, let me know. Otherwise, we will
18 compare them with your more recent one. If
19 there have been changes, we'll certainly give
20 you any opportunity you want to explain those
21 changes.
22 Aside from using computers in your work,
23 do you pursue computers as a hobby?
24 A. No.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
353
1 Q. Do you have any hobbies that relate to science?
2 A. No.
3 Q. In your studies at MIT you pursued both a
4 Bachelor's and a Master's degree in chemical
5 engineering, correct?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Was this a particular program at MIT for both
8 degrees in chemical engineering?
9 A. That was an option that was offered during that
10 time period, correct.
11 Q. Can you explain to me the nature of this
12 program in chemical engineering? What
13 distinguished it from any other curriculum?
14 What were its special elements?
15 MR. HARRISON: Objection.
16 A. The chemical engineering program at MIT
17 provided a background in the disciplines that
18 were required for one to function as a chemical
19 engineer.
20 Q. Was there any special orientation in the
21 chemical engineering program? For example,
22 petroleum or plastics or --
23 A. No, not oriented toward a particular field of
24 manufacturing.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
354
1 Q. Any particular field of chemical engineering?
2 A. Well, various faculty members had various
3 emphases, but in the undergraduate curriculum
4 there was no overall focus or direction in
5 terms of a particular area of chemical
6 engineering. It was designed to provide a
7 broad background in the concepts that are
8 required for one to function as a chemical
9 engineer.
10 Q. In your personal curriculum did you emphasize
11 any aspect of chemical engineering over the
12 other?
13 A. In the undergraduate school at MIT there was
14 very little opportunity to focus on one aspect
15 of chemical engineering or another because
16 chemical engineering covers several
17 disciplines; much of the time is taken up in
18 course work involving the various disciplines.
19 Q. What are those disciplines?
20 A. Chemistry, mathematics, computing,
21 hydrodynamics, mass transfer, thermodynamics,
22 economics, physics, among others.
23 Q. Did you study statistics at MIT?
24 A. Statistics were involved in some of the course
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
355
1 work that I did as part of experimental --
2 course work on chemical engineering laboratory.
3 Q. Did you have any discreet statistics courses?
4 A. Excuse me?
5 Q. Did you have any discreet statistics courses?
6 A. When?
7 Q. At MIT.
8 (The witness gave no response.)
9 Q. Let me put it this way: How many hours of
10 statistics did you take at MIT?
11 A. I believe that I audited a course on
12 probability theory that was given in the
13 Electrical Engineering Department.
14 Q. Why did you audit it?
15 A. Because it was not a required course.
16 Q. By auditing, does that mean you didn't receive
17 a grade?
18 A. That's correct.
19 Q. Why did you take this nonrequired course?
20 A. Because I was interested in the concept of
21 probability, and I thought it was an area that
22 I might utilize at some point.
23 Q. And how many hours was this probability course?
24 A. What do you mean by "hours"?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
356
1 Q. Well, at MIT did they have a requirement that
2 you successfully complete so many hours of
3 study?
4 A. No. It wasn't expressed in those terms.
5 Q. How was it expressed at MIT?
6 A. It was in the Chemical Engineering Department
7 you had to complete a certain curriculum,
8 certain number of courses. It wasn't expressed
9 in terms of hours.
10 Q. How many hours per week would this probability
11 course have met?
12 A. Two or three.
13 Q. Any other statistics courses at MIT?
14 A. Not that I recall.
15 Q. When did you start your studies at MIT?
16 A. 1966.
17 Q. Did you proceed to college directly from
18 graduating high school?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. From 1966 through 1971 were you a full-time
21 student at MIT?
22 A. Yes.
23 Q. Were you employed at any time during that
24 period?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
357
1 A. On a part-time basis.
2 Q. What was the part-time employment?
3 A. I was employed by a professor in it was either
4 Physiology or Food Science, and I assisted him
5 in conducting his experiments.
6 Q. These were laboratory experiments?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Did you perform any work in the field,
9 scientific work in the field, while at MIT?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. What was the field work that you did then?
12 A. As part of my thesis work I conducted some
13 monitoring of water quality in the lower
14 Charles River.
15 Q. You personally conducted the monitoring?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. You collected samples from the river?
18 A. I made measurements in the river and collected
19 samples, as well.
20 Q. What did you measure and sample for?
21 A. Dissolved oxygen, temperature, biochemical
22 oxygen demand and possibly bacteria.
23 Q. How did you learn to conduct this monitoring?
24 A. This monitoring was conducted under an -- a
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
358
1 special interdisciplinary science program that
2 was developed at MIT around this time,
3 1970-1971, and it was under the guidance of
4 faculty in the Chemical Engineering Department
5 as well as in the Civil Engineering Department
6 at MIT.
7 Q. How did you learn to actually physically do the
8 monitoring?
9 A. I learned to do the monitoring by visiting I
10 believe it was the Environmental Protection
11 Agency laboratory at that time who were
12 equipped with the instrumentation for doing --
13 making these types of measurements; also, by
14 visiting the laboratory and talking with the
15 people who worked for the what was then the
16 Metropolitan District Commission. They had an
17 intensive monitoring program of this particular
18 water body in the Charles River Basin.
19 I learned by reading the various manuals
20 and so forth that are available to provide
21 guidance on monitoring techniques, use of a
22 dissolved oxygen meter, sample collection for
23 water quality guidance documents that were
24 available through the EPA.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
359
1 Q. So you taught yourself?
2 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
3 A. This was done under the guidance of faculty
4 members from the Civil Engineering Department,
5 the Chemical Engineering Department and
6 especially the Civil Engineering Department
7 included people who were in the water resources
8 area and were overseeing this work.
9 Q. They actually supervised you directly while you
10 did the field work?
11 A. They were not present when I was taking the
12 samples, but they overviewed the program and
13 the sampling design and so forth.
14 Q. So you prepared a sample design in advance of
15 commencing the actual monitoring in the field?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. And that sample design was submitted to someone
18 for review and approval?
19 A. I don't -- I don't recall exactly whether it
20 was officially submitted in written form, but
21 it would have been discussed in a seminar
22 format.
23 Q. Now, any field work while at MIT other than
24 this monitoring you did in conjunction with
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
360
1 your thesis?
2 A. Not that I recall.
3 Q. And the field work you did in conjunction with
4 your thesis, did you also do the actual
5 laboratory analyses of samples you collected?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Were you responsible for your own QA/QC?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. What standards for QA/QC did you employ in this
10 thesis work?
11 A. Well, we essentially had a -- an established
12 procedure recommended by the manufacturer for
13 calibrating and operating the dissolved oxygen
14 meter. We had a procedure for -- a dissolved
15 oxygen meter was used both in measurement in
16 the field, measuring dissolved oxygen
17 concentrations in the river, as well as in
18 monitoring the biochemical oxygen demand in
19 samples that were collected from the river and
20 taken back to the lab.
21 Q. Those were grab samples?
22 A. Taking grab samples, correct. And that's what
23 I recall.
24 Q. The pollution model which is the topic of your
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
361
1 thesis, did you model just the four parameters
2 that you monitored for?
3 A. The pollution model modeled dissolved oxygen
4 and biochemical oxygen demand.
5 Q. I'm sorry. The parameters that were modeled
6 again were?
7 A. Dissolved oxygen and biochemical oxygen demand.
8 Q. Did your model incorporate the temperature and
9 bacteria parameters in modeling the DO and BOD?
10 A. I believe the temperature was a factor in the
11 model. I don't believe that bacteria were
12 included in the model.
13 Q. Is there a reason why bacteria was not included
14 in the model?
15 A. It was not in the scope of what I thought was
16 feasible to do in the context of a Master's
17 degree.
18 Q. That would have been more Ph.D ambitions to get
19 into bacteria modeling?
20 A. It would have been a much more exhaustive
21 effort. I don't know if one would ever -- one
22 would actually want to do a Ph.D on the topic,
23 but it would have been a different type of
24 effort than I was willing to commit myself to.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
362
1 Q. Can you, please, describe for me this pollution
2 model that's the topic of your thesis?
3 A. The pollution model utilized data collected
4 primarily by the Metropolitan District
5 Commission from seven or more stations in the
6 Charles River to quantify loading of organic
7 materials entering the Charles River from
8 various subwatersheds in the Boston area.
9 Q. This was an empirical model?
10 A. This model was based upon the kinetic
11 formulations that had been developed in
12 sanitary engineering that describe the
13 relationship between organic material in the
14 water, rate of oxygen consumption and
15 reaeration, the various processes that can
16 influence the dissolved oxygen concentration.
17 Q. So would it be more accurate to call it a
18 process model?
19 A. It is a model that reflects the basic sanitary
20 engineering concept of modeling dissolved
21 oxygen in rivers.
22 Q. Could this model be used to predict the water
23 quality in the Charles River?
24 A. Yes.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
363
1 Q. Have you used or modified this model in any
2 subsequent projects or analyses?
3 A. Yes.
4 Q. On how many occasions have you used this model
5 subsequent to your thesis work?
6 A. You mean in how many separate projects?
7 Q. That would be a good one, yes. Actually, if
8 you could, you'll see that I have numbered your
9 publications and projects, if you could just go
10 through Exhibit 1 and tell us the numbers of
11 the publications that reflect instances when
12 you employed the Charles River model?
13 A. The two that I've identified are Items No. 8
14 and 9 on page 4.
15 Q. Do you believe those are the only two
16 publications in Exhibit 1 that reflect
17 subsequent applications of this model?
18 A. To my recollection, yes.
19 Q. Did you receive grades while a student at MIT?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. And what was the grade scale at MIT?
22 A. It was on a scale of zero to five, I believe.
23 Q. And what was your grade-point average as an
24 undergraduate?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
364
1 A. I don't remember.
2 Q. Do you remember what your class standing was?
3 A. I don't recall ever such -- such a standing
4 having been calculated.
5 Q. Do you know if you were in the upper half or
6 the lower half of your class?
7 A. I believe I would have been in the upper half.
8 Q. Do you know if you were in the top quarter of
9 your class?
10 A. Possibly the top quarter. I'm not certain.
11 Q. And in your Master's work did you receive
12 grades?
13 A. Grades were not assigned to the Master's
14 project, I don't believe. I don't recall.
15 Q. Did you have a supervising professor for your
16 Master's work?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And who was that person?
19 A. Robert Reid.
20 Q. Is he still at MIT?
21 A. I don't know.
22 Q. Do you know where he is?
23 A. No.
24 Q. After MIT it appears that you studied for one
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
365
1 year at University of California, Berkeley?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. I'm sorry. Before we move west, I forgot to
4 ask you a few things. At MIT did you study
5 biology?
6 A. I had one course in biochemistry at MIT and two
7 or three courses in organic chemistry.
8 Q. Any biological courses other than chemistry?
9 A. I took a course in -- it was given in the
10 Nutrition and Food Science Department that had
11 to do with -- it was a laboratory course in
12 which I did a project studying enzymes, enzyme
13 dynamics in laboratory animals.
14 Q. Does the study of food science include the
15 study of agriculture?
16 A. Not at MIT, no.
17 Q. While at MIT did you have any courses in
18 agriculture?
19 A. No.
20 Q. Any courses in ecology?
21 A. No.
22 Q. Courses in experimental design?
23 A. Experimental design was taught as part of the
24 chemistry and chemical engineering laboratory
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
366
1 courses that I took.
2 Q. Any courses in public management?
3 A. No.
4 Q. Any courses in law?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Okay. Now let's go to California.
7 Am I correct, you studied at California
8 for one year?
9 A. Correct.
10 Q. Can you, please, tell us what it is you did at
11 Berkeley during that year?
12 A. I took course work in chemical engineering and
13 microbiology and sanitary engineering.
14 Q. Can you tell me more specifically what course
15 work you did in microbiology?
16 A. I believe I had three or four courses on
17 fundamentals of microbiology, at least two of
18 which were laboratory courses.
19 Q. Did you do any field work relevant to water
20 quality issues while you were at Berkeley?
21 A. No.
22 Q. Could you tell me more specifically the types
23 of courses you took in sanitary engineering?
24 A. There was a course given for engineers or
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
367
1 sanitary engineers and the people from other
2 disciplines on basics, the basics of water
3 quality, some of the important issues in water
4 quality and some of the important ways of
5 solving water quality problems, both areas --
6 problems that were specific to California as
7 well as problems that were occurring in other
8 areas. I took a course on industrial
9 wastewater treatment, and I believe I either
10 took or I audited a course on ecological
11 aspects of water pollution.
12 Q. What do you mean by the "ecological aspects"?
13 A. It was a course that provided an overview of
14 the relationships between water quality as it
15 is -- as it exists in various types of water
16 bodies and its impacts on organisms and
17 communities.
18 Q. Why did you stay at Berkeley for only one year?
19 A. Because I had an opportunity to return to the
20 Boston area and to work with a professor at
21 Harvard on some particular problems that I was
22 interested in.
23 Q. Who was that particular professor at Harvard?
24 A. That was Dr. Joseph Harrington.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
368
1 Q. And what is his field of --
2 A. He is a sanitary engineer.
3 Q. What were the particular projects or issues of
4 interest that you wanted to work on with
5 Professor Harrington?
6 A. I wanted to work generally in the area of water
7 quality modeling.
8 Q. Professor Harrington was a water quality
9 modeler?
10 A. That was one of the areas that he was
11 interested in.
12 Q. When did you start your doctoral work at
13 Harvard?
14 A. I believe it was 1973 or 1974.
15 Q. Was it immediately after leaving Berkeley?
16 A. No.
17 Q. What did you do in between the time of your
18 studies at Berkeley and starting your studies
19 at Harvard?
20 A. I worked in a consulting firm in the Cambridge
21 area.
22 Q. And that consulting firm is what?
23 A. Process Research.
24 Q. What did you do there?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
369
1 A. I worked on problems -- projects involving
2 water quality in the Charles River and
3 elsewhere in the Boston area. I worked on lake
4 restoration problems in the Boston area. And I
5 worked on some -- I worked on a project having
6 to do with soil treatments, soil amendments
7 applied for agricultural purposes.
8 Q. Other than that project, have you been involved
9 in any other projects that were directly
10 related to agriculture?
11 A. In my entire career?
12 Q. In your entire career.
13 A. When I was employed by a firm called Meta
14 Systems, M-E-T-A, in Cambridge, Massachusetts,
15 between 1975 and 1980, I worked on a project
16 that was conducted for the US Environmental
17 Protection Agency having to do with the water
18 quality and economic impacts of agricultural
19 nonpoint source pollution.
20 Q. Is that the project that has the number 14 by
21 it on the second page of Exhibit 2?
22 A. Correct.
23 Q. Any other projects directly related to
24 agriculture?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
370
1 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, just for my
2 clarification, you referenced Item 14 on
3 page 2? Am I missing --
4 THE WITNESS: It's the other one.
5 That's Exhibit 2, Rick. She is referring to
6 Exhibit 2.
7 MR. HARRISON: Oh, I'm sorry. Okay.
8 I'm with you.
9 A. In the list of projects contained in Exhibit 2,
10 there are examples of river basins, rivers,
11 lakes or reservoirs or regional studies that I
12 have done that involve water quality problems
13 in a particular water body as related to
14 conditions in a particular watershed or set of
15 watersheds, and in several instances
16 agriculture is a factor; agriculture is one of
17 the land uses and one of the contributing
18 factors to water quality conditions.
19 Q. Can you, please, point me to one project that
20 exemplifies these types of basin-wide or
21 regional projects that you're referring to
22 here?
23 A. Project No. 18, which is the West River
24 watershed water supply study, this involved
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
371
1 looking at a watershed operated or owned by the
2 New Haven Water Company that contained a
3 mixture of land uses, including agriculture as
4 well as residential and forested areas.
5 The lake -- the next project, No. 19,
6 Lake Quinsigamond nationwide urban runoff
7 program, although the focus of that particular
8 study was on urban land uses, there were
9 segments of the watershed that were in
10 agricultural land use.
11 Project No. 20, the Lower Winooski River
12 wasteload allocation study, although that study
13 focused on point sources in the -- point source
14 impacts in the Winooski River in Vermont --
15 MR. HARRISON: Dr. Walker, if I'm not
16 mistaken, the question was point to one that
17 exemplifies --
18 Q. Why don't we finish your third example just
19 so --
20 A. I'm finished.
21 Q. Okay. In those three instances what kind of
22 agriculture was being conducted in the study
23 areas?
24 MR. HARRISON: In all three, Counsel?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
372
1 MS. AHEARN: In each of the three. If
2 they're all the same, then --
3 A. I don't recall exactly what type of
4 agriculture. There would have been possibly --
5 I don't really recall.
6 Q. Did any of them involve sugar cane?
7 A. No.
8 Q. Do you recall on what kinds of soils these
9 agricultural practices were conducted?
10 A. Ranging -- a wide range of soil types, from
11 organic soils to sandy soils to clay soils.
12 Q. Were any of them conducted on organic soils
13 comparable to the soils of South Florida?
14 A. Not to my knowledge.
15 Q. Was any of this agriculture conducted in a
16 climate comparable to the climate of South
17 Florida?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Have you worked on projects involving
20 agriculture on soils comparable to those in
21 South Florida?
22 MR. HARRISON: I object. Foundation.
23 A. South Florida contains a wide range of soil
24 types, including sandy as well as peat soils.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
373
1 Some of these agricultural projects would also
2 have involved sandy soils.
3 Q. Are you familiar with the soil types in the
4 Everglades Agricultural Area?
5 MR. HARRISON: Objection to form,
6 definition of the word "familiar."
7 A. Generally I'm familiar with the soils found in
8 the Everglades Agricultural Area.
9 Q. And what kinds of soils are those?
10 A. Those are peat soils in general.
11 Q. Have you been involved in projects concerning
12 agriculture conducted on peat soils comparable
13 to the soils of the EAA?
14 A. No, I have not.
15 Q. Have you been involved in any projects
16 concerning agriculture conducted in a climate
17 comparable to the climate of the EAA?
18 A. I have been involved in projects involving
19 agriculture that are in areas further south and
20 outside of New England in the Washington, DC,
21 area, in the Baltimore area. But I have not
22 been involved in areas in agricultural projects
23 within the South Florida Everglades
24 Agricultural Area.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
374
1 Q. Just so I'm clear, are there any projects you
2 have been involved in that concerned
3 agriculture in a climate which you would
4 consider comparable to the climate of the EAA?
5 A. My work has encompassed areas and projects
6 involving agriculture in southern climates but
7 none that are identical to the EAA regime.
8 Q. Any that are comparable in your mind to EAA's
9 regime?
10 A. What do you mean by "comparable"?
11 Q. Comparable such that you would feel comfortable
12 taking your experience in these other areas
13 where you have done work and applying that
14 experience in the setting of South Florida.
15 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
16 Comfort in what realm? I don't understand.
17 A. The type of analysis that I do and the type of
18 expertise that I bring to these water quality
19 problems in terms of statistical analysis and
20 interpretation of data is not a regional
21 phenomenon.
22 Q. So you're saying that applying your expertise
23 in South Florida is not impacted by the degree
24 of experience you have had in looking at the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
375
1 agriculture and the ecology of South Florida?
2 A. I'm saying that conducting an analysis of a
3 data set for trend collected at a particular
4 location, whether it's in South Florida or
5 whether it's in Northern Minnesota, the
6 procedures and the conduct of that study trend
7 analysis is not something that is regional.
8 Q. Is the conduct of that study identical in
9 Minnesota and in South Florida?
10 A. The procedure of conducting a statistical
11 analysis for trends would be identical.
12 Q. So the things that you do, you do it the same
13 way whether it's a Minnesota setting or a South
14 Florida setting?
15 MR. HARRISON: Objection to things he
16 has done thus far. You stated the things that
17 he does generally. I don't think that's been
18 defined.
19 A. When I perform a trend analysis, a statistical
20 analysis of a set of data, I would not use
21 procedures that would be tailored to South
22 Florida.
23 Q. In other words, you would use procedures that
24 could be used in Minnesota just as readily as
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
376
1 in South Florida, correct?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. Let's go back to Harvard. Did you have course
4 work as part of your Ph.D program at Harvard?
5 A. Yes.
6 Q. Can you tell us the courses that you took?
7 MR. HARRISON: All the courses, Counsel,
8 or any particular field?
9 Q. How many courses did you take at Harvard?
10 A. I don't recall how many courses I took at
11 Harvard.
12 Q. Can you tell us those that are of relevance to
13 water quality issues?
14 MR. HARRISON: I object to form. The
15 relevance should be defined either by yourself,
16 Counsel, or by the witness so that the record
17 is clear as to what is meant.
18 Q. Dr. Walker, how about course work which you
19 deemed to be scientifically relevant to water
20 quality issues?
21 A. There were two advanced courses in statistics
22 and hydrology and operations research that were
23 given in the environmental engineering program
24 that I took. There was a course on sanitary
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
377
1 engineering case studies and data analysis that
2 I took. And there was a course given in the
3 Statistics Department on exploratory data
4 analysis that I believe I audited or I took for
5 credit. I don't recall. I can't recall any
6 other courses. I might have taken additional
7 ones.
8 Q. Did you take any courses in biology?
9 A. No.
10 Q. Any courses in ecology?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Any courses in public management?
13 A. The core courses given in the Environmental
14 Engineering Department on operations research I
15 believe got into aspects of the decision theory
16 that would be relevant to decision making in a
17 public context. I did not take any explicit
18 courses in public management.
19 Q. Any courses in law?
20 A. No.
21 Q. Was Professor Harrington your supervising
22 professor in your --
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. In working on your Ph.D thesis, did you develop
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
378
1 new analytical methods to be applied to lake
2 water quality problems?
3 A. What do you mean by "new"?
4 Q. As opposed to preexisting methods.
5 A. Well, a prerequisite of a Ph.D thesis is that
6 it is an original piece of work, and there were
7 some original ideas developed in the thesis.
8 Q. So in the title when you talk about some
9 analytical methods, some of those methods are
10 new ones which you had created?
11 A. They are ones that I had taken from the
12 literature and adapted or modified somehow to
13 address a certain problem --
14 Q. Any method --
15 A. -- or topic.
16 Q. Excuse me. Any method which would have been
17 entirely a new creation of yours?
18 A. There were models that were essentially
19 equations and relationships that were new
20 creations of mine, and there was also -- there
21 was computer software that incorporated some
22 ideas that were my own.
23 Q. Have you used that new model subsequently in
24 projects that you have been involved in?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
379
1 A. I've used some of the concepts and some of the
2 approaches that I developed in my Ph.D thesis,
3 but I have not used the models themselves.
4 Q. How about the computer software? Have you used
5 that subsequently in projects?
6 A. A portion of the computer software I have used
7 subsequently.
8 Q. Would that computer software be of any use in
9 addressing the issues in the South Florida
10 litigation?
11 A. Potentially.
12 Q. Have you considered using it in this matter?
13 A. Not up to this point.
14 Q. Have you produced this software in connection
15 with this deposition?
16 A. No.
17 Q. Does this software have a name?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Can I call it the "Walker software" for short?
20 A. Call it what you wish.
21 Q. Of what potential use would this software be in
22 looking at the issues in the South Florida
23 litigation?
24 A. It could be useful for empirically estimating
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
380
1 parameters in water quality models.
2 Q. Is this something you might use in modeling
3 inputs and outputs to the Water Conservation
4 Areas?
5 MR. HARRISON: I object to form. You
6 mean him personally now, not generically, that
7 a person might use? You mean Dr. Walker might
8 use?
9 MS. AHEARN: How about someone who is as
10 capable as Dr. Walker --
11 MR. HARRISON: As long as we know which
12 you're talking about, I think it's relevant to
13 what's coming.
14 Q. I recognize I can't use it, Dr. Walker.
15 MR. HARRISON: No, I realize that. But
16 whether you're asking whether Dr. Walker
17 himself intends to use that for purposes of
18 this litigation or whether there is something
19 that someone else such as one of your experts
20 could potentially use.
21 MS. AHEARN: I'm asking him about
22 potential appropriate uses by a scientist.
23 MR. HARRISON: Okay. And not
24 specifically whether he intends to use it.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
381
1 That's what I wanted to establish.
2 MS. AHEARN: He told me he hadn't really
3 considered that yet. So --
4 A. A scientist might use this software or similar
5 software and apply it to the South Florida
6 problem.
7 Q. Is this software generally available?
8 A. The software that I authored personally?
9 Q. Yes.
10 A. No.
11 Q. So if we would like to see a copy, I'll have to
12 request the Department of Justice attorneys to
13 acquire it from you?
14 A. You could ask.
15 Q. Is there any other way I can get it? There's
16 no catalog I can go to, correct? If I want a
17 copy of the software, you will have to provide
18 a copy; is that correct?
19 A. I'm not absolutely sure that I can provide you
20 with a copy of it.
21 Q. Why do you think you might not be able to
22 provide a copy?
23 A. Because I'm not sure if I -- I'm not sure that
24 I have a copy of it in a transferable form.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
382
1 Q. You do have a copy in some form, correct?
2 A. I'm not even sure of that.
3 Q. You're not sure you have your software any
4 longer?
5 A. I have a tape that was created as part of my
6 thesis work, and my -- my uncertainty revolves
7 around whether that tape is still readable and
8 accessible because it is a fairly old computer
9 tape.
10 MS. AHEARN: The District will reserve
11 the right to request his computer tape. I'm
12 not going to sit here right now and just assume
13 I need it, but I will reserve the right to
14 request the tape, recognizing the caveat that
15 Dr. Walker can't currently attest to its
16 condition or readability.
17 MR. HARRISON: Unless you're willing to
18 give us grounds as to why you think it was --
19 it could be sitting in his office right now,
20 and I see no grounds under the court order as
21 to why the United States would be obligated to
22 provide it under the scope of expert witness
23 documents production. If you believe you are
24 and you wish to articulate it, I will have
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
383
1 Dr. Walker look for it. I fail to see why the
2 United States would be obligated to produce it.
3 Q. Dr. Walker, you talked about using the concepts
4 and approaches in the model you developed in
5 conjunction with your doctoral work in other
6 projects, correct?
7 A. Correct.
8 Q. And those concepts and methods are reflected in
9 the computer software which you also created as
10 part of your thesis work?
11 A. Partially, yes.
12 Q. And you carry these concepts around in your
13 mind; I'm sure you build on them as you acquire
14 greater expertise and understanding of the
15 water quality issues that you investigate in
16 the model?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Am I correct, is this a cumulative expertise
19 which you now are bringing to bear on the water
20 quality issues in South Florida?
21 A. That's what I bring to any project that I work
22 on, that's correct.
23 MR. HARRISON: Counsellor, he also
24 brings the knowledge he learned from the First
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
384
1 Grade Reader, Dick and Mary's primer. That
2 doesn't mean that it's relevant to this
3 particular job assignment nor the opinions or
4 conclusions that Dr. Walker --
5 MS. AHEARN: You're right. First grade
6 primers aren't relevant, but modeling water
7 quality effects are. Thank you.
8 (Off the record)
9 Q. Have you referred to this software in any of
10 your publications or documents?
11 A. Pertaining to the South Florida case?
12 Q. No. In any publication have you explicitly
13 referred to the software?
14 A. I referred to it in my Ph.D thesis. I may have
15 referred to the technique in some of my
16 publications, but I don't think that I have
17 referred to the specific program that was
18 created in my thesis elsewhere.
19 Q. But the techniques are incorporated in that
20 software?
21 A. Correct.
22 Q. Have you published your doctoral thesis in
23 whole or in part in any refereed journals?
24 A. It was 740 pages long. It's not published --
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
385
1 it's available through university microfilms
2 but has not been published in journals, no.
3 Q. Have you submitted your thesis in whole or in
4 part for publication in any refereed journals?
5 A. Portions of the ideas that are contained in my
6 Ph.D thesis are contained in subsequent
7 publications that have been published in
8 refereed journals.
9 Q. Those subsequent publications would incorporate
10 ideas or parts of your thesis but other text --
11 A. Right.
12 Q. On how many occasions have you submitted
13 materials for publication in refereed journals?
14 A. I don't recall.
15 Q. Can you give me a rough approximation?
16 A. Perhaps 10 to 20 occasions.
17 Q. On how many occasions have the materials you
18 have submitted not subsequently been published
19 by the journal to whom you made the submission?
20 A. None to my recollection.
21 Q. Would every instance when you have been
22 published in a refereed journal appear in the
23 publication list appended to your resume?
24 A. I believe so.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
386
1 Q. Under professional affiliations on the front
2 page of Exhibit 1 you note the editorial board
3 of the North American Lake Management Society?
4 A. Correct.
5 Q. When were you on that editorial board?
6 A. I believe it was -- I don't recall the dates.
7 It was a couple of years ago, '88, '89. I'm
8 still active in reviewing articles for that
9 society, although the structure of the
10 editorial process has changed. They no longer
11 have a formal editorial board. I am still
12 active in reviewing articles for that society.
13 Q. Were you on the editorial board for a
14 particular publication?
15 A. For the Lake and Reservoir Management Journal.
16 Q. Is that a refereed journal?
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. And could you describe for me what procedures
19 the association uses in structuring that as a
20 refereed journal?
21 A. All the articles are submitted to a chief
22 editor. I believe the editor would then
23 delegate one of his associate editors to track
24 a particular article. The associate editor
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
387
1 would distribute copies of that article to
2 perhaps three -- I don't recall -- I don't know
3 for sure the exact number -- of professional
4 people in the field who that associate editor
5 felt was or were qualified to review that
6 article.
7 The review would be conducted by those
8 reviewers. Comments would be compiled by the
9 associate editor, and decisions would be made
10 regarding possible rejection of the manuscript,
11 resubmission of the manuscript in revised form,
12 or acceptance of the manuscript depending upon
13 the quality of the article in the opinion of
14 the reviewers.
15 Q. And you are still a reviewer, correct?
16 A. Yes.
17 Q. Is this a blind review process where the author
18 is not informed of the identity of the
19 reviewers?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. What group or entity publishes Water Resources
22 Journal?
23 A. Excuse me? Which journal?
24 Q. Water Resources Bulletin.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
388
1 A. That's published by the American Water
2 Resources Association.
3 Q. You are currently a member of that association?
4 A. That's correct.
5 Q. For how long have you been a member?
6 A. I don't recall. Ten or fifteen years perhaps.
7 Q. Now, am I correct, you have submitted the
8 document that we have marked as Exhibit 12 to
9 your deposition for publication in the Water
10 Resources Bulletin?
11 A. That's correct.
12 Q. Did the Department of Justice attorneys tell
13 you to make that submission?
14 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Attorney/
15 client if the Department of Justice attorneys
16 I'm not saying did or didn't but would go into
17 attorney/client relations. Our only relation
18 with Dr. Walker has been as a result of this
19 litigation, Counsel.
20 MS. AHEARN: You're telling me that
21 submitting materials for external publication
22 in refereed journals is an attorney/client --
23 MR. HARRISON: It's certainly no less an
24 attorney/client than submitting peer review of
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
389
1 Dr. Black's science, of Nancy Urban's work to
2 Jerry Jackson.
3 Q. Dr. Walker, who came up with the idea of
4 submitting this draft to Water Resources
5 Bulletin?
6 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Attorney/
7 client privilege. Don't answer the question.
8 Q. Who came up with the idea?
9 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, you can try to
10 back into it if you wish, but it's still
11 attorney/client. Who came up with the idea of
12 reviewing Dr. Nancy Urban's work? We have been
13 shut out of that area.
14 I think that if in fact the Department
15 of Justice did or did not suggest this would be
16 a matter of attorney/client just as much as
17 what you're holding back.
18 Q. Dr. Walker, did you independently come up with
19 the idea of submitting this draft Exhibit 12 to
20 Water Resources Bulletin?
21 MR. HARRISON: You may answer that
22 question.
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Did you clear that decision with the Department
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
390
1 of Justice before you submitted the article?
2 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Attorney/
3 client privilege. Beyond the scope of anything
4 potentially relevant to this case, as well.
5 Q. Why did you submit the article to Water
6 Resources Bulletin?
7 MR. HARRISON: You may answer, Doctor,
8 if it doesn't get into any mental impressions
9 of the attorneys regarding litigation in this
10 case.
11 A. Because it was a piece of work that I felt
12 ought to be shared with the scientific
13 community.
14 Q. And is that the only reason you submitted it to
15 Water Resources Bulletin?
16 MR. HARRISON: Asked and answered.
17 A. Yes.
18 Q. Is Water Resources Bulletin a refereed journal
19 in the same sense that the Lake and Reservoir
20 Management Journal is refereed?
21 A. It's a refereed journal. I'm not sure of the
22 precise procedures that they use, but it is a
23 refereed journal.
24 Q. So you don't know if they use the blind review
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
391
1 process that you described for me with regard
2 to Lake and Reservoir Management?
3 A. It is a blind review process.
4 Q. Do you know the current status of your draft
5 Exhibit 12 as submitted to AWRA?
6 A. It's under review.
7 Q. How many reviewers?
8 A. I do not know.
9 Q. And you do not know their identities, also?
10 A. I do not know.
11 Q. Do you know how long the review process will
12 take?
13 A. In my experience, the review process could vary
14 anywhere from three months to a year.
15 Q. If it takes three months, then it should be
16 concluded approximately now, three months after
17 the time it was submitted?
18 A. That would be highly unusual. At the inside,
19 that would be the shortest amount of time.
20 Q. Do you have an expectation as to how long the
21 review process of Exhibit 12 will take?
22 A. I really can't speculate. I told you that it
23 could take anywhere from three months to a
24 year, and I have no idea.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
392
1 Q. Do you anticipate that it will be accepted for
2 publication as it currently stands?
3 A. I have no anticipation about what the reviewers
4 will or will not ask me to do in terms of
5 modifying it or whether it will be accepted.
6 Q. Or rejected?
7 A. Or rejected.
8 Q. I apologize. I have not yet had an opportunity
9 to carefully compare your Exhibit 12 with your
10 final report, Exhibit 17. Can you tell me, are
11 the two documents significantly different?
12 MR. HARRISON: Object to form. The
13 documents speak for themselves. And there's no
14 way to know what you mean by the word
15 "significant."
16 MS. AHEARN: Right. But I'd like to
17 avoid having to go through them page by page
18 with Dr. Walker right here if he can give me
19 some guidance on whether the documents are
20 basically similar or are different.
21 MR. HARRISON: I would, too, Counsel.
22 But, I mean, I think that it's up to you to
23 review them. If you want him to go through
24 them page by page, that's certainly up to you.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
393
1 But I'm not going to let him answer a question
2 I think is improper under the law --
3 MS. AHEARN: Improper --
4 MR. HARRISON: -- the form of that
5 question, unless you're willing to define
6 "significant" and in what areas of
7 differences. A question like that is
8 unintelligible and provides no useful
9 information.
10 Q. Dr. Walker, in your estimation are Exhibit 12
11 and Exhibit 17 significantly different?
12 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
13 A. I did not perform any additional statistical
14 analyses in preparing this Exhibit 12 beyond
15 what I performed for preparing Exhibit 17.
16 Q. Are there significant differences in the text?
17 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
18 A. What do you mean by "significant"?
19 Q. Differences that you deem to be significant.
20 A. Significant in what regard?
21 Q. In regard to reflecting a significant change.
22 You had one document, correct? And now you
23 have a second document, Exhibit 12. Are there
24 things that are different between the two
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
394
1 versions that you would identify as being
2 significantly different?
3 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
4 A. I still don't understand what you mean by
5 "significant."
6 Q. Are there changes in Exhibit 12 other than just
7 rewording, rephrasing, semantic changes?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. Are there new concepts raised in Exhibit 12?
10 MR. HARRISON: I object to form.
11 A. I stated before that there were no additional
12 statistical analyses that were conducted to
13 prepare Exhibit 12 as compared with Exhibit 17.
14 Q. Okay. I'll put it on my list of things to
15 read.
16 MS. AHEARN: Why don't we take a ten-
17 minute break.
18 MR. HARRISON: Okay.
19 (Short recess)
20
21 BY MS. AHEARN:
22 Q. Dr. Walker, one last question about Exhibit 12
23 versus Exhibit 17.
24 Is there anything you dropped from
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
395
1 Exhibit 17, did not include in Exhibit 12,
2 before submitting this for peer review?
3 MR. HARRISON: Just so I'm clear,
4 Counsel, something that would be in 17 that's
5 not in 12 or vice versa?
6 Q. Is there anything in Exhibit 17 which you did
7 not include in Exhibit 12?
8 MR. HARRISON: Object to form.
9 A. I'm sorry. I just sat down. If you would
10 repeat that question one more time, I think I
11 can answer it.
12 Q. Is there anything in Exhibit 17 which you did
13 not include in Exhibit 12?
14 A. Yes.
15 Q. What is that?
16 A. In the interests of trying to conform to the
17 journal's page requirements, I believe I
18 dropped the section on nutrient transport.
19 Q. And your sole reason was a page limitation
20 established by the Water Resources Bulletin?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. So you don't think that dropping the discussion
23 of nutrient transport impacts the scientific
24 weight of the remainder of the paper?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
396
1 MR. HARRISON: Object to form.
2 A. If it were not for the page limitation, I would
3 have included the entire report.
4 Q. Is the nutrient transport portion as important
5 as the other parts of the report?
6 MR. HARRISON: Object to form.
7 A. I think it's equally as important from the
8 point of view of Exhibit No. 17, yes.
9 Q. Did you ask for any guidance on what portions
10 of your Exhibit 17 you should drop?
11 MR. HARRISON: Object to form. Guidance
12 from whom?
13 MS. AHEARN: Did he ask for guidance
14 first? And then I'll ask him from whom.
15 A. I did not ask anyone for guidance regarding
16 which section to drop.
17 Q. How did you decide it would be the nutrient
18 transport section that would be dropped?
19 A. Well, in the interests of shortening the
20 article and in reading Exhibit No. 17, I felt
21 that the section on nutrient transport was the
22 one that was easiest to remove from the report
23 without compromising the cohesiveness of the
24 entire paper.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
397
1 Q. So it was an editorial decision?
2 A. I gave you my reasons.
3 Q. Do those reasons constitute editorial
4 decisions?
5 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Asked and
6 answered. It doesn't have to be in your words,
7 Counsel.
8 Q. I'm not sure I understand your answer. Is it
9 editing or is it something else?
10 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Asked and
11 answered.
12 Q. Is it a scientific decision as opposed to an
13 editorial decision?
14 A. I gave you my answer. You can characterize it
15 however you wish.
16 Q. The nutrient transport analysis, was that
17 within your original format for conducting the
18 analysis of water quality inflows into the
19 Park?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Is that something you intended to do from the
22 very beginning of that project?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Do you have any teaching experience?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
398
1 A. When I was at MIT in conjunction with the work
2 that I did on my Master's thesis, I taught a
3 seminar, a small seminar.
4 Q. And what was that seminar on?
5 A. It was on essentially water quality in the
6 Charles River, water quality issues.
7 Q. You taught what level of students?
8 A. Undergraduate students.
9 Q. How many?
10 A. Oh, perhaps four, five.
11 Q. Was this basically a seminar that reviewed the
12 work you were doing on your Master's thesis?
13 A. Well, I discussed with them some of the ongoing
14 work that I was doing for my Master's thesis,
15 plus each student had his or her own project.
16 Q. I see. And you were an adviser on their
17 projects?
18 A. Correct.
19 Q. I'm sorry. I need to back you up to Exhibit 12
20 one more time. Could you turn to page 7?
21 There's a reference at the end of the
22 middle paragraph there to Walker 1990.
23 A. Correct.
24 Q. To what does that refer?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
399
1 A. It would have -- it would refer to the report
2 which I submitted to the Justice Department --
3 in other words, Exhibit No. 17.
4 Q. Is it just an accidental omission that that's
5 not found in the reference?
6 A. That appears to be the case. This is the first
7 time I've noticed it. It's omitted from the
8 list of references in Exhibit 12.
9 Q. Have you received any request from AWRA to
10 identify or provide a copy of Walker 1990?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Are you acquainted with a David Moon?
13 A. No.
14 Q. Prior to commencing work on the South Florida
15 litigation, had you done any previous work for
16 the Department of Justice?
17 A. No.
18 Q. Were you acquainted with Steve Herman, Geoff
19 Garver or the other Department of Justice
20 attorneys you have been dealing with on the
21 South Florida case?
22 A. No.
23 Q. Prior to beginning work on the South Florida
24 case, were you acquainted with any personnel at
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
400
1 Everglades National Park?
2 A. No.
3 Q. Personnel at the Loxahatchee Refuge?
4 A. No.
5 Q. Personnel at the South Florida Water Management
6 District?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. Who at the South Florida Water Management
9 District were you acquainted with?
10 A. David Soballe. I believe I've met Fred Davis.
11 I believe I had had correspondence with a
12 Forrest Dierberg. I don't know if I have that
13 name correct. That's all that I recall.
14 Q. And how are you acquainted with Dave Soballe?
15 A. We attended a workshop given by the National
16 Science Foundation in the spring of 1989 in
17 Tennessee or -- Tennessee or Kentucky on the
18 subject of reservoir limnology. I met him on
19 that occasion.
20 Q. Were you working for the Department of Justice
21 at that time?
22 A. I may have been.
23 Q. Did you discuss with Mr. Soballe the South
24 Florida litigation?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
401
1 A. I don't recall.
2 Q. Did you obtain from Mr. Soballe any information
3 which you have used or anticipate you will use
4 or rely upon in the work you do on the South
5 Florida matter?
6 A. No.
7 Q. Have you had any contact with Mr. Soballe
8 subsequent to this NSF conference or workshop?
9 A. I met him at the annual conference of the North
10 American Lake Management Society which was held
11 in November of 1990.
12 Q. On that occasion did you discuss the South
13 Florida litigation?
14 A. No.
15 Q. Did you discuss water quality issues in South
16 Florida?
17 A. No.
18 Q. To your knowledge, was Mr. Soballe aware that
19 you were a consultant to the Department of
20 Justice on the lawsuit brought against the
21 South Florida Water Management District?
22 A. I believe that he was aware that he was
23 involved with the ONRW discussions. Beyond
24 that, I don't know.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
402
1 Q. I'm sorry. Are you done with your answer?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Okay. How do you know Fred Davis?
4 A. I believe I met him at a conference -- again,
5 a North American Lake Management Society
6 conference that was held in either 1987 -- I
7 believe it was 1987 in Orlando.
8 Q. Any subsequent contact with Fred Davis?
9 A. No.
10 Q. You have potentially some correspondence with a
11 Forrest Dierberg. Do you recall the
12 approximate date of that?
13 A. That was approximately 1986 or 1987.
14 Q. What was the topic of that correspondence?
15 A. I believe that he wrote to me and asked for
16 copies of some of my publications.
17 Q. And you supplied those?
18 A. Yes, I did.
19 Q. Any further contact with --
20 A. No.
21 Q. Dr. Walker, in Exhibit 1, page 3 under your
22 employment experience --
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. -- is this accurate where it suggests that you
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
403
1 commenced employment with Meta Systems in 1975
2 and continued employment with Process Research
3 through or into 1976?
4 A. That's correct. There was a period of overlap
5 when I was working for both firms while I was
6 attending graduate school.
7 Q. While you were attending graduate school, were
8 you also working full time?
9 A. No.
10 Q. How many hours per week on the average were you
11 working?
12 A. It varied from one year to another.
13 Q. From no work at all to full time, the whole
14 range?
15 A. I don't believe I was ever working full time
16 while I was in graduate school. There was a
17 period when I was working part time, and then
18 there was a period when I was full time in
19 graduate school and not working at all.
20 Q. After completing graduate school, did you
21 commence full-time work?
22 A. Not immediately.
23 Q. What did you do after graduate school?
24 A. I believe I worked as an independent consultant
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
404
1 for a brief period, and then I went to work
2 full time at Meta Systems in Cambridge.
3 Q. When did your full-time employment start?
4 A. Approximately in the fall of 1978.
5 Q. Have you been working on a full-time basis
6 continually since the fall of 1978 through the
7 present time?
8 A. Working for whom?
9 Q. Just employed on what you would consider a
10 full-time basis. I recognize that you no
11 longer work for Meta Systems. But --
12 A. I have been either employed or self-employed on
13 a full-time basis since 1978.
14 Q. The client list that is found on page 2 and the
15 top two-thirds of page 3 of Exhibit 1, are
16 these all clients with whom you have worked on
17 a self-employed basis?
18 A. These are all clients which I would either have
19 had a direct project or contract with or had
20 been working as a subconsultant in conjunction
21 with another firm doing work for these
22 particular clients.
23 Q. And that's as opposed to being an employee of a
24 firm who would have been servicing a particular
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
405
1 client?
2 A. To the best of my recollection, that's correct.
3 Q. Would it be fair to characterize your
4 occupation as a professional consultant?
5 A. I'm a self-employed environmental engineer.
6 Q. And that is your business?
7 A. Correct.
8 Q. Do you operate your business through any type
9 of corporate form?
10 A. No.
11 Q. Are there any employees of your business?
12 A. Other than myself, no.
13 Q. Are there any associates who do work with or
14 for you as part of the --
15 A. On occasion I have hired other subconsultants
16 or associates to work on particular projects.
17 Q. Have you used any associates or subconsultants
18 in any work you have performed or that you
19 anticipate performing for the Department of
20 Justice?
21 A. No.
22 Q. What is an engineer in training?
23 A. That is a designation given to a person who has
24 passed the written examination for -- the first
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
406
1 written examination for a professional
2 engineering license in Massachusetts.
3 Q. How many written examinations are there?
4 A. I believe there are two.
5 Q. When did you take the first exam?
6 A. It was in the early 1970s. I don't recall
7 exactly.
8 Q. Have you sat for the second exam?
9 A. No, I haven't.
10 Q. Do you anticipate doing so?
11 A. Not at this time, no.
12 Q. Must you successfully complete that second exam
13 to be a fully licensed engineer in
14 Massachusetts?
15 A. In order to receive an engineering license to
16 perform certain types of engineering, I would
17 have to pass the second examination.
18 Q. Can you remain an engineer in training
19 indefinitely?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. Have you sat for licensing exams in any other
22 jurisdiction?
23 A. No.
24 Q. Do you intend to do so?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
407
1 A. Not at this time.
2 Q. The course work you did at Harvard, was that
3 graded?
4 A. I don't recall.
5 Q. So you wouldn't recall your GPA?
6 A. No, I wouldn't.
7 Q. Do you know if there was a class rank that you
8 obtained at Harvard?
9 A. I doubt seriously whether there was any
10 ranking, but there may have been.
11 Q. Was there any type of honors program in the
12 Ph.D program at Harvard?
13 A. Within the Engineering Department, I don't
14 recall any honors designation, any special
15 recognition program.
16 Q. Where is Joseph Harrington at the present time?
17 A. I believe he is on the faculty at Harvard
18 either in the Environmental Engineering
19 Department or in the School of Public Health or
20 both.
21 Q. When was your last contact with Professor
22 Harrington?
23 A. Approximately three or four years ago.
24 Q. Prior to the commencement of work in South
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
408
1 Florida?
2 A. Correct.
3 Q. While you were employed at Meta Systems, were
4 you involved in any work concerning
5 agricultural best management practices?
6 A. Yes.
7 Q. Is that work reflected in entries on either
8 Exhibit 1 with your publication list or
9 Exhibit 2, your project summaries?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. I think it would be easiest if maybe you gave
12 me the project number on --
13 A. On which exhibit are you referring to now?
14 Q. Exhibit 2.
15 A. It would be Project No. 14.
16 Q. Did that project generate documentation for
17 EPA?
18 A. Yes.
19 Q. And can you identify -- is that documentation
20 reflected in Exhibit 1?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Can you identify that for me?
23 A. It would be Publication No. 28 on page 6.
24 Q. And that publication references a number which
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
409
1 references an EPA contract; is that correct?
2 A. That's an EPA document number.
3 Q. Was this work by Meta Systems done pursuant to
4 a contract with EPA?
5 A. A contract between Meta Systems and EPA.
6 Q. Was all of the work provided for under that
7 contract actually completed by Meta Systems?
8 A. There may have been some subconsultants. I
9 don't recall.
10 Q. Was all of the work provided for under that
11 contract completed?
12 A. As reflected in Document No. 28, yes.
13 Q. Was there work that's not reflected in Document
14 No. 28 that was provided for under that
15 contract?
16 A. To my recollection, it was only one report that
17 was prepared for the client.
18 Q. Did the client accept that report?
19 A. Yes.
20 Q. Do you know if at this time the client still
21 accepts that report?
22 A. The report was accepted by the EPA and
23 published under their document series. I don't
24 know what other status it would have.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
410
1 Q. Was that Document 28 subjected to any type of
2 peer review?
3 A. I don't recall. It would have been subject to
4 review by the agency, by the Environmental
5 Protection Agency, but I don't recall whether
6 any other review was conducted.
7 Q. That is a rather large document, isn't it?
8 A. Relative to what?
9 Q. Is that document over ten pages?
10 A. Yes.
11 Q. Did you actually author portions or all of the
12 document?
13 A. Yes.
14 Q. Can you tell me, are you responsible for more
15 or less than half of the production of that?
16 A. Less than half.
17 Q. Can you tell me approximately what proportion
18 of that document you --
19 A. I don't recall the number of pages that I
20 authored exactly, but it was less than half.
21 Q. Well, we I believe off the record discussed a
22 request that you bring that document tomorrow.
23 If it may help, I would like you to identify
24 the portions of the document that you authored
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
411
1 or contributed to. Thank you.
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Dr. Walker, do you have any scientific
4 documents currently in draft form which are not
5 reflected on your publication list?
6 A. What do you mean by "scientific documents"?
7 Q. Do you have any documents which relate to water
8 quality in draft --
9 A. What do you mean by "documents"?
10 Q. Do you have any draft reports, books,
11 submissions to journals, things that you have
12 authored or are working on?
13 A. Which publication list are you referring to
14 now?
15 Q. The publication list that's found within
16 Exhibit 1.
17 A. Well, Exhibit 1 is a copy of my publication
18 list which was created in 1989, and this
19 morning I supplied a more recent version of my
20 publication list that contains additional
21 reports.
22 Q. Do you have any materials currently in draft
23 which do not appear on the publication list
24 which you brought this morning?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
412
1 A. I would need to review that list.
2 Q. We'll do that after we have an opportunity to
3 provide copies to everyone.
4 On how many occasions have you worked
5 with or for Environ on a project?
6 A. Approximately five.
7 Q. You're not sure it's exactly five; there may be
8 more?
9 A. Possibly. Five or six.
10 Q. To the best of your knowledge, are all prior
11 occasions where you've worked with or for
12 Environ reflected in your project summaries,
13 Exhibit 2?
14 A. Yes. The only project that is not reflected in
15 this version of my project summaries is the
16 current project involving South Florida, to my
17 knowledge.
18 Q. Your publications and projects make references
19 to the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Would you,
20 please, describe that project for me?
21 A. In the late 1970s Meta Systems in Cambridge was
22 hired by the Army Corps of Engineers,
23 Jacksonville district, to essentially manage
24 the environmental impact statement for the
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
413
1 proposed South Florida Barge Canal.
2 Q. Was that barge canal then in existence?
3 A. I believe that portions of it were.
4 Q. What was the federal action that was the
5 subject of this environmental impact statement?
6 A. I don't recall exactly. It may have had
7 something to do with completing the project.
8 The project was not completed, and it was --
9 the issue was what would be the environmental
10 impacts of completing the project.
11 Q. Has the canal project now been completed?
12 A. No, I believe not.
13 Q. What is the current status of the canal
14 project?
15 A. I believe that it has been abandoned.
16 Q. Has it been abandoned because of the
17 conclusions of the EIS?
18 A. I have no idea why it was abandoned.
19 Q. What work did you personally perform on the
20 Cross Florida Barge Canal project?
21 A. I analyzed water quality data from the region
22 and participated in the initial stages in
23 developing nutrient budgets and projections of
24 nutrient impacts of that canal project.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
414
1 Q. When you say "region," what do you mean?
2 A. Within the region that was relevant to the
3 Cross Florida Barge Canal project -- namely,
4 the region in North Central Florida. I believe
5 it was the Oklawaha and the Withlacouchee River
6 Basins.
7 Q. Did it involve any areas within the
8 jurisdiction of the South Florida Water
9 Management District?
10 A. I believe those are outside of the jurisdiction
11 of the District. I'm not sure. There may be
12 some overlap in the northern part. I'm not
13 sure.
14 Q. When you say you analyzed water quality data,
15 would you, please, tell me more specifically
16 what you did?
17 A. Well, I recall compiling data that were
18 collected by various agencies and examining
19 spatial -- summarizing spatial variations in
20 water quality variables at different locations
21 in the system.
22 Q. Was there significant spatial variability in
23 that data?
24 A. Yes, there was.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
415
1 Q. Did you include water quality from the Corps of
2 Engineers in this analysis?
3 A. I don't recall the source -- the specific
4 source of the water quality data.
5 Q. Did you look at total phosphorus data?
6 A. I don't recall whether there was total
7 phosphorus data included.
8 Q. Do you recall the parameters that you analyzed?
9 A. No, I do not.
10 Q. Do you recall the period of record that you
11 analyzed?
12 A. No, I do not.
13 Q. Did you use any trends analyses methods in this
14 analysis?
15 A. I don't recall.
16 Q. Did you do any field collection of water
17 quality samples?
18 A. No.
19 Q. Did you do any laboratory analyses?
20 A. No.
21 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, I have no
22 problem with your questions. I just would like
23 the record to reflect that that study was done
24 in 1975. It is 16 years old.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
416
1 Q. Now, you said you were involved in the initial
2 development of nutrient budgets and projection
3 of impacts. Why did your participation not
4 extend beyond the initial phase?
5 A. Because I was working on this project as I was
6 in graduate school, and I left the firm to
7 complete my Ph.D thesis on a full-time basis.
8 Q. Other than the Cross Florida Barge Canal
9 project and the current work for the Department
10 of Justice, have you performed other work on
11 water quality in Florida?
12 A. I have analyzed data from various locations in
13 Florida in conjunction with some of my other
14 projects.
15 Q. How many other projects would that be?
16 A. I can recall two projects when I've analyzed
17 data from Florida.
18 Q. Can you identify those projects by project
19 number on Exhibit 2, please?
20 A. Project No. 22, and it was either in Project
21 No. 44 or 45. I can't be sure.
22 Q. And what was your purpose for looking at
23 Florida water quality data in these other
24 projects?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
417
1 A. Which other projects?
2 Q. Well, you've identified two and maybe three
3 here. If your purpose was different in each
4 one, we can just approach them sequentially.
5 The first one you identified was Project
6 No. 22.
7 A. Okay. Project No. 22, that involved
8 compilation of a nationwide database on Corps
9 reservoirs, and I believe one of those
10 reservoirs was located in Florida. Also, under
11 that project -- that project also involved the
12 development and testing of empirical models for
13 predicting chlorophyll-a or algae
14 concentrations in impoundments or lakes as they
15 relate to nutrient concentrations.
16 And in testing some of the models that I
17 developed in that project for the Corps of
18 Engineers, I used a data set that was derived
19 from Florida lakes that had been compiled by
20 Dr. Daniel Canfield of the University of
21 Florida for the purpose of testing the models,
22 the particular -- the model that I described.
23 Q. Did any of that Florida water quality model
24 come from within the Water Conservation Areas
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
418
1 and Everglades National Park?
2 A. I can't be sure. It was generally from lakes
3 in Florida. I don't recall specifically the
4 regional distribution.
5 Q. Okay.
6 A. In conjunction with Projects 44 or 45, I was
7 involved in developing a methodology for
8 predicting the removal of phosphorus in
9 detention ponds that are used for runoff
10 control. And as part of that project, I
11 compiled a data set from the literature that
12 described phosphorus loading and retention in
13 detention ponds from various areas of the
14 country, and I believe there were -- there was
15 at least one or two systems from Florida
16 included in that data set that I analyzed.
17 Q. Did that include a system located in Orlando?
18 A. I believe it was in the Orlando area. It was
19 in North Central Florida.
20 Q. Do you know if that's a project commonly called
21 the Iron Bridge?
22 A. It was not the Iron Bridge project, no.
23 Q. There may have been one other Florida project
24 included in this compilation?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
419
1 A. As I recall, it was one site. It was an
2 example of a wetlands -- of a detention pond in
3 a wetlands that were adjacent and that were
4 operated and monitored by the US Geological
5 Survey.
6 Q. And do you recall the location of that?
7 A. I believe it was in the Orlando area somewhere.
8 Q. Dr. Walker, in what areas do you hold yourself
9 out as an expert qualified to render expert
10 testimony?
11 MR. HARRISON: I will make an objection
12 to that. The definition of expert testimony as
13 used in your sentence is a legal definition
14 found in Rules of Evidence No. 702. I think
15 that question calls for a legal conclusion.
16 I'm going to object.
17 Q. Please answer.
18 A. I'm an environmental engineer with experience
19 and expertise in the area of water quality,
20 surface water quality in particular.
21 Q. Do you believe you are an expert in rainfall
22 quality?
23 MR. HARRISON: Same objection, Counsel.
24 Calls for a legal conclusion. Dr. Walker's
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
420
1 understanding of the terminology "expert" may
2 be vastly different from that envisioned by the
3 court under the Federal Rules of Evidence.
4 A. Rainfall quality is a factor that I would
5 consider in evaluating water quality problems
6 on a site-specific basis as appropriate.
7 Q. In terms of the quality of rainfall in South
8 Florida, are there other individuals whom you
9 believe are qualified experts to whom you would
10 defer?
11 MR. HARRISON: Object to form, both on
12 the terminology "expert" and on who he would
13 defer to for what purpose. The question is
14 unclear.
15 Q. You would defer on issues of rainfall quality
16 in South Florida.
17 MR. HARRISON: Object to form. That
18 doesn't solve my problem of the question.
19 A. I would ask for the opinions of Mr. Hendry and
20 Dr. Brezonik with reference to the study that I
21 mentioned earlier that had been done by the
22 University of Florida in the late 1970s.
23 Q. Any other individuals whom you would identify
24 as in your estimation qualified experts?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
421
1 A. Not that I'm aware of.
2 Q. Do you believe that you are qualified to
3 testify as an expert before a federal court on
4 the quality of rainfall in Southern Florida?
5 MR. HARRISON: I object to the form.
6 Judge Hoeveler will decide whether or not
7 Dr. Walker meets the qualifications set out in
8 Rules 701 to 703, and I do not think that this
9 witness is qualified to render such a legal
10 conclusion. And you have couched your question
11 in terms of the legal term "expert."
12 Q. Dr. Walker, I believe I asked you for your
13 belief, and so I only asked you what believe.
14 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
15 A. I believe that I am qualified to analyze data
16 regarding rainfall quality in South Florida and
17 to summarize those results and render an
18 opinion.
19 Q. And that opinion would be in the form of court
20 testimony?
21 A. Yes.
22 Q. Are you an expert on groundwater quality?
23 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
24 MS. AHEARN: Mr. Harrison, I'll
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
422
1 perfectly allow a standing objection to the
2 whole line of inquiry.
3 A. I have worked on projects that involve
4 groundwater issues, and groundwater is part of
5 the hydrologic cycle with which I am generally
6 familiar. My career has not focused on
7 groundwater.
8 Q. Are you an expert on interstitial water
9 quality?
10 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
11 A. In what regard? What do you mean by
12 "interstitial"?
13 Q. Could you, please, tell me what you understand
14 the term "interstitial water" to mean?
15 A. Interstitial water would be water from within
16 some matrix.
17 Q. Water within a soil matrix in South Florida?
18 A. I've considered interstitial water in soil as a
19 factor in analyzing various water quality
20 problems in different areas of the country, but
21 I have not focused on analysis of interstitial
22 waters particularly in the South Florida area.
23 Q. So you would not consider yourself an expert on
24 interstitial water in soils in South Florida;
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
423
1 is that correct?
2 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
3 A. I may -- I would consider myself capable of
4 utilizing information on interstitial waters in
5 soils as part of understanding a problem in
6 general as it would relate to a particular
7 water body.
8 Q. In terms of addressing information on
9 interstitial water in particular, are there
10 other individuals to whom you would defer as
11 being more expert?
12 A. I can't recall specific names aside from
13 Dr. Ronald Jones.
14 Q. You would defer to Dr. Ronald Jones on that
15 particular issue, however?
16 A. I would offer -- I would want his opinion.
17 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert on
18 hydrologic modeling?
19 MR. HARRISON: Same objection. I'll
20 take your offer on a running objection any time
21 you use the term "expertise" or "expert."
22 MS. AHEARN: Okay.
23 A. Hydrologic modeling is something that I
24 routinely have been involved with in several
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
424
1 projects, and I do consider myself an expert on
2 hydrologic modeling.
3 Q. And what is the basis of your expertise?
4 A. The basis of my expertise is my education and
5 my experience in the field of modeling
6 receiving waters, modeling water bodies and
7 watersheds.
8 Q. Do you base your expertise on materials you
9 have published?
10 A. I base my expertise on materials that I have
11 published and on projects that I have performed
12 and on my experience.
13 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert in analytic
14 chemistry?
15 A. I routinely work with water quality data. I am
16 not generally involved in the analyses
17 themselves, although I have some experience in
18 that area. And I have general familiarity with
19 some of the limitations and appropriate
20 procedures that are -- or procedures that are
21 appropriate in the area of water quality
22 analysis.
23 Q. Are there others to whom you would defer as
24 more expert in matters of analytic chemistry?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
425
1 MR. HARRISON: I object to form also
2 because of the "expert" and because of the
3 scope of deferring to what areas is certainly
4 not clear in this case.
5 A. There are other people who I would ask for
6 opinions regarding analytical chemistry.
7 Q. Who are those other people?
8 A. Dr. Ronald Jones, Dr. Daniel Engstrom,
9 Dr. Steven Effler. That's all I can recall.
10 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert in
11 statistics?
12 A. I consider myself an expert in statistics as
13 applied to water quality and water resource
14 problems.
15 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert in
16 statistics as applied to ecology?
17 MR. HARRISON: Object to form.
18 Extremely broad.
19 A. With reference to an ecological problem that
20 might be answered through application of
21 particular statistical methods that I am
22 familiar with, I would feel qualified to render
23 an opinion.
24 Q. We did touch upon some of your course work in
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
426
1 statistics. Did you take courses in
2 theoretical statistics?
3 A. There was a great deal of theory that was
4 introduced in the course work at Harvard on the
5 theory of frequency distributions, the
6 development of frequency distributions in the
7 background.
8 Q. Are there other theoretical areas of statistics
9 other than the field of frequency
10 distributions?
11 A. There are other areas of statistics having to
12 do with particular methods, parametric or
13 nonparametric, that can be used to analyze
14 data, test hypotheses.
15 Q. In your study of theoretical statistics, have
16 you studied theoretical areas other than the
17 theory of frequency distributions?
18 A. Some of my course work has encompassed
19 probability theory.
20 Q. Is probability theory a field distinct from
21 frequency distributions?
22 A. Well, it's hard to distinguish them.
23 Q. I know.
24 A. There are some distinctions.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
427
1 Q. Are there any other fields of theory which you
2 have studied which you can distinguish from
3 frequency distributions and probability?
4 A. Not purely theoretical fields, not that I can
5 recall.
6 Q. Did you take course work in applied statistics?
7 A. Yes.
8 Q. What type of fields of applied statistics did
9 you study?
10 A. Statistics as applied to water resource
11 problems.
12 Q. Any other field of applied statistics that you
13 can identify that would be distinguishable from
14 water resource problems?
15 A. Well, the statistical methods are applicable to
16 a range of particular types of problems; but
17 the course work that I had focused on
18 application of statistical methods to water
19 resource problems, there may have been some
20 examples of using the same methods to other
21 types of problems such as agricultural or other
22 experimental problems, analysis of experimental
23 data.
24 Q. Who would you consider your peers in the field
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
428
1 of statistics as applied to water quality and
2 water resource problems?
3 MR. HARRISON: Objection. You mean in
4 the whole world, in the country, in the state
5 of Florida? Counsel, I think that's a little
6 broad.
7 MS. AHEARN: People that Dr. Walker
8 considers experts.
9 A. I would consider Dr. Kenneth Reckhow of Duke
10 University; Dr. Dennis Helsel and Dr. James
11 Slack of the US Geological Survey; Dr. Robert
12 Hirsch of the US Geological Survey; Dr. Robert
13 Gaugush of the Army Corps of Engineers.
14 Q. Could you, please, spell that?
15 A. G-A-U-G-U-S-H.
16 Q. Thank you.
17 A. Dr. Dennis Lettanmaier, I believe that he is
18 from the University of Washington; Dr. Myron
19 Fiering of Harvard University. That's all I
20 can recall.
21 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert in the field
22 of surface water quality modeling?
23 A. Yes.
24 Q. Is that expertise by virtue of your education,
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
429
1 experience and publications in the field?
2 A. Yes.
3 Q. Is there anything you would add to that list of
4 bases of expertise in this field, anything else
5 you would point to as qualifying you in this
6 field?
7 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, do you consider
8 training part of education, experience and
9 publications? I think the terminology is
10 certainly vague.
11 A. Would you repeat that list?
12 Q. I'm just trying to find a shortcut.
13 Dr. Walker, could you, please, delineate
14 for us the bases of your expertise in the field
15 of water quality modeling?
16 A. My expertise is based upon my education, my
17 experience and my publications and reports in
18 the field, and my ability.
19 Q. Whom do you consider your peers in the field of
20 surface water quality modeling?
21 MR. HARRISON: Objection to scope. It's
22 so broad again.
23 A. Dr. Kenneth Reckhow from Duke University,
24 Dr. Stephen Chapra.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
430
1 Q. Could you, please, spell that?
2 A. C-H-A-P-R-A, of the University of Colorado;
3 Thomas Barnwell the US Environmental Protection
4 Agency; Dr. Dominic DiToro of Manhattan
5 College.
6 MR. BURGESS: I'm sorry. Was that
7 "Natoro"?
8 MS. AHEARN: "DiToro."
9 THE WITNESS: "DiToro."
10 A. And that's all I can recall at the moment.
11 Q. Are you familiar with the work of a Dr. Carl
12 Walters?
13 A. No, I'm not.
14 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, we have been
15 going an hour and a half. Would you mind about
16 a five-minute break, a short one?
17 MS. AHEARN: Five-minute break.
18 MR. HARRISON: Okay.
19 (Short recess)
20
21 BY MS. AHEARN:
22 Q. Dr. Walker, I want to do a couple of follow-up
23 questions on areas we have covered but a couple
24 more so we maybe won't have to backtrack, and
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
431
1 then we'll keep going forward.
2 Have you used Everglades National Park's
3 MASSCOMP computer in the course of the work you
4 have been doing on the South Florida matter?
5 A. No.
6 Q. Have you used the Park's ORACLE system?
7 A. I have not.
8 Q. I asked you yesterday if you were familiar with
9 the GRASS software. Does GRASS 3.0 software
10 have any meaning for you?
11 A. No.
12 Q. Did your statistics course work include the
13 study of the theory and application of linear
14 and nonlinear least squares estimation?
15 A. Yes. That would have been an area that I would
16 have studied.
17 Q. Where did you study that?
18 A. At Harvard.
19 Q. And what course or courses covered this field?
20 A. It would have been the courses on applied
21 statistics given by the Environmental
22 Engineering Department. That topic may also
23 have been covered -- strike that. The only
24 other -- my other familiarity with that comes
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
432
1 out of my thesis work. Part of my thesis dealt
2 with that topic, and I explored that area on my
3 own.
4 Q. You're talking about your Ph.D thesis here?
5 A. Correct.
6 Q. Do you recall in what part of that work -- as I
7 recall, your thesis is divided into
8 approximately five parts that are denoted by
9 Roman numerals; is that correct?
10 A. Possibly.
11 Q. Do you recall in what part we would find
12 mention or application of linear and nonlinear
13 least squares estimation?
14 A. I don't recall the particular section of the
15 thesis, but it was the part of the thesis that
16 dealt with the topic of estimating parameters
17 in nonlinear dynamic systems.
18 Q. As I recall, your thesis has some sections that
19 deal more generically with models and other
20 sections that deal specifically with
21 applications on a particular lake. Is that
22 correct?
23 A. To the best of my recollection, yes.
24 Q. Will we find this discussion of linear and
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
433
1 nonlinear least squares estimation in the more
2 generic discussions in the thesis?
3 A. Somewhere in the thesis, whether it's in a
4 theoretical section or whether it's in an
5 applied section, there is a discussion of
6 techniques for applying least squares methods
7 in nonlinear systems.
8 Q. Dr. Walker, what is the theory of linear and
9 nonlinear least squares estimation?
10 A. That's a very broad question.
11 Q. Is it too broad for you to answer?
12 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, I object. The
13 witness obviously thinks it's too broad. Is
14 there any way you can refine the question or
15 make it more specific or break it down?
16 A. It generally has to do with a method for
17 estimating parameters of a system -- of a model
18 using criteria that are calculated as least
19 squares, the sum of some errors -- squares of
20 some errors that represent differences between
21 predicted and measured values, for example.
22 Q. Have you employed this technique in the work
23 you have done as a private consultant on water
24 quality matters?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
434
1 A. In various cases, yes.
2 Q. Can you tell me if this is a technique you
3 employ commonly, frequently?
4 A. I employ it on occasion.
5 Q. Have you employed this technique in any work
6 you have done in connection with South Florida
7 water quality?
8 A. Yes.
9 Q. On what projects that you have done for the
10 Department of Justice have you employed least
11 squares estimation?
12 A. Exhibit No. 17 contains a section in which the
13 technique of least squares estimation was
14 applied.
15 Q. Can you tell us where in this text we'll find
16 that?
17 A. Well, for example, on page 10, Equation No. 1
18 describes the method that I used for adjusting
19 or correlating the water quality data with
20 hydrologic factors, and a least squares
21 estimation procedure was used in estimating the
22 parameters associated with that procedure.
23 Q. Which parameters were generated through use of
24 this least squares estimation?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
435
1 A. In the -- in terms of Equation No. 1, it would
2 be the Parameters A0, A1 and A2.
3 Q. Is that a step you performed using your
4 computer?
5 A. Correct.
6 Q. Did you use one of the programs we have been
7 discussing off your computer to perform this
8 function?
9 A. Yes.
10 Q. Which program was that?
11 A. I believe I testified earlier that the program
12 KTEST was used to generate the analysis in
13 Exhibit No. 17.
14 Q. I see. So this function is part of the KTEST
15 program?
16 A. Correct.
17 Q. Thank you. Any other work you've performed for
18 the Department of Justice where you've used
19 least squares estimation?
20 A. Yes.
21 Q. On how many other projects have you used this
22 technique for the Department of Justice?
23 A. I couldn't -- I can't recall exactly.
24 Q. Are we talking more than ten?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
436
1 A. Are you talking projects now? What are we --
2 Q. Let's talk projects. I mean, we have the trend
3 analysis project as reflected in Exhibit 17,
4 correct?
5 A. Okay.
6 MR. HARRISON: Counsel, wait a minute.
7 I'm going to object because heretofore we have
8 been talking about the South Florida project on
9 this case. Now are you speaking of different
10 reports as being independent projects that have
11 been done for this case?
12 MS. AHEARN: Let me rephrase it.
13 Q. Yesterday I think we spoke in terms of tasks.
14 We maybe also talked about research projects,
15 but we talked about your analysis of inflow and
16 outflow to Water Conservation Areas, interior
17 marshes, modeling Water Conservation Areas,
18 modeling potential nutrient uptake of wetlands.
19 We commonly talked about those as tasks.
20 Can you identify other tasks in which
21 you have or you intend to employ the least
22 squares estimation technique?
23 A. I believe that least squares estimation could
24 very well be used in any of those tasks.
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
437
1 Q. Then let me ask you in which tasks you have as
2 of this time used that technique.
3 A. I have used it in the trend analysis of inflows
4 to the Park as described in Exhibit No. 17.
5 I've used it in the trend analysis of marsh
6 stations in a preliminary trend analysis. I
7 have used it in the analysis or the development
8 of empirical methods for predicting phosphorus
9 uptake in wetlands. That's all I recall.
10 Q. On how many occasions in the last 15 years have
11 you collected water quality samples in the
12 field?
13 A. How many separate dates?
14 Q. If you want to give me an estimate, that would
15 be fine.
16 A. A rough estimate would be somewhere around a
17 hundred occasions. That's very approximate.
18 Q. That's fine. How about within the past five
19 years?
20 A. Forty or fifty times.
21 Q. Within the past year?
22 A. Perhaps ten times.
23 Q. Have you ever collected a water sample in the
24 Everglades?
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
438
1 A. No.
2 Q. Have you ever performed a lab analysis of water
3 collected from the Everglades?
4 A. No.
5 Q. Have you ever designed a water quality sampling
6 project for the Everglades?
7 A. No.
8 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert in remote
9 sensing?
10 MR. HARRISON: Objection. Same
11 objection as before --
12 MS. AHEARN: Noted.
13 MR. HARRISON: -- to the term "expert."
14 A. No.
15 Q. Do you feel yourself especially qualified by
16 virtue of education, training or experience in
17 the field of wetlands ecology?
18 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
19 MS. AHEARN: Okay. Then we'll do it the
20 other way.
21 MR. HARRISON: I also object to form
22 because I'm not sure there is a unified or
23 accepted definition of wetlands ecology.
24 A. As an engineer and as a specialist in water
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
439
1 quality, I have reviewed and analyzed data from
2 wetlands. I have been involved in impact
3 studies to quantify water quality impacts on
4 wetlands, and I have been involved in studies
5 of the utilization of wetlands for nutrient and
6 other water quality treatment purposes.
7 Q. Dr. Walker, how do you define wetlands ecology?
8 A. Wetlands ecology would involve study of the
9 structure and the function of biological
10 communities in wetlands.
11 Q. Given that definition, do you consider yourself
12 an expert in wetlands ecology? And let me
13 limit this to natural wetlands.
14 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
15 A. I consider myself an expert insofar as
16 processes occurring in wetlands may influence
17 or be influenced by specific water quality
18 characteristics.
19 Q. But you don't consider yourself an expert in
20 all aspects of wetland ecology?
21 MR. HARRISON: Same objection, as well
22 as a mischaracterization.
23 A. I answered the question.
24 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert in all
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
440
1 aspects of wetland ecology?
2 MR. HARRISON: Same objection, and asked
3 and answered.
4 A. I am an expert in water quality, and I'm
5 qualified in the areas of water quality as
6 influenced and -- water quality effects and
7 processes within wetlands.
8 Q. Do you consider yourself an expert with respect
9 to periphyton?
10 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
11 Dr. Walker could certainly aid the layman in
12 understanding the matter of the technical or
13 scientific nature of periphyton, which is the
14 Rule 702 objection and is the basis of my
15 objections. If you wish to read from that rule
16 of evidence and ask it, you will at least
17 eliminate my objection.
18 A. I'm generally familiar with the role of
19 periphyton in wetlands and with their
20 interactions with water quality processes.
21 Q. Dr. Walker, do you consider yourself a soils
22 scientist?
23 A. In evaluating watersheds and in evaluating
24 water quality processes and water bodies, I
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
441
1 often have to interpret and utilize data
2 describing soil characteristics since they are
3 often important driving factors.
4 Q. So, yes, you do consider yourself a soils
5 scientist?
6 MR. HARRISON: Same objection, Counsel,
7 and asked and answered.
8 A. In the process of evaluating and defining water
9 quality problems in various scenarios, I have
10 had to utilize and interpret and I feel
11 qualified to use soil -- information on soil
12 properties.
13 Q. Do you consider yourself a microbiologist?
14 A. I have a general familiarity with microbiology,
15 and I have course work in microbiology, and I
16 am familiar with microbiology as it relates to
17 water quality problems.
18 Q. Do you feel yourself qualified as an expert in
19 microbiology with regard to water quality
20 issues in South Florida?
21 MR. HARRISON: Same objection.
22 A. I am generally familiar with microbiology and
23 of the various types of processes that may
24 pertain to the water quality impacts -- impacts
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
442
1 of water quality changes on microbial
2 communities.
3 Q. Do you believe that general familiarity
4 qualifies you as an expert in this field?
5 MR. HARRISON: Same objection, Counsel.
6 And it is past 5:30.
7 MS. AHEARN: I know. I'm very close to
8 done for today.
9 (Pause)
10 MR. HARRISON: The question has been
11 asked and answered, as well.
12 A. I believe I could offer an opinion on that
13 topic --
14 Q. Thank you.
15 A. -- that would be based upon my experience and
16 my education.
17 MS. AHEARN: Okay.
18 (Off the record)
19 (Deposition adjourned at 5:33 p.m.)
20
21
22
23
24
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
443
1 Excerpt from Rule 30(e):
2 Submission to Witness; Changes; Signing.
3 When the testimony is fully transcribed,
the deposition shall be submitted to the
4 witness for examination and shall be read to or
by him, unless such examination and reading are
5 waived by the witness and by the parties. Any
changes in form or substance which the witness
6 desires to make shall be entered upon the
deposition by the officer with a statement of
7 the reasons given by the witness for making
them.
8
*****************************************************
9
I, WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR., have examined
10 the above transcript of my testimony and it is
true and correct to the best of my knowledge,
11 information and belief. Any corrections are
noted on the errata sheet.
12
Signed under the pains and penalties of
13 perjury this day of ,
1990.
14
15 _____________________________
Deponent's Signature
16
17
Subscribed and sworn to before me this
18 day of , 1991.
19
____________________________
20 Notary Public
21
My Commission Expires:
22
23 _____________________________
24
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
444
1 COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS)
) ss.
2 COUNTY OF PLYMOUTH )
3
I, Linda Marie MacDonald, a Notary
4 Public within and for the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, duly commissioned, qualified and
5 authorized to administer oaths and to take and
certify depositions, do hereby certify that
6 heretofore, on the date cited above, the
witness personally appeared before me at the
7 above location and testified in the
above-captioned case; that the said witness was
8 by me duly sworn to testify to the truth, the
whole truth and nothing but the truth; that
9 thereupon and while said witness was under
oath, the deposition was taken down by me in
10 machine shorthand at the time and place therein
named and was reduced to typewriting
11 thereafter.
12
I further certify that the said
13 deposition constitutes a true record of the
testimony given by the said witness.
14
15 I further certify that I am not
interested in the event of this action.
16
17 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto
subscribed my hand this 19th day of February,
18 1991.
19
___________________________________
20 Notary Public in and for the
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
21
My Commission expires
22 November 29, 1996.
23
24
DEPOSITION OF WILLIAM W. WALKER, JR.
