14763 asce jan07 rev · john j. housey, jr., pe orleans materials and equipment company, inc....

Volume 15 • Number 2 February 2007

THE LOUISIANACIVIL ENGINEER

ACADIANA BRANCH • BATON ROUGE BRANCH

NEW ORLEANS BRANCH • SHREVEPORT BRANCH

Journal of The Louisiana Section

On line at http://www.lasce

FEATURE:Recent developments in Louisiana law:Study of the amendments to

an engineer’s friend — LRS 9:2772

NEWS:Nominations and electionLevee board appointmentsBranch attracts grantSection appoints MatteiHammett appointed Secretary

Wildlife and Fisheries

FUTURE:Louisiana Civil Engineering

Conference and Show in KennerSeptember 13-14, 2007

Annual Meetingin New Orleans

September 14, 2007

ANNOUNCEMENTS:Annual Spring Meeting and

Conference in ShreveportMarch 22-23, 2007

Deep South Conferencein Ruston

March 23-24, 2007

Billboard graphic used in Baton Rouge

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM

2 THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / FEBRUARY 2007

PROFESSIONAL LISTINGS

GOTECH,INC. 8388 BLUEBONNET BLVD.BATON ROUGE, LA 70810

RHAOUL A. GUILLAUME, P.E.PRESIDENT

[email protected] • OFFICE: (225) 766-5358CELL: (225) 413-9515 • FAX: (225) 769-4923

WWW.GOTECH-INC.COM

3861 Ambassador Caffery Pkwy.Suite 200Lafayette, LA 70503www.huvalassoc.com

(337) 234-3798Fax (337) 234-2475

[email protected]

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEER / FEBRUARY 2007 3

THE LOUISIANA CIVIL ENGINEERCONTENTSPresident’s Message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4Recent developments in Louisiana law . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5News from the Branches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Student Chapter News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112007 Annual Spring Meeting and Conference

Registration Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Conference Agenda . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Section News and Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Highlights of January Board of Directors Meeting . . . . . . . . .16 Nominations and election . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Levee board appoinments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Professional Listings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2, 26-28 Services and Suppliers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

LOUISIANA SECTION • AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

Louisiana Engineering Center • 9643 Brookline Avenue • Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70809 • (225) 923-1662SECTION BOARD OF DIRECTORS

PresidentTimothy M. Ruppert, PE

U.S. Army Corps of EngineersPresident-Elect

E.R. DesOrmeaux, PEE.R. DesOrmeaux, Inc.

Vice PresidentAli M. Mustapha, PE

City of ShreveportSecretary-Treasurer

Christopher P. Knotts, PELouisiana DNR

Past PresidentKim M. Garlington, PE

Louisiana DOTDDirectors-at-Large

Andre M. Rodrigue, PEABMB Engineers, Inc.

Kurt M. Nixon, PECoyel Engineering Company, Inc.

Christopher G. Humphreys, PEProfessional Services Industries, Inc.

Dax A. Douet, PEC.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc.

Branch DirectorsM. Jamal Khattak, PE

University of Louisiana at LafayetteBrant B. Richard, PE

Stanley Consultants, Inc.Christopher L. Sanchez, PE

Stuart Consulting GroupElba U. Hamilton, EI

Aillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClellandAssigned Branch Directors

Daniel L. Bolinger, PEDMJM HARRIS|AECOM

Yvette P. Weatherton, PESouthern University

BRANCH OFFICERSAcadiana Branch

PresidentM. Jamal Khattak, PE

University of Louisiana at LafayettePresident-Elect

Joseph P. Kolwe, Jr., PECivil and Structural Engineers, Inc.

Vice PresidentClint S. McDowell, PE

SITE Engineering, Inc.Treasurer

Joshua P. Stutes, PESellers and Associates, Inc.

SecretaryDavid J. Girouard, EI

C.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc.Past President

Dax A. Douet, PEC.H. Fenstermaker & Associates, Inc.

PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE:Timothy M. Ruppert, PE, Chair (504) 862-2106Branch Presidents, MembersJames C. Porter, PE, Editor (225) 242-4556Yvette Weatherton, PE, Student Chapter News (225) 771-5870

PUBLISHER:Franklin Press, Inc., Baton Rouge, LAThe Louisiana Civil Engineer quarterly journal is an official publication ofthe Louisiana Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers with anaverage circulation of approximately 1900. The Section does not guaranteethe accuracy of the information provided, does not necessarily concur withopinions expressed, and does not claim the copyrights for the contents in thispublication. Please submit letters and articles for consideration to be pub-lished by facsimile to (225) 242-4552, by e-mail to [email protected], or by mail to the Publications Committee c/o James C. Porter,PE • 2608 Terrace Avenue • Baton Rouge, LA 70806-6868.

Baton Rouge BranchPresident

Brant B. Richard, PEStanley Consultants, Inc.

President-ElectRobert W. Jacobsen, PE

URS CorporationVice President

William H. Wall, PENTB Associates, Inc.

Secretary-TreasurerJeffrey L. Duplantis, PE

SJB GroupDirector

Clinton S. Willson, PELouisiana State University

DirectorAdam M. Smith, EI

Owen and WhiteAssociate Director

Rudolph A. Simoneaux, III, EILouisiana DNR

New Orleans BranchPresident

Christopher L. Sanchez, PEStuart Consulting Group

President-ElectRonald L. Schumann, Jr., PE

DMJM HARRIS|AECOMVice President

Nathan J. Junius, PELinfield, Hunter and Junius, Inc.

TreasurerBenjamin M. (Ben) Cody, PE

Eustis Engineering Company, Inc.Secretary

Johann L. Palacios, PEZehner and Associates

DirectorMargaret S. (Meg) Adams, PE

MSA Technical ServicesDirector

Reid L. Dennis, PESewerage and Water Board of New Orleans

Past PresidentWilliam H. Sewell, Jr., PE

Sewell EngineeringShreveport Branch

PresidentElba U. Hamilton, EI

Aillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClellandPresident-Elect

Rusty L. Cooper, EIAlliance, Inc.

SecretaryJ. Cody Goodwin, EI

Alliance, Inc.Treasurer

Jarred C. Corbell, EIAillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClelland

Younger MemberSairam V. Eddanapudi, EI

Professional Services Industries, Inc.Past President

Ashley T. Sears, EIAillet, Fenner, Jolly and McClelland

BRANCH TECHNICAL COMMITTEE CHAIRSBaton Rouge

StructuresDanny J. Deville, PE

McKee & Deville Consulting Engineers, Inc.Geotechnical

Gavin P. Gautreau, PELouisiana Transportation Research Center

EnvironmentalStephen D. Fields, PE

Water ResourcesMorris Sade, PE

Miraj EnvirotekManagement

Michael N. Dooley, PESigma Consulting Group, Inc.

PipelineRoy A. Wagenspack, PE

Owen and White, Inc.Transportation

P. Brian Wolshon, PELSU Baton Rouge

New OrleansStructures

John J. Housey, Jr., PEOrleans Materials and Equipment Company, Inc.

GeotechnicalWilliam W. Gwyn, PE

Eustis Engineering Company, Inc.Environmental and Water Resources

Dennis ReedNew Orleans Sewerage and Water Board

STUDENT CHAPTERS IN THE SECTIONPresidents/Faculty Advisors

LSU Matthew R. BlackwellAyman M. Okeil, PE

La. Tech Nathan LinhardtLuke Lee

McNeese David MintonJanardanan (Jay) O. Uppot, PE

Southern Brandon DeJeanYvette P. Weatherton, PE

Tulane Kristin MoanAnthony J. Lamanna, PE

ULL Jared A. VeazeyEmad H.. Habib

UNO Rebecca SchererGianna M. Cothern, PE

The Louisiana Section is located in ASCE Region 5that consists of the Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama,Georgia and Florida Sections.

Representative to Region 5 Board of GovernorsGovernor, Louisiana SectionNorma Jean Mattei, PEUniversity of New Orleans

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boundaries of the hazard zone, so-defined, isnot subject to flood risk. Nothing could befurther from the truth.A study from the National Academies called

for abandoning the use of the term level of pro-tection because it is misleading. The studywarns that

Perhaps the worst thing that might be done...is to create a false sense of security or toencourage people to think that any proposedproject provides complete protection fromflooding.As engineers obligated and dedicated to pro-

tecting the public, we must take appropriateaction to effectively inform the public concern-ing the safety implications in our works. Fromconversations with neighbors to letters and op-edpieces in newspapers, to briefs for elected offi-cials, engineers should speak honestly and can-didly about the risks to life and property.

The ASCE External Review Panel recentlyissued a call-to-action letter that encourages usto “...communicate clearly to decision makersand the public how risk-cost-benefit tradeoffswill impact performance and safety.” Further,engineers are urged to “...take an active role informulating public policy and in decision-mak-ing at all levels of government.”

This 10-point list, available on the ASCEwebsite (http://www.asce.org), also reminds usof our obligation as engineers to place publicsafety first. Do we hold public safety paramountif the design of our hurricane protection systemis governed by property insurance standards? Orif we use terminology that is easily misinterpret-ed by the public?

The conversation is started. The publicneeds to hear from trusted civil engineering pro-fessionals and particularly from the members ofthe ASCE.

About the cover: The cover image is a cus-tom graphic developed for the Baton RougeBranch from one of this year’s Engineers Weekadvertisements. It will be displayed on two bill-boards in the Baton Rouge area duringFebruary, the month containing Engineers Week.See the Baton Rouge Branch news entry and thenews article titled “Branch attracts grant” formore details.


President’s MessageBy Timothy M. Ruppert, PE

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, theUS Army Corps of Engineers launched into themassive effort to repair and rebuild the hurricaneprotection system in southeast Louisiana.Congress and the President directed the Corps to

...provide the levels of protection necessaryto achieve the certification required for par-ticipation in the National Flood InsuranceProgram under the base flood elevations.To be certified for insurance purposes, lev-

ees need to provide a 100-year level of protec-tion.

I believe that this is a mistake for two impor-tant reasons. First, the 100-year level of protec-tion is not appropriate as a uniform level of safe-ty for densely populated, highly developed areas.Second, the terminology employed is easily sub-ject to misinterpretation, giving a false sense ofsecurity to residents, that may in fact cause moreharm.

The National Flood Insurance Program(NFIP) selected the so-called 100-year event asits benchmark and uses it to establish therequired Base Flood Elevation. The 100-yearevent might make perfect sense from an actuari-al point of view, but I am of the opinion it is woe-fully inadequate as a benchmark for life safety.

When we speak of the 100-year event, itmeans that there is a 0.01 probability of annualexceedence or a 1 percent chance that the designcapacity will be exceeded in a given year. Thismay appear reasonable to the layperson, butengineers and scientists know better. As yearsgo by, the odds get worse because the probabili-ty of exceedence accumulates according to thefollowing formula:

R = 1 � (1 � Px)n

whereR is the risk of exceeding the event in percentPx is the annual exceedence probability of the

event andn is the time period in number of years.

Given Px, the probability of annual excee-dence, of 0.01 for a design flood event and n, atime period of 30 years; R, the computed risk of

experiencing an event exceeding the 100-yearlevel of protection over the 30-year period, is awhopping 26 percent. In the long run then, wecan reasonably expect fully 1/4th of the commu-nities relying on the 100-year level of protectionto be flooded within the time span of a typicalmortgage. Given the average lifespan of thepopulation in Louisiana — 73 years — we canexpect more than 1⁄2 of those living in a flood-protected area to experience a catastrophic floodevent.

From the actuarial point of view of theNFIP, we might be able to justify the financialrisk of building and maintaining some develop-ments exposed to such risks. However, from alife-safety point of view, the risk would certain-ly be unacceptable to society — if it were prop-erly described. The substance of my secondargument against the 100-year level of protec-tion is that the general public does not under-

stand the statistical implications of the 0.01probability of annual exceedence. They misin-terpret the 100-year terminology to mean “oncein 100 years,” and we cannot fault them if theydo so.

I am not the first to offer this criticism. A1994 paper published by the UniversitiesCouncil on Water Resources called the 100-yearcriterion “an obstacle to informed and efficientcommunity floodplain management programs.”The paper further states the standard misrepre-sents the risk in all NFIP flood zone classifica-tions and leads to

...the unfortunate effect of encouraging pub-lic officials, developers, and even the gener-al public to believe that land outside the

...we can reasonably expectfully 1/4th of the communitiesrelying on the 100-year levelof protection to be floodedwithin the time span of a typi-cal mortgage.

Globalization/Outsourcing: (Here) ...aresome things I believe: First,... The U.S.’s pros-perity, security and health depend on technologycreated by engineers... (and) we cannot retainour security and our quality of life without avibrant engineering workforce. Second,... a B.S.in engineering is a great preparation for a lot ofcareers, and “leaving engineering” is not neces-sarily evidence of moving to a lesser job. Third,I don’t believe in a protectionist approach tosolving the nation’s problem of ensuring accessto engineering talent... We need to think about...positive, constructive alternatives... Fourth,...managers..., if the productivity per unit cost ishigh enough,... will outsource, and they

should!... The individual manager in an individ-ual company... is not responsible for solving...(this) problem.

(The) protectionist approach advocated bysome... might or might not be appropriate in theshort term, but it is not a long-term solution...The long-term solution has to be to prepare ourengineers to operate in this new environment...,and create an environment that will let themflourish... (To) protect current jobs will, for thelong term, make us non-competitive and have theopposite of the intended effect.

- William Wulf, PresidentNational Academy of EngineeringEngineering Times 12/04

❖ Quote ❖

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Recent developments in Louisiana law:Study of the amendments to an engineer’sfriend – LRS 9:2772By Richard E. King and Ryan M. BourgeoisGalloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith

Richard E. King joined the New Orleans Office of Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr and Smith in 2001. He graduated cum laude with a Bachelorof Arts Degree in Government from Western New England College in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1991, and earned his Juris Doctor from TulaneUniversity in 1997. Before attending law school, King was a licensed property and casualty insurance agent for The Hartford Insurance. King is admit-ted to practice law in Louisiana, Mississippi and Massachusetts, as well as all United States District Courts in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Massachusettsand the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. He is a member of the Louisiana Bar Association, Mississippi Bar Association and The Associationof Trial Lawyers of America where he is a member of the New Lawyers Division Committee on Education Programs and was the Boston, Massachusetts,2001 Regional Co-Coordinator of the Student Mock Trial Competition.

Ryan M. Bourgeois joined the New Orleans office of Galloway, Johnson, Tompkins, Burr & Smith as an associate in 2005. He received his Bachelorof Business Administration Degree from Millsaps College in 2001 and his Juris Doctor from Loyola University of New Orleans School of Law in 2004.During law school, Bourgeois was a board member of Loyola’s Moot Court program and also competed as an oralist at the John Marshall Information,Technology, and Privacy Law Moot Court Competition in Chicago, Illinois. Bourgeois is licensed to practice in all Louisiana state courts and the UnitedStates District Courts Eastern, Western, and Middle Districts of Louisiana. Since joining the firm, his practice has focused on insurance defense, subro-gation, casualty/automobile liability, business formation and organization, and corporate law.

Richard King

Ryan Bourgeois

IntroductionAlthough it can be said without hesitation

that each and every one of you would love to fin-ish your career without ever having to defend alawsuit, the unfortunate reality is that some ofyou will have to defend a lawsuit someday,whether justifiable or not. This opportunity istherefore taken to either introduce you to — orremind you of — LRS (Louisiana RevisedStatute) 9:2772, which may assist you in suc-cessfully defending a lawsuit. This issue is espe-cially relevant in this unprecedented post-Katrina era where countless legal issues areemerging. This article examines LRS 9:2772,its amendments and its application in light ofpertinent legislative updates and recent jurispru-dence.

Statute and important definitionsLRS 9:2772. Peremptive period for actionsinvolving deficiencies in surveying, design,supervision, or construction of immovables orimprovements thereon.A. No action, whether ex contractu, ex delicto,or otherwise, including but not limited to anaction for failure to warn, to recover on a con-tract, or to recover damages, or otherwise arisingout of an engagement of planning, construction,design, or building immovable or movable prop-erty which may include, without limitation, con-sultation, planning, designs, drawings, specifica-tion, investigation, evaluation, measuring, oradministration related to any building, construc-tion, demolition, or work, shall be broughtagainst any person performing or furnishingland surveying services, as such term is definedin R.S. 37:682, including but not limited to thoseservices preparatory to construction, or againstany person performing or furnishing the design,planning, supervision, inspection, or observationof construction or the construction of immov-ables, or improvement to immovable property,including but not limited to a residential build-ing contractor as defined in R.S. 37:2150.1(9):

(1)(a) More than five years after the date of reg-

istry in the mortgage office of acceptance of thework by owner.

(b) If no such acceptance is recorded within sixmonths from the date the owner has occupied ortaken possession of the improvement, in wholeor in part, more than five years after theimprovement has been thus occupied by theowner.

(2) If the person performing or furnishing theland surveying services, as such term is definedin R.S. 37:682, does not render the servicespreparatory to construction, or if the person fur-nishing such services or the design and planningpreparatory to construction does not performany inspection of the work, more than five yearsafter he has completed the surveying or thedesign and planning with regard to actionsagainst that person.

B. (1) The causes which are perempted withinthe time described above include any action:

(a) For any deficiency in the performing or fur-nishing of land surveying services, as such termis defined in R.S. 37:682, including but not lim-ited to those preparatory to construction or in thedesign, planning, inspection, or observation ofconstruction, or in the construction of anyimprovement to immovable property, includingbut not limited to any services provided by a res-idential building contractor as defined in R.S.37:2150.1(9).

(b) For damage to property, movable or immov-able, arising out of any such deficiency.

(c) For injury to the person or for wrongful deatharising out of any such deficiency.

(d) Brought against a person for the action orfailure to act of his employees.

(2) Deficiency, as used in this Section, includesfailure to warn the owner of any dangerous or

hazardous condition, regardless of when knowl-edge of the danger or hazard is obtained orshould have been obtained.

(3) This peremptive period shall extend to everydemand, whether brought by direct action or forcontribution or indemnity or by third-party prac-tice, and whether brought by the owner or byany other person.

C. If such an injury to the property or to the per-son or if such a wrongful death occurs during the

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fifth year after the date set forth in Subsection A,an action to recover the damages thereby suf-fered may be brought within one year after thedate of the injury, but in no event more than sixyears after the date set forth in Subsection A,even if the wrongful death results thereafter.

D. Actions for the causes enumerated in Sub-sec-tion B of this Section, against the persons enu-merated in Sub-section A of this Section, shallprescribe by the applicable prescriptive periodsestablished by law for such actions.

E. The peremptive period provided by thisSection shall not be asserted by way of defenseby a person in possession or control, as owner,lessor, tenant, or otherwise, of such an improve-ment at the time any deficiency in such animprovement constitutes the proximate cause ofthe injury, damage, or death sued upon withregard to any cause of action arising out of thealleged delict, quasi delict, or obligation of anysuch person arising out of his possession or con-trol of the property.

F. Nothing in this Section shall be construed asmodifying the liability or responsibility other-wise imposed by law on the owner of an immov-able or the possessor, lessor or lessee of animmovable, by reason of the design, planning,supervision, inspection or observation of con-struction, or construction of improvements toimmovable property.

G. Causes of action arising from the performingor furnishing of land surveying services, as suchterm is defined in R.S. 37:682, if not performedpreparatory to construction, which exist prior toSeptember 11, 1981, shall be perempted one yearfrom said date or by the applicable peremptiveperiod established by this Section, whichever islater.

H. (1) The peremptive period provided by thisSection shall not apply to an action to recover ona contract or to recover damages against any per-son enumerated in Subsection A of this Section,whose fraud has caused the breach of contract ordamages sued upon. The provisions of thisSubsection shall be retroactive.

(2) In any such action in which fraud is alleged,that issue shall be decided by trial separate fromand prior to the trial of any or all other issues.

(3) Fraud, as used in this Section, shall have thesame meaning as provided in Civil Code Article1953.

I. Nothing in this Section shall be construed aslimiting or modifying the non-liability of con-tractors for destruction or deterioration of, ordefects in, any work, as provided in R.S. 9:2771.

LRS 9:682. DefinitionsThe following words and phrases when used inthis Chapter shall have the following meaning,unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

(4) “Engineer” or “professional engineer” shallmean an individual who, by reason of his special

knowledge and ability to apply the mathematical,physical, and engineering sciences and the prin-ciples and methods of engineering analysis anddesign, acquired by an engineering education andengineering experience, is qualified to practiceengineering, as evidenced by his licensure assuch by the board.

(7) “Land surveyor” or “professional land sur-veyor” shall mean an individual who is qualifiedto practice land surveying, as evidenced by hislicensure as such by the board.

(12)(a) “Practice of engineering” shall meanresponsible professional service which mayinclude consultation, investigation, evaluation,planning, designing, or inspection of construc-tion in connection with any public or private util-ities, structures, machines, equipment, processes,works, or projects wherein the public welfare orthe safeguarding of life, health, and property isconcerned or involved, when such professionalservice requires the application of engineeringprinciples and the interpretation of engineeringdata.

(b) A person shall be construed to practice oroffer to practice engineering: who practices inany discipline of the profession of engineering;or who, by verbal claim, sign, advertisement, let-terhead, card, or in any other way represents him-self to be a professional engineer; or who repre-sents himself as able to perform; or who doesperform any engineering service or work or anyother professional service designated by thepractitioner or recognized by educational author-ities as engineering. The practice of engineeringshall not include the work ordinarily performedby a person who himself operates or maintainsmachinery or equipment.

(13)(a) “Practice of land surveying” shall includethe measuring of areas, land surfaces, streams,bodies of water, and swamps for correct determi-nation and description, for the establishment,reestablishment, ascertainment, or description ofland boundaries, corners, divisions, distances,and directions, the plotting and monumenting oflands and subdivisions thereof, and mapping andtopographical work.

(b) A person shall be construed to practice oroffer to practice land surveying who engages inland surveying and who by verbal claim, sign,advertisement, letterhead, card, or in any otherway represents himself to be a land surveyor, orwho represents himself as able to perform or whodoes perform any land surveying service or work,or any other service designated by the practition-er which is recognized as land surveying.

Peremptive period now 5 yearsLRS 9:2772 has been amended several times

since its enactment in 1964 — the most recentversion cited above was amended in 2003.Initially, it provided for a 10-year peremptiveperiod for all claims based on contracts, torts,failure to warn or claims otherwise arising out ofthe construction or improvements to a building.In July 1999, the legislature reduced the peremp-tive period to 7 years, rather than 10 years, for

contracts entered into after the effective date ofAugust 15, 1999. In July 2003, the legislaturefurther reduced the peremptive period to 5 years,rather than 7 years, for contracts entered intoafter the effective date of August 15, 2003.

The purpose of the peremptive statute is toprevent architects, engineers, and contractorsfrom being indefinitely liable for past projects. Ittherefore limits certain causes of action relatingto immovable property.1 In fact, Louisiana lawindicates that peremption is prescription, butwhich cannot be “renounced, interrupted, or sus-pended.”2 A peremptive statute completelydestroys the previously existing right such that acause of action no longer exists to be enforced.3

The running of the peremptive period destroys acause of action and cannot be revived by subse-quent acts.4 LRS 9:2772 sets forth the peremp-tive period of 5 years, running from the date ofregistry of acceptance by the owner or within sixmonths of taking of possession of the improve-ment.5 The legislature and the courts have rea-soned that after acceptance by the owner, archi-tects and contractors no longer have access to orcontrol over structural modification, and shouldbe afforded the protection of the preemptive peri-od.6

As such, if 5 years passed from any of theevents described in the statute, the followingcauses of action would be perempted under the2003 legislative amendment to LRS 9:2772(B):• Claims for any deficiency in surveying serv-

ices, design, planning, inspection or observa-tion of construction, or in the construction ofany improvement to immovable property,including but not limited to any services pro-vided by a residential building contractor,

• Claims for damage to property, movable orimmovable, arising out of any such deficien-cy,

• Claims for injury to the person or for wrong-ful death arising out of such deficiency, and

• Claims brought against a person for theaction or failure to act of his employees.The term deficiency, as used above, includes

any failure to warn the owner of any dangerousor hazardous condition, regardless of whenknowledge of when the danger or hazard wasobtained or should have been obtained. Thisperemptive period was not to be used as adefense to delictual or contractual claims againstan owner, lessor, or tenant of the building orimprovement, if the improvement in questionwas the proximate cause of the damage or injury.

Thus, the peremptive period is now 5 yearsand extends to every demand, whether broughtby direct action, for contribution, indemnity, orby third-party practice, and whether brought bythe owner or by any other person. There is onemajor exception to this peremptive period: fraud(LRS 9:2772(H)(3), discussion to follow).

Commencement of peremption LRS 9:2772 does not itself define occupancy

or possession for the purposes of peremption;rather, it simply states that occupancy or posses-sion can “be in whole or in part.”7 As could beanticipated, the courts have placed particularemphasis on that language in determining occu-pancy or possession. For example, in LaurenPlaza Ass’n, the shopping center owner had

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“taken possession” or “occupied” the shoppingcenter when it permitted a tenant to install refrig-erator equipment.8 The court held that com-mencement of the peremptive period does nothinge on whether the construction is fully or sub-stantially completed, but rather the date whenoccupancy begins and possession is taken.

In Harris, the peremptive period for thedefective design of manufacturing plants com-menced upon acceptance of a tiling contract.9

The court noted that the peremptive period runseither from the date of registry of acceptance bythe owner in the mortgage records or within 6months of when the owner occupies or takes pos-session of the improvement.10 At the latest, theperemptive period runs from the moment atwhich the new owner of the construction placesit into operation.11

In Guidry v. Sunset Recreation Club Inc., thecourt held that the applicable statutory peremp-tive period for an action based on a constructiondefect commences either on the date acceptanceof construction is recorded or, if not recorded,within 6 months of the date of occupancy.12

Moreover, the time at which the “defect in thehome manifested itself or was discoverable byowners is irrelevant” to the running of theperemptive period.13 The court stressed thatperemptive period runs or “commences from thetime owners occupy or take possession of thehouse.”14

Fraud exceptionThere are circumstances when the peremp-

tive period for actions arising out of constructiondefects by architects, engineers, and contractorswill not apply. In 1985, a Louisiana court ruledthat causes of action based on allegations offraud were outside the scope of the statute.15 TheCourt in Academy held that LRS 9:2772 “doesnot by its terms purport to limit every actionagainst someone who once built a building.”16

Instead, that the statute’s language limits onlyactions which arise from deficiencies in design orconstruction.17 The court reasoned that “defi-ciency” could not be fairly interpreted to includeallegedly deliberate fraudulent planning andbuilding of a flood-prone subdivision.18

Shortly after the Academy decision, the leg-islature amended LRS 9:2772 so that claimsinvolving fraud were specifically exempted fromthe statute’s reach. The statute now provides:

H. (I) [t]he peremptive period provided bythis Section shall not apply to an action to recov-er on a contract or to recover damages againstany person ... whose fraud has caused the breachof contract or damages sued upon ...

Thus, in instances where a builder or con-tractor has acted fraudulently, the peremptiveperiod will not apply.

Although a claim of fraud will effectivelyextinguish the peremption defense, a failure towarn claim is subject to peremption. In Bunge,the owners of a storage tank sued the builder fordamages as a result of an explosion.19 The plain-tiff asserted that the contractor had knowledge ofhazardous conditions and failed to warn theowner. The court held that a contractor whoacquires knowledge of a defect and fails to warnis not protected by the provisions of the statute.The court reasoned that the silence in those

instances equates with intentional misrepresenta-tion and, thus, falls under the fraud exceptions.By comparison, in Vasquez v. City of NewOrleans20 and Harris, the Courts held that failureto warn does not apply where there was no evi-dence the contractors knew of a design defect.Accordingly, unintentional failures to warn fallswithin the 5-year peremptive period while inten-tional failure to warn does not.

Other 2003 amendmentsPart A of LRS 9:2772 was also altered dur-

ing the July 2003 legislative session. Part A ofLRS 9:2772 previously stated:

No action, whether ex contractu, ex delicto,or otherwise, included but not limited to anaction for failure to warn, to recover on acontract, or to recover damages shall bebrought against any person performing orfurnishing land surveying services, includingbut not limited to those services preparatoryto construction, or against any person fur-nishing the design, planning supervision,inspection, or observation of construction orthe construction of immovables, or improve-ments to immovable property, including butnot limited to a residential building contrac-tor.

Due to the 2003 amendment, Part A of LRS9:2772 was expanded to state the following:

No action, whether ex contractu, ex delicto,or otherwise, included but not limited to anaction for failure to warn, to recover on acontract, or to recover damages, or otherwisearising out of an engagement of planning,construction, design, or building immovableor movable property which may include,without limitation, consultation, planning,designs, drawings, specification, investiga-tion, evaluation, measuring, or administra-tion related to any building, construction ordemolition work, shall be brought againstany person performing or furnishing landsurveying services, including but not limitedto those services preparatory to construction,or against any person furnishing the design,planning supervision, inspection, or observa-tion of construction or the construction ofimmovables, or improvements to immovableproperty, including but not limited to a resi-dential building contractor.The legislative amendment in 2003 also

changed Part C of LRS 9:2772. Originally, PartC stated that if injury to the property or person,including wrongful death, occurred within the6th year after the dates set out in Section A thenan action for damages could be brought withinone year of the injury, but in no event more than8 years after the date set out in Section A, even incases of wrongful death.21 The amendmentchanged the stipulated period of 6 years from thedate set out in Section A, to 5 years from the dateset out in Section A. The amendment also man-dates that while an action for damages may bebrought within one year of the injury, assuming atime period within 5 years of the date set forth inSection A, it may not be brought any later than 6years after the date set out in Section A, even incases of wrongful death.

The 2003 amendments: Prospective or retroac-

tive application? In 2003, the Louisiana state legislature estab-

lished a 5-year peremptive period on suits foractions involving deficiency in surveying,design, supervision, or construction or improve-ment to immovable property. The statute in per-tinent part states that:

[n]o actions ... including but not limited tothose services preparatory to construction, oragainst any person performing or furnishingthe design, planning, supervision, inspection,or observation of construction or the con-struction of immovables, or improvement toimmovable property ... more than five yearsafter the date of registry in the mortgageoffice of acceptance of the work by owner.LRS Ann. § 9:2772 (2003). The recent revisions, however, do not specif-

ically address whether the peremptive periodapplies prospectively or retroactively; whereas,the 1999 amendment expressly stated that the 7-year preemptive period was to be appliedprospectively. Generally, the Louisiana CivilCode provides for the prospective application ofsubstantive changes to the law.22 The principle ofprospective application, however, allows 3exceptions:• laws that suppress or lessen penalties• laws that are interpretive of existing legisla-

tion, and• laws that the legislative expressly or implied-

ly declared to be retroactive.23

In General Motors Acceptance Corp. v. Anzelmo,the court held that Article 8 of the Civil Codecontemplates substantive laws from procedurallaws or remedial laws.24 Remedial laws, inabsence of language showing a contrary inten-tion will be given a retroactive effect.25 Aperemption statute is by its nature remedial.26

Nonetheless, in Broussard, et al. v. AviaraEnergy Corp. et al. the Court held that LRS9:2772 does not apply retroactively.27

Consequently, the statute did not bar plaintiffs’claims against the defendant, and, as a result, theearlier 10-year peremptive period applied to aclaim arising during the effective period of the1997 amendment (10-year peremption), but filedafter the 1999 amendment (7-year peremption).When the amendment was enacted, the legisla-ture provided that “provisions of this Act shallgive prospective application only and shall applyonly to contracts entered into on or after theeffective date of this Act. Section 2 of Act 1999.”Once the defendant completed its work on theactuator valve, the 10-year period was in effect.The Court ruled that since the statute should begive prospective effect, the older version of thestatute applied to the circumstance where, eventhough suit was filed the same year of thestatute’s amendment, the older statute applied.

Similarly, in August v. Grand LakeConstruction, the Court held that the statutoryamendment reducing the peremptive period hadprospective application only.28 As a result, theperemptive periods for a homeowner’s action,which arose in 1994, had not yet expired whensuit was filed 7 years after the contractor per-formed allegedly faulty work. Rather, the 10-year peremptive period was held applicable.29

(Continued on Page 26)

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News from the Branches

NEW ORLEANSBy Christopher L. Sanchez, PE, President

As we begin a new calendar year, it’s timefor the Branch to kick it into high gear. TheBoard has set a goal to have our first normal,post-Katrina, administrative year. This will be adifficult goal to achieve considering that the typ-ical workloads outside of our volunteer efforts inthe ASCE are far greater than normal.

We are looking forward to the Branch mem-bership meetings and luncheons over the nextfew months with presentations from engineers inthe Branch community who will share their post-Katrina experience with their project work. Thiswill be an excellent opportunity for us to enlargeour professional archives on lessons learned,sharpen our problem-solving talents and inciden-tally earn the PDHs required to maintain ourengineering licensure.

The Branch Structures Institute will continueto plan and offer evening seminars on variousstructural topics. Simultaneously, the planningfor the 2007 Louisiana Civil EngineeringConference and Show that is sponsored by theBranch, and the Louisiana Section of theAmerican Concrete Institute; and for the 2007Section Annual Meeting that is hosted by theBranch are now underway. The Conference istentatively scheduled for September 13-14 withthe Annual Meeting scheduled for September 14.

You can look forward to attending this greatConference with an opportunity to earn upto 12 PDHs.

The Branch is continuing its outreach pro-grams to support local high school competitionssuch as the science fairs and the middle schoolchildren’s MathCounts competition. The Branchplans to continue to sponsor a children’s booth atJazzfest for elementary school age children.

The Branch will continue its support of theTulane University and University of NewOrleans ASCE Student Chapters. The studentchapters at both universities have plans to com-pete in the concrete canoe and steel bridge com-petitions during the 2007 Deep South RegionalConference in Ruston this spring.

For you who may not be aware, the lastclasses of civil engineering students that will beable to graduate from Tulane are in the cycle asthe Civil and Environmental EngineeringDepartment closes due to financial issues associ-ated with Hurricane Katrina. As a result, theTulane University ASCE Student Chapter willcease to exist at the close of this academic yearand this is the last chance for the members of theChapter to compete in these great events.

The closing of the Tulane University CivilEngineering program is a tremendous loss to our

community and it marks the end of an era for us.The Tulane student chapter’s presence in ourcommunity will be a lasting memory through itsalumni who continue their practices in theBranch and through the Chapter’s current mem-bers who intend to go out in grand style.

Across town, the UNO civil engineering pro-gram suffered hurricane losses that destroyed thetools used by the student chapter to constructtheir competition concrete canoe and steel bridgeentries for the annual competitions. It had takenyears of evolving experience to assemble theselost assets. The chapter will be rebuilding theirtool chests from scratch as they prepare for thisyear’s competition. Please give your support tothese programs. Either choose your favorite orhedge your bets and support both of them!

The Branch leadership has a lot on its plateat this time and it can use additional membersupport. The Branch still has several of its tradi-tional committee leadership positions open thatneed your service to help the Branch to serveyour fellow members. Please help us help youand at the same time discover the rewards ofservice as I have. If you are interested in activeservice in the New Orleans Branch, please con-tact a Board member on line or during anyBranch function.

ACADIANABy M. Jamal Khattak, PE, President

After the installation of the Branch officersfor the 2006-2007 administrative year inSeptember, the Board resumed its regular meet-ing schedule for planning the year. The maingoal identified by the Board is to provide theBranch members with high quality technical pro-grams that will best support their continuing edu-cation needs. In addition, the Board will focuson continuing and improving the Branch’s publicoutreach program and encouraging attendanceduring the Branch membership meetings.

The first Branch membership meeting for2006-2007 administrative year was in November.Donna Sentell, the Executive Secretary ofLouisiana Professional Engineering and LandSurveying (LAPELS) Board, was the guestspeaker. She presented a very informative andinteresting topic “LAPELS Board and Ethics forEngineers.” Her presentation inspired a goodturnout and the members in attendance showedgreat interest that was reflected in the question-and-answer session and the discussion that fol-lowed her presentation.

The program for the December Branchmembership meeting featured Dee Stanley, ChiefAdministrative Officer of the Lafayette (city-parish) Consolidated Government, as the guestspeaker. He made an excellent presentation

explaining the voters’ recent disapproval of alocal sales tax proposal to increase the revenuesfor infrastructure improvements. It was anothergreat turnout for this meeting. On behalf of theBoard, I would like to thank the Branch memberswho attended this meeting and actively partici-pated and demonstrated keen interest in the sub-ject.

The Board appointed Past President Dax A.Douet, PE, to chair the Branch Public OutreachCommittee. He will continue the Committee’songoing work in developing and executing PhaseII of the previously developed Public OutreachCommittee program. Phase II is intended toexpose junior- and senior-level high school stu-dents to the substance of civil engineering workand the career opportunities in the civil engineer-ing profession. Dax plans to launch Phase II ofthe program in January with a series of scheduledpresentations using the Powerpoint presentationdeveloped as part of the Committee’s Phase Iwork. The Powerpoint presentation wasdesigned by the previous Public OutreachCommittee under the leadership of its chair,Kenneth L. McManis, PE. On behalf of theBranch, I would particularly like to express itsappreciation for the planning and effort made bythe Branch Outreach Committee that led to the

timely completion of Phase I of its program dur-ing the previous administrative year.

The Branch is planning to sponsor a techni-cal seminar to be scheduled this Spring. Thetechnical seminar planned for the Fall of 2006during the previous administrative year had to becancelled due to lack of registered participants.This was apparently due to schedule conflictswith other seminars being offered and a narrowtechnical specialty being presented that limitedthe breadth of interest and participation amongthe Branch membership. This year’s proposedBranch-sponsored seminar is being tentativelyconsidered to be scheduled in the first or secondweek of April. This is to avoid a conflict with theSection’s Annual Spring Meeting andConference in March that is being hosted by theShreveport Branch in Shreveport. The planningfor the Branch-sponsored seminar is still in itsearly stages.

The Branch celebrated its 25th anniversaryof service to its members and the civil engineer-ing community with a renewal of its strong com-mitment to continue its service in the communi-ty with renewed energy to seek constructive,responsive and innovative means to further itsmission.

Happy New Year!

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BATON ROUGEBy Brant B. Richard, PE, President

Membership eventsThere was a membership meeting and lunch-

eon held November 16. The guest speaker wasProfessor Andrew Whittle of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering at the MassachusettsInstitute of Technology (MIT). His topic was“What caused the collapse of the Nicoll Highwayin Singapore.” In April 2004, this catastrophicfailure of a 30-meter-deep braced excavation forthe new Circle Line led to the collapse of theadjacent Nicoll Highway and 4 fatalities amongthe construction workers. Whittle detailed theforensic investigations that specificallyaddressed the underlying causes of the failure.This was a very interesting topic and the feed-back from the members in attendance was thatthis presentation was one of the best they hadattended.

The technical nature and length of this pres-entation qualified it as a one-hour PDH credit. It

is a goal of the Board to schedule more such pre-sentations following the luncheons of the month-ly Branch membership meetings that will qualifyfor PDH credit. This would be value added tothe Branch membership meetings that alreadyfeature an excellent meal, an opportunity to net-work with fellow members and an opportunity tokeep informed about current Branch events andissues.

There was no regular Branch membershipmeeting scheduled in December. We do not nor-mally have a Branch membership meeting inDecember because the Branch hosts its annualChristmas Party.

Christmas partyThe annual Christmas Party was hosted

December 1st at the Bocage Racquet Club inBaton Rouge. This event, typically scheduledfor the first Friday of December, is basically a

thank you to Branch members for their patronageand stewardship that contributes to its success. Itis a special social event that is particularlyintended to include spouses, and it is during thespecial time of year that brings out a broader ifnot a different spectrum of members. This pro-vides the opportunity for more intensive net-working and allows the younger members tomore effectively interact with the seasoned, long-time members of the Branch. There were almost100 guests in attendance including the spousesand as always a good time and great food wasexperienced by all.

SPAG awarded to BranchAs previously discussed, the Baton Rouge

Branch through the Section was recently award-ed a State Public Affairs Grant (SPAG) from the


East elevation of West Tiger Stadium improvements viewed from the park-ing area.

View from the ground level general dining area of the staircase and thelandings providing additional seating.

View of Tiger Field from the bleachers of the West Tiger Stadium improve-ment.

View of general dining area at ground level in West Tiger Stadium improve-ment adjacent to the stairs leading to the upper levels of the stadium.

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SHREVEPORTBy Elba U. Hamilton, EI, President

With the beginning of a new year, I amreminded of my commitment to you, our Branchmembers, to finish the rest of the administrativeyear strongly. I am thankful for your help andsupport during the first half of this year and amvery excited about the upcoming events that wehave planned for you. I am particularly excitedabout the 2007 Annual Spring Meeting andConference we are hosting this year at theClarion Hotel in Shreveport. Please make sure to

read the information concerning the Conferencein this issue and posted on the Shreveport web-page and make plans to attend.

Part of my commitment to you is to identifyleaders who will continue to serve you as officersin the years to come. In April, we will elect theofficers for the Branch Board of Directors toserve for the 2007-2008 administrative year.During the rest of January and all of February,the Board will be seeking nominees willing to

serve the Branch. Nominations will be closedthe last day in February. The names of nomineeswill be published and the election held as part ofthe business of the April membership meetingannounced in the March issue of the Branchnewsletter.

I would like to advise you that according tothe Branch Bylaws all of the officers on theBoard are subject to election each administrative

Jarred Corbell delivers the goods to Providence House. From right, Rusty Cooper, Cody Goodwin and Jarred Corbell man theregistration table during Branch Chritmas Party.


(Continued from Page 9)

national ASCE. The SPAG is part of a nationalprogram intended to selectively pass additionalASCE national membership dues back to the sec-tions that propose and execute public affairs pro-grams that effectively address the issues that thenational organization deems consistent with itsgoals. The Branch proposal for the grant is topurchase high visibility billboard advertisementsduring the month of February in conjunctionwith the celebration of Engineers Week(February 18-24).

In the Baton Rouge area, there are two bill-boards located along the Interstate corridors thatwere identified and reserved for the month ofFebruary. Both billboards are owned byLAMAR — one a standard vinyl message boardlocated on I-12 East on the left near SherwoodForest Boulevard, and the other a high profiledigital image, variable message board located onI-10 East on the right near College Drive.

The variable message board was not fundedby the SPAG but it will be fully funded withapproximately $3500 of Section revenues.Because of its unusual high intensity and dynam-ic, variable message display that clearly distin-guishes it from among the many standard bill-boards and clutter near the interstate right of way,the variable message board is considered themost effective in the proposal. Heavy congestionon this high volume urban segment of interstatehighway slows traffic during the rush hoursresulting in low speed and the added time forautomobile passengers to view the entire cycle ofadvertisements on this sign. Also the daily pas-sage of commuters at higher speed during the

less congested periods gives them approximately20 opportunities to pass this billboard that alltogether will likely expose them to the full cycleof its advertisements.

The billboard advertisement graphicdesigned and planned is featured on the cover ofthis issue. The message, Civil Engineers Make aWorld of Difference is a modification of theEngineers Week slogan with the addition of theword “Civil” to its beginning. If you are travel-ing east in these corridors during February, be onthe lookout for these billboards and tell your fel-low civil engineers to do the same. Special

thanks to Board member Jeffrey L. Duplantis,PE, for his leadership, hard work and dedicationin developing and executing this Branch pro-gram.———————————————————Editor’s Note: The October Baton Rouge Branchmembership meeting was hosted by LSU FacilitiesServices on campus followed by a visit to therecently completed Upper West Tiger Stadium proj-ect. This was reported in the Baton Rouge Branchnews entry in the November 2006 issue. The visitwas documented by these late arriving photo-graphs that did not make it into that issue.

Billboard located in Baton Rouge on I-12 near Sherwood Forest Boulevard.

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STUDENT CHAPTER NEWS

Our Chapter objectives are to• promote the academic vitality of our mem-bers,• promote the professional development of ourmembers and• ensure that the chapter has a positive impacton the university, community and beyond.

Last semester’s activities were conducted withthese objectives in mind, and the chapter enjoyeda great deal of success as a result.

Our chapter conducted a community serviceproject in conjunction with Habitat forHumanity. An elderly woman’s home was not inthe best condition, so we helped to bring it backto working order. Our chapter focused on theoutside. We scraped peeling paint from thewalls, primed the wood and painted her home.When we arrived at the home, we could see thatthe owner had several physical limitations. It

would have been impossible for her to performthe activities needed for proper upkeep of herhome. One of our officers commented, “Havinga student chapter located in a close-knit commu-nity tucked in Scotlandville allowed us to utilizeour manpower and volunteer in the area.” Thisexperience helped us to appreciate what we haveand how we should be thankful and give back tothe community.

In support of our professional developmentobjective, we had two major activities — attend-ing a meeting of the Baton Rouge Branch and anOrder of the Engineer induction ceremony. Afew of our members attended the NovemberBranch membership meeting and luncheon, dur-ing which there was a very informative presenta-tion demonstrating the need for holding para-mount public health, safety and welfare.

Andrew Whittle, a professor at

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, gave anin-depth evaluation of the problem that causedthe catastrophic collapse of the Nicoll Highwayin Singapore in 2004. The collapse occurredwhile a tunnel was being excavated for a nearbysubway. Because the soil conditions were notproperly analyzed, the bracing system wasdesigned improperly and failed. Whittle stressedthe importance of having engineers design andreview projects thoroughly, as opposed to justrunning analyses on software without interpret-ing the results. His presentation provided afrightening glance into what can happen whenengineers do not do all that they can to ensure thesafety of the public. Engineers must alwayscheck and double check their calculations andphysical construction processes for accuracy andsafety.

SOUTHERN UNIVERSITYBy Deirdra Boley

Deirdra Boley and Tynekia Hampton, volunteering with Habitat forHumanity, scrape paint from a Scotlandville home.

Brandon DeJean and Brandon Johnson follow applying a fresh coat ofpaint to the home.


UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTEBy Sehati Atieh, Secretary

The Chapter had 2 meetings during the Fallof 2006. Dax A. Douet, PE, the past president ofthe Acadiana Branch, was invited as the guestspeaker for the first meeting. He gave a presen-tation about the ASCE organization and the over-all goals and activities of the different state andregional units. For the second meeting MarkZappi, Dean of Engineering, made a presentationon Chemical oxidation priming for enhancingpollutant removal in soils by biological treat-ment. During both meetings, chapter president,Jared Veazey, encouraged the involvement of allChapter members in the preparation for — andparticipation in — the upcoming 2007 DeepSouth Conference meeting and related competi-tion to be hosted in Ruston.

The Chapter leadership met with academicand alumni advisors to discuss innovative ideas

and opportunities to increase the involvement ofcivil engineering students in our Chapter activi-ties. During this meeting, there was a briefreview of the Chapter’s achievements over thepast semester and the planned Chapter activitiesfor the next semester were identified and outlinedas follows:• Identify students willing to serve in theChapter’s future elected leadership.• Seek ideas and experiences from other stu-dent chapters in improving freshman and soph-omore student participation in chapter activities.• Find and select the times best suited toimprove attendance during Chapter membershipmeetings.• Prepare for — and participate in — theupcoming 2007 Deep South Conference.• Prepare for — and participate in —

Engineers Week activities.• Volunteer to help clean and maintain the civilengineering teaching laboratories.

The Chapter’s officers managed an on-cam-pus po-boy sale as a fund-raiser. Many of thecivil engineering faculty and private practitionersin the civil engineering community supported theChapter by purchasing po-boys. While the po-boy sale brought some revenues into the Chaptertreasury, the Chapter’s leadership was successfulin soliciting the additional funds from local engi-neering firms that were needed to balance theplanned budget. The gratitude of the Chapter ishereby expressed for the outstanding supportprovided by the civil engineering community inthe Acadiana Branch.

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Our chapter established a link of the Order ofthe Engineer in 2005, and held our second induc-tion ceremony in November 2006. The Orderwas established in 1970 in the United States “tofoster a spirit of pride, individual integrity andresponsibility in the engineering profession, tobridge the gap between training and practice andto present to the public a visible symbol identify-ing the engineer” (http://www.order-of-the-engi-neer.org/history.htm). During the ceremony, theinductees accepted the Obligation of theEngineer by pledging to uphold the integrity ofthe engineering profession, to use their skills toserve humanity and to conduct their businessaccording to the highest ethical standards. Theywere then presented with a stainless steel ring,which is worn on the fifth finger of the writinghand as a reminder to the inductees of their obli-gations to society and a symbol to the public

identifying the individuals as engineers. In the midst of all of the professional and

service activities, we still made time for fun! Wereally enjoy each other’s company, so we try toget together apart from school and work as muchas possible. One member even stated that thiswas the only organization of which she is a mem-ber that she felt was a family. Another memberstated that the weekly outings helped him torelieve stress, relate better to his peers, and basi-cally just provided a time for relaxation outsideof the classroom. These activities provide justwhat is needed to help students complete theirmatriculation successfully.

Our chapter has also put on several eventslike a freshman-engineering mixer, which washeld to shed some light on the different fields ofengineering for incoming freshmen. Oftentimes, students pick an engineering field with lit-

tle or no reason behind their choice. This pro-vided them with an opportunity to make a gooddecision as to what field of engineering to pur-sue, as well as an opportunity to meet the deansof the department and associate with their peers.

As a whole, our chapter is being taught whatis involved in being an engineer whether it isthrough questions discussed about school, aguest speaker at chapter meetings, or from actu-al experience in handling business affairs for ourchapter. We have learned from community ser-vice the value of giving to others. A well-knownquote states that there is more happiness in giv-ing than receiving. We have definitely reaped thefruit of our labor; the pleasure resulting from see-ing someone benefit in a way that will make hisor her life easier, far outweighs the effort putforth to see it come about.


Celebration following the Order of the Engineer induction ceremonies. From left Patrick Carriere,Chair, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, joins the celebration with inducteesDavid Nash, Alexis Carter, Krystal Tatney, Alexander Serrano, Brandon DeJean, Victoria McPhaul,Ineaka Carbo, Ernest Muhammad and Jacques Gilbert.

Chapter members take a minute to pose after agreat night of bowling. From left and front areVictoria McPhaul, Jacques Gilbert, BrandonDeJean, Alexis Carter, Brandon Johnson,Tynekia Hampton, Ineaka Carbo and AlexanderSerrano.

LOUISIANA TECH UNIVERSITYBy Nathan Linhardt, President

In November the Chapter’s members partici-pated in Up Till Dawn at Louisiana TechUniversity, to raise money for St. Jude’s Hospitalto support cancer research and awareness. TheDecember Chapter membership meeting wel-comed Guest Speaker Jeff Feaster from NCIBuilding Systems from Houston, Texas. InJanuary the Chapter membership meeting fea-tured a presentation by Kurt M. Nixon, PE, withCoyle Engineering of Bossier City.

We are looking forward to the remainder ofthe academic year that is marked by some verysignificant events planned by the Chapter:• Annual Louisiana Tech Civil Engineering

Banquet scheduled for February 13th willfeature guest speaker William F. MarcusonIII, PE, the ASCE National President. Wewill be honoring our outstanding students fortheir academic and service achievements,and presenting the Chapter’s civil engineer-

ing faculty awards; the Professor of the Yearand the Crying Towel.

• The Deep South Conference of ASCE stu-dent chapters is scheduled to be hosted bythe Chapter in Ruston March 22nd throughMarch 25th on Louisiana Tech Universitycampus. For more information or if youwould like to be a Conference sponsor pleasecontact Mary Lou Schwaller, the Conferencechair, at [email protected] check out the Conference website atwww.deepsouthconference.com.

• The Chapter has a planned field trip in Aprilto be hosted by the Louisiana DOTD. It is tovisit the site of the Ouachita River Bridge atSterlington on state route LA 2.

• The Chapter is planning its Hacker’s ClassicGolf Tournament for early May to be held onthe Louisiana Tech University Golf Course.This is our annual fund raiser. Please look

for the announcements/flyers and plan toparticipate. For more information about thetournament, please contact Michael Rister [email protected] Chapter is going strong led by its offi-cers

• Nathan Linhardt, President• Michael Rister, Vice President• Jim Ellingburg, Treasurer• Hailey Prince, Secretary• Paul Will, Community Service Chair• William Watson, Marshall• Mary Lou Schwaller, Conference Chair• Brittney Rojas, Conference Vice-Chair and• Rachel Hicks, Conference Vice-Chair

For more information or if you would like tomeet with our student chapter, please emailNathan Linhardt at [email protected].

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2007 Annual Spring Meeting and Conference

The Shreveport Branch is our host for theSection 2007 Annual Spring Meeting andConference in Shreveport for which the registra-tion form and the tentative agenda are publishedon the following 2 pages for your informationand convenience. The Branch has been energet-ically planning a series of excellent technical ses-sions and other conference events as is revealedin the tentative agenda. By strategically planningthe dates of the Spring Conference to overlapwith the dates of the Deep South RegionalConference of student chapters being hosted bythe Louisiana Tech University Student Chapter innearby Ruston, the Branch is offering the Sectionmembers who may be interested the opportunityto attend portions of both conferences — a littlelagniappe. You can find the tentative agenda for

the Deep South Conference online at http://deep-southconference.com.

This year, the Section’s website(http://www.lasce.org) provides access throughits Home page to downloadable images of theConference registration form and the tentativeagenda that are published on the 2007Conference page of the new Shreveport page(htpp://www.lasce.org/shreveport). This allowedthe opening of Section-wide registration for theConference in mid-January when the Januaryissue of the Shreveport Branch newsletter wasalso published with the Conference registrationform and the tentative agenda for the ShreveportBranch members.

This is the first year the Spring Conferenceregistration form and tentative agenda have been

published online allowing the Section-wideopening of registration before this publication ofThe Louisiana Civil Engineer. By next year it isplanned to implement a mass email facility to allSection members who maintain their currentemail address in the national ASCE membershipdatabase. At this time next year, these Sectionmembers will receive an email announcing theopening of registration for the Conference withthe URL for the online, downloadable images ofthe Conference registration form and the tenta-tive agenda. If you suspect that your contactinformation is out of date, you can easily updateit online with the remainder of your membershipinformation that is retained on the Society’snational database.

See you in Shreveport!

year. Typically each Branch officer agrees to benominated to the next office in the succession. Inthe event that there are no competing nominees,each Branch officer from the previous adminis-trative year essentially “graduates” with the newnominee for the office of Secretary. I encourageyou to seriously consider nominating yourself forSecretary. This is a great opportunity to serve thecivil engineering profession and our members innorth Louisiana. If you have questions concern-ing the position, please feel free to contact me([email protected]).

I would like to announce that the ShreveportBranch has a new webpage recently implement-ed on the Section website. With this asset, gen-eral information about our Branch is publishedand in particular the information about the 2007Annual Spring Meeting and Conference is avail-able on the Shreveport page(http://www.lasce.org/shreveport). It is alsoaccessible from the Welcome page of the Section

website by clicking on the Shreveport Brancharea of the map of the Louisiana Section.

Now that registration is open for the 2007Annual Spring Meeting and Conference, you candownload the registration form and the tentativeagenda that are posted on the Shreveport page.In addition, each current issue of the Branchnewsletter will be immediately posted on thewebsite along with several previous issues.Please visit the Shreveport page and let us knowyour thoughts and how we can improve it as aservice to you.

I would like to thank you for supporting allthe activities that we organized at the end of lastyear, including monthly meetings, communityoutreach, and the Christmas party. OurNovember membership meeting hosted in theAssociation of General Contractors Building wasvery informative. Our own Barbara E.Featherston, PE, was the speaker. Barbarabriefed those attending on the Environmental

Protection Agency’s Long Term 2 EnhancedSurface Treatment Rule. This is a newly enactedrule that applies to all surface water treatmentplants and ground water systems that are underthe direct influence of surface water.

The Branch’s traditional Thanksgivingcanned food drive to benefit Providence Housewas a great success. On behalf of the Branch, Iwant to thank Jarred Corbell for organizing thisevent, making arrangements to collect the contri-butions, and personally delivering them to theProvidence House. Also on behalf of the Branch,a special thanks to all the companies that partici-pated in this event and made it possible.

The Branch hosted its second annualChristmas party at the University Club. It wastruly a networking/social event where memberscame to enjoy the food and visit with fellowengineers. Congratulations to those who won thedoor prizes — gift certificates to local restaurantsand stores.


Global dominance:According to an article in the New York

Times 5/3/04 the United States is quickly losingground in its international scientific researchstanding. It has fallen behind Europe and Asia inthe number of doctoral degrees awarded, paperspublished in scientific journals, Nobel Prizesawarded, and patent citations. Globalization andincreasing standards of living in other countriesare given as the fundamental reasons for theshift, as foreign countries produce more scien-tists and foreign science students in the U.S.choose to return home. There is also the loss ofintellectual capital as foreign workers in the U.S.leave to start companies in their own countries.

China is also drawing away American indus-trial research dollars as major U.S. firms, such asGeneral Electric, set up research facilities in thatcountry. The impetus is not just low costs, butalso the abundance of scientists, according toIndustrial Research Institute President RossArmbrecht.

A number of political leaders and organiza-tions in the U.S. have raised “alarms” about the

situation. Is alarm an appropriate response? Isglobal scientific, military, economic, etc. domi-nance of the U.S. necessary? ...desirable? Wouldcompetitiveness be an acceptable global stand-ing? Can the U.S. afford to resist the world final-ly rising out of the ashes of World War II and thethird world nations emerging from poverty, igno-rance and resentment often leading to terrorism?I don’t think so. - Editor

Globalization:The crunch resulting from the outsourcing of

the production of goods and services — includingengineering — by U.S. companies to foreigncountries via Internet communications, the move-ment of their infrastructure abroad and their useof a domestic alien labor force — legal and oth-erwise — all at substantially lower costs may becontributing significantly to corporate profits andthe aura of prosperity in the stock market. It maybe at the expense of the domestic labor force, butmaybe not. While U.S. companies, their captainsand investors should continue to enjoy with con-fidence the interim prosperity from the increased

profits realized from their lower cost operations,it results in the loss of domestic jobs — includingengineering — across much of the economicspectrum. The resilience of the U.S. labor marketdue to technological innovation and businessdevelopment, and the resulting job creation, hasarguably kept pace with or modestly exceeded thedomestic loss of jobs due to outsourcing.However, the uncertainty of job loss and creationmay explain the uncertainty reported among thedomestic labor force/retail consumers. As globalcompetition stiffens and the economic conditionsin those countries with the lower income workersand standards of living improve rapidly by bene-fitting from the outsourcing by U.S. companies,there will be a relative decline or slowing of theeconomic conditions in the U.S. until this globaltrend changes. While in this trend, it appears thateither deflation, stagnation or a more painlessslower-than-otherwise growth of the U.S. econo-my can be expected and the ability to create thejobs to maintain low unemployment under theseconditions will become even more uncertain.

- Editor

- Observations -

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM



REGISTRATIONN FORMM 20077 Annuall Springg Meetingg andd Conferencee

Marchh 22-23,, 20077 Clarionn Shreveportt Hotell • Shreveport,, Louisianaa

Itemm No.. Costt Totall Registration Fees*: Member Registration by March 1 ___ @$150.00 $________ Member Registration after March 1 ___ @$175.00 $________

Non-Member Registration by March 1 ___ @$160.00 $________ Non-Member Registration after March 1 ___ @$175.00 $________

Student Registration ___ @ $15.00 $________

Luncheon Admissions (Thursday and Friday): Conference Registrant ___ no charge General Admission Thursday Luncheon ___ @ $15.00 each $________ General Admission Friday Luncheon ___ no charge Student Admission Thursday Luncheon ___ @ $10.00 each $________

Award Banquet** Admissions (Thursday): General Admission ___ @ $35.00 each $________ Life Member honoree and a guest ___ no charge Award Recipient and a guest ___ no charge Student Admission ___ @ $10.00 each $________ TOTALL PAYMENTT ENCLOSED:: $_________

* Registration fee includes admission to the Thursday and Friday luncheons, the exhibits and the technical sessions.

** Award Banquet Entrée Choices: ____ Prime Rib of Beef Au Jus ____ Chicken Florentine

Name: _________________________________________ Branch: ______________________________

Spouse’s / Date’s Name (if attending banquet or a luncheon): ____________________________

Company Name: _____________________________________ ASCE Member No: _______________

Address: ___________________________________________ City, St, Zip: ______________________

Phone: __________________ Fax: __________________ E-mail: _______________________________

Please make checks payable to AASCEE -- Shreveportt Branch and mail with this form to:

ASCE - 2007 Conference Post Office Box 3994 Shreveport, LA 71133

Registration and Information: To register or obtain additional information, by telephone please call Elba Hamiltonat 318-425-7452. To register by facsimile, send the completed registration form to Elba Hamilton at 318-425-4622.

Overnight Accommodations: For Conference hotel reservations, call the Clarion Shreveport Hotel at 800-321-4182 by March 1 to receive the special Conference group rate of $76.00 per room.

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM


Conference Agenda (Tentative)2007 Annual Spring Meeting and Conference

March 22 - 23, 2007 Shreveport, Louisiana

••• Conference Agenda Thursday, March 22, 2007 •••

Time Technical Session 1 Technical Session 2

Location Room No. 1 Room No. 2

7:30 am - 8:30 am Conference Registration in the Hotel Foyer

8:00 am Exhibit Area Opens

8:00 am - 8:50 am Water hammer and transient modelingFrank K. Smith, III

Pipe Tech, Inc.

(No concurrent session scheduled)

9:00 am - 9:50 am Control valvesFrank K. Smith, III

Pipe Tech, Inc.

Trenchless Technology Research UpdateMichael E. Baumert

Trenchless Technology Center Louisiana Tech University

9:50 am - 10:10 am Break in the Exhibit Area

10:10 am - 11:00 am Transportation issues facingLouisiana and the United States

Kam K. Movassaghi, PE C.H. Fenstermaker and Associates

Precast concrete bridge solutionsOliver S. Delery, Jr., PE

Hanson Pipe and Precast

11:10am - 12:00noon Effective utilization of subsurface utility engineering

Jeffrey Vick Gorrondona and Associates, Inc.

SafeLight / SafeSpeed Lafayette, Louisiana Tony R. Tramel, PE

Lafayette Consolidated Government

12:00 noon - 1:15 pm Luncheon with Keynote Speaker

1:30 pm - 2:20 pmApplication of activated carbon absorption

and ozonation for treatment of contaminated waters

Mark Zappi, PE University of Louisiana at Lafayette

Plans management at DOTDHollis Ward

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development

2:20 pm - 3:00 pm Break in the Exhibit Area

3:00 pm - 3:50 pmIdentification, modification and

construction with/on expansive soils Billy R. Prochaska, PE

Soil and Foundation Engineers, Inc. (Retired)

Life-Safety Code(Part 1)

W.K. Matlock State Fire Marshal’s Office

4:00 pm - 4:50 pm Soil Conservation Service curve number estimates of runoff: Hidden uncertainties

and lack of scientific basis puts many practitioners in some jeopardy

Steven C. McCutcheon, PE University of Georgia

Life-Safety Code(Part 2)

W.K. Matlock State Fire Marshal’s Office

6:30 pm - 9:30 pm Awards Banquet with Keynote Speaker

••• Conference Agenda Friday, March 23, 2007 •••

8:00 am Exhibit Area Opens

8:00 am - 8:50 am ASCE 501 c(6) InitiativeE.R. DesOrmeaux, PE and Norma J. Mattei, PE E.R. DesOrmeaux, Inc. University of N.O.

(No concurrent session scheduled)

9:00 am - 9:50 amPorous concrete to eliminate runoff

in parking sitesAziz Saber, PE

Louisiana Tech University

The role of civil engineering incoastal restorationDonald Hayes, PE

University of Louisiana at Lafayette

9:50 am - 10:00 am Break in the Exhibit Area

10:10 am - 11:00 am Treatment of wastewater from

interstate rest areasDixie M. Griffin, Jr., PE

Louisiana Tech University

11:15 am - 12:15 pm Ethics

Bobbie E. Price, PE

Thickness design jointing and reinforced concrete pavements and slabs on grade

(Part 1 and Part 2)H. Rolfe Jennings, II

Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute

12:15 pm - 1:30 pm Luncheon and Section General Membership Meeting

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm Section Board of Directors Meeting

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM


Highlights of the January Board of Directors meeting

President Timothy M Ruppert, PE, present-ed a first draft of a vision statement, missionstatement and goals and objectives for theSection for the consideration of the Board. Theopening discussion for the development of thesestatements was on the agenda of the previousBoard meeting at which time they were brieflydiscussed without making any significantprogress. To better facilitate discussion andprogress in developing a vision statement, mis-sion statement and goals and objectives for theSection, Ruppert independently authored a firstdraft for the Board and branches to consider.

Rather than immediately beginning to devel-op consensus wording, a very productive discus-sion ensued about the relationship between theSection and the branch governing bodies and theneed for a vision statement, mission statementand goals and objectives for the Section.Considering the disparity in the perceptions ofthe Board members concerning the relationships,both appear to be very important issues that mustbe clearly understood before consensus wordingcan be effectively developed. Ruppert asked thebranch representatives on the Board to bring thedraft back to their branch boards of directors fortheir review and further input.

The basic relationship that has evolved in thewholly volunteer environment of the Sectionorganization between the section or the branchofficers; between the section and the branchboards; between the boards and their individualofficers and their appointed committees is notand cannot be one of command and control.Instead, it must be founded on mutual agreement,respect and cooperation. The only practical dis-cipline in this environment is and has been theexercise of effective communication, personalintegrity, the power of persuasion and ultimatelythe replacement of the ineffective and/or uncoop-erative volunteer.

These basic relationships form what maydescribed as a loose partnership in the Section’sorganizational structure. It is, therefore, only aseffective as the mutual interest and personalintegrity of the participating volunteers broughtto bear on a mutually defined direction. Giventhe nature of this relationship, it clearly extendsto the entire political spectrum of the Section —the section and branch boards of direction, theirofficers, their committee members and the gen-eral membership.

It becomes more clear once the relationshipsare understood that the means to give flesh to themotives for — and effectively focus the energyof — the effective relationships in a volunteerorganization is an active vision statement, mis-sion statement and goals and objectives. To beactive, their annual review becomes the primarymeans for the organization and its leadership toreach a meeting of the minds from which themutual agreement, respect and cooperation of itsvolunteers emerge through their selection and ajointly established direction.

It was observed that the Section Board has along history of expending substantial energy indeveloping and approving the Section’s annualbudget. This is done with no predefined goalsand objectives for the Section. Further, the beliefwas expressed that if some portion of this energyexpended on the Section budget was devoted toan annual review and/or renewal of the visionstatement, mission statement and goals andobjectives of the Section, the budget should bemuch more easily developed.

Ruppert stated that his primary concern ininstituting a vision statement, mission statement,and goals and objectives was to seek an effectiveway to select and motivate the Section leadershipand to define programs that will meet importantcommitments. This is predicated on his desire toend what appears to be a history of erratic if notunfocused leadership and no perceptible activityamong most of the Section’s standing commit-tees.

The Section regained control of its Fidelityinvestment accounts that have a current value ofapproximately $48,000. While there was limitedaccess to the status of the account, there was noaccess to the funds contained in the account forapproximately 3 years. This occurred as a resultof a discontinuity in the elected leadership on theSection Board. Assessing the poor experienceand/or difficulty in dealing with Fidelity led tothe decision to consider moving the subjectassets to certificates of deposit at Whitney Bankwhere the Section has the remainder of its assetsand its checking account. To maximize liquidityand yield of the subject funds, a strategy wasconsidered to purchase long-term CDs in reason-able units with staggered maturity dates intendedto minimize early withdrawal penalties in theevent immediate access to a portion of the fundsis necessary.

The purpose and the wisdom of maintainingfinancial assets in the Section were discussed atlength. It is appreciated that the maintenance ofa sufficient cash reserve is prudent in the eventthat substantial unanticipated expenses occurduring a fiscal year that would exceed theSection’s budgeted assets. Otherwise, thereshould be no other significant accumulation ofwealth in the Section beyond meeting this need.This is because it is viewed as an inappropriateuse of Section assets derived from membershipdues that are intended to be expended on mem-bership interests and services. Excess accumu-lated assets imply that either membership pro-grams are inadequate or membership dues aretoo high.

Editor’s Note: It is believed that the origin ofmost if not all of the $48,000 in the investmentaccount is not membership dues but the unspentvolunteer contributions and the accrued interestin a special fund established by the Section’s hostcommittee for the last national ASCE conventionin New Orleans. The funds were loosely set asidefor the use of the Section in the event that anoth-

er hosting opportunity for a national conventionwould occur. It did not occur and given the cur-rent circumstances it is not reasonable to assumethat it will occur in the distant future. In theinterim, about 5 years ago $10,000 were with-drawn from this fund as seed money for a chari-table event. It was not recovered and therefore itwas not replaced.

The Board acted to select Robert W.Jacobsen, PE, as its representative to participatein the national ASCE Annual LeadershipTraining in Government Relations program heldin Washington, DC. It is also known as theCongressional Fly-In.

The surplus funds of the Section were dis-tributed to the branches in December accordingto established policy and in the followingamounts:• Acadiana Branch $2854• Baton Rouge Branch $4491• New Orleans Branch $4665• Shreveport Branch $1536

Due to recent concerns that some of the surplusfunds previously distributed may be accumulat-ing indefinitely in some branch accounts, thebranches were asked to develop and provideplans to the Section Board for the effective use ofthese funds. The Section acted to provide $3500to fund the portion of the Baton Rouge BranchState Public Affairs Grant proposal that was notfunded by the grant money.

Jerome M. Klier, PE, the ASCE member ofthe nominating committees for the SoutheastLouisiana Flood Protection Authority-East andthe Southeast Louisiana Flood ProtectionAuthority-West, presented oral and writtenreports to the Board concerning the recentactions of the two committees including the jointorganizational meeting of the committees. Asummary of the status of the committees’ activi-ties appears elsewhere in this issue.

A proposed formation of a separate politicalarm and organization of the ASCE to allow theASCE to direct and expend unlimited funds inlobbying Congress is opposed by the Board. Anappropriate resolution will be crafted for consid-eration.

The Section Nominating Committee report-ed that its nominations for the scheduled electionof Section officers during the Annual SpringMeeting were incomplete. There were no otherstanding committee reports.

Section News and Information

❖ Quotes ❖Integrity: Integrity has no need of rules.

- Albert Camus, Essayist

Communication: ...if I have made myself clear Ihave misspoken.

- Alan GreenspanChairman of the Board of Governorsof the Federal Reserve System

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM


Nominations and electionThe election of Section officers and directors

to serve on the Section Board of Directors for the2007-2008 administrative year is scheduled aspart of the agenda for the Section Annual SpringMeeting scheduled March 23, 2007 at 12:15 pmin the Clarion Shreveport Hotel in Shreveport,Louisiana. It is in conjunction with the Section2007 Annual Spring Meeting and Conferencehosted this year by the Shreveport Branch.

Listed here is the slate of nominees that willbe offered to the Section’s members by theSection Nominating Committee during theAnnual Spring Meeting after which nominationsfrom the floor will be opened for the Sectionoffices subject to election. Once the nominationsfrom the floor are closed, the election of Sectionofficers and directors will ensue.

The office of President will not be subject toelection but to succession by the currentPresident-Elect, E.R. DesOrmeaux, PE.Similarly, the office of Past President will not be

subject to election but succession by the currentPresident, Timothy M. Ruppert, PE. Two of theDirectors-at-Large, Christopher G. Humphreys,PE and Dax A. Douet, PE, will continue to serveout the second year of their 2-year term and 2Directors-at-Large will be subject to election fora 2-year term.

The 2 Assigned Branch Directors are notelected but appointed to staggered 2-year termsby the Baton Rouge and New Orleans BranchBoards of Directors. Yvette P. Weatherton, PE,will continue to serve out the second year of herterm as the Assigned Director of the BatonRouge Branch. The slate of nominees to beoffered by the Section Nominating Committee is

• Ali M. Mustapha, PE, President-Elect• Christopher P. Knotts, PE, Vice President• Not available, Secretary-Treasurer• C. Eric Hudson, PE, Director at Large• Jeffrey L. Duplantis, PE, Director at Large

Section appoints MatteiPast Section President Norma Jean Mattei,

PE, was nominated December 15, 2006 by theSection Board of Directors to be reappointed toserve a full 3-year term as the Section’s Region5 Governor. Mattei had been previouslyappointed by the Section Board to serve a 1-yeartransition term as the first Louisiana SectionGovernor to serve on the newly establishedASCE Region 5 Board of Governors and sheexpressed interest in continuing as the Section’sGovernor for a full 3-year term. The ASCERegions are the results of a constitutionallyadopted plan of governance that replaces theASCE Districts and Zones to reorganize and sep-arate the governance of the technical institutes,sections and branches from that of the nationalASCE.

Branch attracts grantThe Section was notified December 4, 2006

that it had successfully attracted a $3680 grantfrom the ASCE State Public Affairs Grants(SPAG) program to partially fund a billboardadvertising program with an estimated budget of$7180. The proposed program from the BatonRouge Branch is intended to raise the public’sawareness of the civil engineering profession inthe Baton Rouge region. The Louisiana Section— as is customary — will provide the additionalfunds to cover the Branch’s budgeted amount.

ProposalThe events of August 2005 changed the face

of southern Louisiana in many ways. From acivil engineering perspective, Hurricanes Katrinaand Rita devastated the infrastructure of the GulfCoast region. The perception of infrastructurefailure is mostly founded in the obvious leveebreaches. However, substantial infrastructureproblems extend from the least visible subsur-face utilities to the most visible and used roadsand bridges.

The dislocation of the population in thesouth Louisiana region following these storm

events led to Baton Rouge becoming the largestcity in Louisiana by population. This populationincrease has required a complete rethinking ofthe perspectives and priorities in the develop-ment of the operations, design, construction andplanning of the City’s infrastructure. In the mid-dle of this expedited effort is the local civil engi-neering community. The individuals and busi-nesses in the civil engineering community areplaying a significant role in this transformationas they have in the historical development ofBaton Rouge.

As part of the Baton Rouge Branch programto improve public awareness of the civil engi-neering profession, an area-wide advertising pro-gram was considered. Initial research deter-mined that one of — if not the — largest audi-ence available was the drivers and passengers onthe urban interstate system in Baton Rouge. Itcarries the largest volume of traffic and therebythe largest population of both local residents andtravelers passing through Baton Rouge. On thisbasis, it is proposed that billboard advertising —the most effective option — be undertaken.

Correction

The roster for — and presentation of — thenew Section officers published in the Novemberissue incorrectly indicated that André M.Rodrigue, PE, was serving in two positions onthe Section Board of Directors — a Director-at-Large and the Assigned Director for the BatonRouge Branch. André was elected to serve as aDirector-at-Large. However, Yvette P.Weatherton, PE was appointed by the BatonRouge Branch Board of Directors to serve as itsAssigned Director — a 2-year term. Yvette alsoserves as the student chapter correspondent forthis journal, the Faculty Advisor for the SouthernUniversity Student Chapter and she is the Chairof the Section’s Younger Member Committee.

Yvette P. Weatherton

❖ Quotes ❖Globalization: Globalization — more than ter-rorism, the end of the Cold War or any otherphenomenon — represents the dominant changein world affairs.

- Fred Bergsten, DirectorInstitute for International Economics

...that paper-based archiving of text has a lifeexpectancy of 500 years while the archiving ofdigitally created files may have a life expectancyof only 5 years? This is a result of the built-inobsolescence of digital technology through rap-idly evolving computer media, languages andoperating systems.

...that one project being envisioned is atrans-Atlantic — New York-to-London — neu-trally buoyant, vacuum tunnel submerged 150 to300 feet below the surface and anchored to theseabed? It would provide the means for a mag-netically levitated train to reach speeds upwardof 4000 mph and traversing the Atlantic in a lit-

tle less than an hour. Its estimated cost isbetween $25 million to $50 million per mile, andsafety is an issue. Given is the premise thathumans are driven to build on a grand scalerequiring substantial resources and organizationand provided the technology is available. Whensuch extreme engineering projects are visualizedthey often give insight into the cultures that comeup with them. - Popular Science 4/04

...that women are earning 20 percent of theengineering undergraduate degrees — the lowestpercentage of women graduates in any profes-sion — and they make up 11 percent of the engi-neering workforce? - EEE Spectrum 10/04

Did you know...

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM

Section member and former StateRepresentative Bryant O. Hammett, Jr., PE,has been appointed by Governor KathleenBlanco as Secretary of the Louisiana Departmentof Wildlife and Fisheries replacing DwightLandreneau who resigned in August this year.This is following Hammett’s recent service onthe Governor’s disaster recovery team where heled efforts to restore state and local governmentinfrastructure compromised by HurricanesKatrina and Rita. He had resigned his seat in theHouse to accept the position in the Office ofCommunity Development in the LouisianaDivision of Administration from where he wasleading the $15 billion infrastructure restorationeffort.

Hammett, a civil engineer and an environ-mental engineer licensed in Louisiana and theowner of the engineering firm, Bryant Hammettand Associates in Ferriday, accepted the office ofSecretary September 30th, and he is scheduled tobegin in service December 4th. As a member ofthe Louisiana House of Representatives,Hammett served on the Natural Resources

Committee and was the chair of the Ways andMeans Committee. He also chaired the House’sRural Caucus.


Hammett appointed secretary

Levee board appoinmentsBaton Rouge dateline 12/31/06 — Governor

Blanco appoints members to new consolidatedlevee board and submits the names of theappointees to the office of the Attorney Generalto ensure they meet statutory requirements.

Louisiana’s statutory levee reform movedforward today with the Governor’s tentativeappointment of the members to the SoutheastLouisiana Flood Protection Authority — East.This expeditious implementation is the result ofAct 1 of the First Special Session in February2006 to reform and consolidate New Orleansregion levee boards in combination withAmendment 3 to the State Constitution over-whelmingly approved by Louisiana voters inSeptember 2006. This created the SoutheastLouisiana Flood Protection Authority — East,and the Southeast Louisiana Flood ProtectionAuthority — West.

The membership of the new levee board willby law consist of several “professional”appointees schooled in the necessary technolo-gies to effectively manage the hurricane floodprotection systems in south Louisiana. Largelytouted to “take the politics out of flood protec-tion,” the new boards unlike the ones they replaceare expected to devote their attention and theresources available to effective flood protectionmeasures that are focused on the safety of thehomes and communities affected.

The members of the levee boards are nomi-nated by a committee whose members consist ofappointees from statutorily designated organiza-tions representing a cross section of pertinentacademic, professional and civic entities ofwhich the ASCE is one. The ASCE appointmentto the committee is Louisiana Section member,Jerome M. Klier, PE. The nominations made bythis committee are submitted to the Governor to

be considered for appointment and then to theSenate to be considered for confirmation.

To reasonably assure that the new boardwould be in place by January 2007, the firstmeeting of the nominating committee with astatutory deadline of January 30 was pushed upto December 25. The nominating committee wasexpected to send the Governor the list of candi-dates according to this shortened time line. Aftera review of the candidates submitted by the nom-inating committee, the Governor tentativelyappointed the following nominees to theSoutheast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority— East:

Category 1, engineers or professionals in arelated field — 5 members including 1 civil engi-neer and 1 hydrologist or geologist• Louis Wittie, civil engineer, Hammond• Larry McKee, civil engineer, Baton Rouge• George Losonsky, geologist, Baton Rouge• Stradford Goins, civil engineer, Poplarville,

Mississippi — a Louisiana graduate whoworks in Louisiana.

Before appointing the 5th member to the board inthis category, the Governor is seeking the opin-ion from the office of the Attorney General as tothe acceptability of these 4 appointees.

Category 2, other professionals — 3 mem-bers including 1 who is either a resident of St.Charles Parish or St. John the Baptist Parishlocated on the east side of the Mississippi River• Dave Barnes, meteorologist, Slidell• Timothy Doody, Certified Public

Accountant, Arabi• Abril Sutherland, attorney, LaPlace

Category 3, at-large — 3 members including1 who is either a resident of St. Charles Parish orSt. John the Baptist Parish located on the eastside of the Mississippi River

• John Barry, author, New Orleans• Tom Jackson, engineering consultant,Metairie• Sara Lee St. Vincent, chemical engineer,Destrehan

The law requires that the appointments forthe Southeast Louisiana Flood ProtectionAuthority — East shall include no more than1 person from each of the 7 parishes it represents• St. Bernard• Orleans• St. Tammany• St. John the Baptist• St. Charles• Jefferson and• Tangipohoa

An organizational meeting of the board isplanned for sometime in January 2007.

Preparations are under way to nominate andappoint the members to the Southeast LouisianaFlood Protection Authority — West. However,there are questions regarding the residencyrequirements for the appointments to this board.As a result, the Governor has requested an opin-ion from the office of the Attorney General inadvance of plans that will proceed once thisquestion is resolved. In the interim the Westernlevee district and staff will remain in place andcontinue operations until the new board is inplace.

— net surfing—

ASCE national organization:

http://www.asce.org

Note: Most ASCE-related pages can also be

addressed through links at this website. All

section and branch officers are listed at:

http://www.asce.org/gsd/localofficers

ASCE Acadiana Branch:

http://www.asceacadiana.net

ASCE Baton Rouge Branch:

http://branches.asce.org/batonrouge/

index.htm

ASCE New Orleans Branch:

http://www.asceno.org

Louisiana Tech ASCE Student Chapter:

http://www.latech.edu/tech/orgs/asce/

UNO ASCE Student Chapter:

http://www.uno/~engr/asce/asce.html

ULL ASCE Student Chapter:

http://www.engr.usl.edu/cive

LSU ASCE Student Chapter:

http://www.ce.lsu.edu/~asce

ASCE Louisiana Section:

http://www.lasce.org

Louisiana Engineering Society:

http://www.les-state.org

Louisiana Professional Engineering and Land

Surveying Board:

http://www.lapels.comBryant Hammett

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM


Kyle Curtis Jones, PE, died December 1,2006 at the age of 50. He was the DeputyDirector of Port Development for the Port ofNew Orleans where he had been employed forthe past 17 years. Prior to joining the Port, Jonesserved as a project engineer for the New Orleansconsulting firms of Linfield, Hunter and Junius,and N-Y Associates. His expertise was in civil,structural, port, and transportation engineering.Jones was a licensed engineer in Louisiana.Most recently he served as the senior projectmanager for the Erato Street Cruise Terminal andthe Napoleon Avenue Container Terminal proj-ects.

Jones earned his BS in Civil Engineeringfrom the University of New Orleans and was agraduate of the International Program for PortPlanning and Management. He received twocommendations from the United States govern-ment for his work with the damage assessmentteams of ports in Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua

in the aftermath following their hurricane devas-tation.

Jones was a member of the ASCE, theSociety of American Military Engineers, and theAmerican Society of Testing and Materialswhere he served on the Marine/Waterfront TaskGroup for Plastic Composite Fender Systems.He was a past member of the Advisory Board forthe Civil and Environmental EngineeringDepartment at the University of New Orleans,and was recognized with the OutstandingGovernment Civil Engineer for 2001 by theASCE New Orleans Branch.

A scholarship fund is being established inJones’ name for civil engineering studentsattending the University of New Orleans. Thoseinterested in obtaining information about thescholarship fund or making a contribution to itmay contact Deborah D. Keller, Director of PortDevelopment, at [email protected].

Kyle C. Jones dies

Section member Charles R. Turner, PE,recently earned his professional engineeringlicense in Louisiana. If you are in contact withhim, please offer your congratulations on hisaccomplishment.

Louisiana residents Jules M. Darden, PE,Jeffrey J. Falati, PE, Heather L. Fontenot, PE,Bradford N. Frischhertz, PE, Timothy B.Hassenboehler, PE and, Kent J. LeBlanc, PE,recently earned their professional engineeringlicense in Louisiana and they are not members ofthe ASCE. A copy of this issue of the journal issent to them as an informal introduction to theSection. If any of them wish to join and/or findout more about the ASCE, they are hereby invit-ed to visit the ASCE national website,http://www.asce.org. If you are in contact withany of these engineers, please consider formallyintroducing them to the Section by inviting themto attend a branch meeting as your guest.

Governor Blanco tentatively appointed themembers to the Southeast Louisiana FloodProtection Authority — East subject to theapproval of the office of the Attorney Generaland confirmation by the State Senate. For moredetails, see the article in this issue. Among theappointees are Larry A. McKee, PE, of BatonRouge and Thomas L. Jackson, PE, of NewOrleans who are both members of the ASCELouisiana Section. Also appointed were civilengineers Louis E. Wittie, PE, of Hammond,Louisiana, and Stradford A. Goins, PE, ofPoplarville, Mississippi. All of the appointeesare licensed civil engineers in Louisiana. TomJackson was elected president of the Authorityduring its inaugural meeting.

Thomas L. Jackson, PE retired as SeniorVice President and Chief Engineer for DMJMHARRIS | AECOM after 46 years’ engineeringexperience in master planning, design and con-struction management applied to a broad varietyof civil engineering work. Jackson earned his BSand ME from Tulane University, and he is alicensed engineer in Louisiana and several otherstates. Jackson, a member of the ASCE, has

extensive service on its committees and in itselective offices at the local and national levelsincluding a term as its national President. Healso holds memberships in the LouisianaEngineering Society, the National Society of

Professional Engineers, National Academy ofWater Resources Engineers, the Society ofTulane Engineers and other organizations.Jackson is the recipient of several awards includ-ing the ASCE William H. Wisley American CivilEngineer Award recognizing his outstandingpractice and service.

Larry A. McKee, PE, is currently Presidentof L. Abraham McKee Engineers andContractors Inc. Of his 48 years of engineeringexperience, 27 were with ProfessionalEngineering Consultants Corporation, the firmhe established. McKee earned his BS from LSU,and he is a licensed engineer in Louisiana andseveral other states. McKee’s experience is overa broad range of engineering practice in projectdevelopment and he has served as the engineer incharge of major municipal and federal projects.His experience includes highway design, waterand wastewater facilities, flood control struc-tures, aerial mapping, raw water intake and trans-mission facilities, water treatment and distribu-tion facilities, sewage collection, pumping andtreatment facilities, environmental impact state-ments and flood studies. McKee has been anactive member of the ASCE, the LouisianaEngineering Society, the National Society ofProfessional Engineers, the American ConsultingEngineers Council. He has served in the electedleadership of most of them. He was appointed toserve a term on the Louisiana State Board ofRegistration for Professional Engineers and LandSurveyors. (Continued on page 20)_______________________________________

Editor’s note: There are three disciplines thatare licensed by the Louisiana ProfessionalEngineering and Land Surveying Board and thatmay be considered closely related to civil engi-neering. They are the environmental, structuraland architectural engineering disciplines. As ofJune 2006, the active engineering licenses con-ferred by the Board were approximately 5937 incivil, 741 in environmental, 58 in structural and8 in architectural.

- Career Benchmarks -

Thomas L. Jackson

Larry A. McKee

Kyle C. Jones

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Thriving on neglectIn recent memory, there has been no appar-

ent interest, initiative or effort expended on anactive membership function at the Section levelin terms of formally recruiting, retaining, pro-moting; developing ASCE Section membership.Does this mean it is not important? I believe thatmembership in the ASCE can be very importantto the quality of the professional life of everycivil engineer in the profession. The LouisianaSection and its members are a microcosm of thenational organization to which the same premisecan be made. These membership functions arein the context of regularly communicating withthe rank-and-file members and potential mem-bers through personal contacts — written andface-to-face. I believe that they are most impor-tant in promoting and developing communitythrough — and the perceived and substantiveworth of — the ASCE membership amongSection members and the civil engineers residentin the Section who may not be ASCE members.

The Section indirectly promotes these veryissues through member services in the context ofoffering technical seminars in conjunction withbranch and Section-sponsored membershipmeetings, special seminars and conferences.General communications through branchnewsletters and this journal also regularly butagain indirectly promote the same issues.Simply stated, the Section and its branches tovarious degrees are effectively “walking thewalk” but not “talking the talk.” Is it fair to saythat the more important thing is being done? Isuggest the answer is, No! I believe the oneeffort is no more and no less important than theother in the effective development and the quali-ty of the professional life that the ASCE con-tributes to the civil engineering community inLouisiana

What functions are missing? The mushy,silly, personal relationship thing...• actively recruiting new ASCE members• actively encouraging ASCE members to

maintain and advance their membership• proactively soliciting interest and participa-

tion in ASCE service and functions• developing and testing new opportunities to

expand member participation• etcetera, etcetera, etcetera....

The most poignant relationship analogy that Ican clearly draw from would be parenting. If,for example, certain parents would choose forone to stay at home to raise their child and bothexercise all of the nuturing, devotion, caring andloving they can reasonably provide in attendingto their child’s needs for• nourishment• affection• health• education• etcetera, etcetera, etcetera....

Suppose all of these loving and caring ser-vices are effectively rendered save one... Simplysaying to their child the obvious and reassuringwords, “I love you.” Will this make a difference

MembershipBy James C. Porter, PE

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emb

ers

in their relationship with their child... in the qual-ity of their child’s and their family’s life? Ibelieve so.

Are not we in the Section’s leadership —elected or otherwise — in a similar way neglect-ing our professional — rather than family —relationships and thereby ill serving the qualityof the professional lives in our community? Arewe not talking-the-talk — professionally nurtur-ing each other and thereby forming a more cohe-sive professional community. Are we not ignor-ing our rank-and-file members and essentiallytreating each other with an indifference to theextent that an ASCE member cannot tell he/she isa member except for an annual dues statement?Considering the effort it takes to plan and exe-cute the technical seminars or conferences, Ibelieve that given the same priority and focus onformal membership development, the effortneeded for an effective program would be verysmall by comparison.

Who are we?Part of who we are as a Section of the ASCE

may be characterized by the distribution of ourmembers by age. The distribution can — but notnecessarily will — provide inferences over timeabout what may be• the unique needs of the Section’s members• the effectiveness of the mushy silly things

we do to promote membership• the varying size of the population of civil

engineers from which the ASCE draws• the receptiveness of civil engineers to

become ASCE members and• the effectiveness of the Section’s member

services, recruiting; retentionfor examples.

Take a look at the distribution chart of theSection’s membership by age developed from arecent Section membership database. What mes-sage do you get considering that the Section isand has been essentially in a do-nothing moderelative to membership development?


C.H. Fenstermaker and Associatesannounces that two of its employees, KarimKheiashy, PE, and David J. Girouard, PE, have

recently earned their licenses to practice engi-neering in Louisiana.

Karim Kheiashy David J. Girouard

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Call for investigation of levee failuresA New Orleans-based group, Levees.Org,

started a petition drive calling on the 110thCongress to launch a 9-11 commission-styleinvestigation into the failure of the levees of theflood protection system in the New Orleansregion during Hurricane Katrina. The proposedcommission is being referred to as the 8-29 com-mission referencing the date Hurricane Katrinastruck the Gulf Coast. The group posted anonline petition on its website www.Levees.Organd to accommodate those without Internetaccess, hard copy petitions are available at loca-tions throughout the New Orleans region. Thepetition logged over 500 signatures in the firstfew hours.

The proposal has garnered support from bothRepublicans and Democrats in the Louisianacongressional delegation. Sen. Mary LandrieuD-LA has adopted the idea and is moving for-ward with it. Sandy Rosenthal, the founder andexecutive director of Levees.Org, stated that “OnNovember 30, which happened to be the closingday of the 2006 hurricane season, my colleaguesand I conferred with Sen. May Landrieu. Shefelt an 8-29 commission is a feasible initiative inthe 110th Congress.”

Rep. Bobby Jindal R-LA, who representspart of the storm-devastated region, hasexpressed vocal support. Other members ofCongress who have publicly expressed supportof the goals of Levees.Org include Senator RussFeingold D-WI, Senator David Vitter R-LA,Representative Richard Baker R-LA andRepresentative Charlie Melancon D-LA.

The stated mission of the nonprofit grass-roots group is to “...hold the U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers accountable for its work...” allegingthat the investigation conducted by theInteragency Performance Evaluation Taskforceand led by the Corps is “inadequate.” It is con-tended that since the Corps is the sole agencyresponsible for the design, construction and per-formance of Greater New Orleans flood protec-tion system, the Corps-led investigation repre-sents a conflict of interest because the Corps wasessentially in charge of investigating itself.

Additionally, since the report of the findingsof the Corps-led investigation was released June1, 2006, three independent levee investigationteams• National Science Foundation/U.C. Berkeley• National Academy of Engineering and• Team Louisiana

have criticized the report as being incompleteand technically inaccurate. Despite this criti-cism, it is alleged that the potentially flawed

findings of the Corps-led investigation are beingused as a basis to repair and fortify the southLouisiana flood protection system that is intend-ed to protect the lives and property of 1.5 millionpeople.

“Clearly, a fresh analysis is needed to assurethat critical vulnerabilities in the levee system areaddressed and all possible opportunities forimprovement are considered,” says Rosenthal.She adds that, “Taxpayers need a full return onthe investment dollars that Congress authorizesand the citizens of south Louisiana need the bestprotection possible.”

A related issue being pressed in the courtsconcerns the scope of the flood exclusion ininsurance policies. The flood, if not from a stormevent that exceeds the presumed capacity of thelevees, may be from the premature breaching ofthe levees during a lesser event. The issue is,does the flood exclusion in the insurance policies

— Calendar of Events —March 14-16, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Structural Design of Buildings and

Industrial Facilities for Bomb Blast Loads and AccidentalExplosions, Houston, Texas.

March 15-16, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Low Impact Development, New Orleans.

March 15-16, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Design of Metal Buildings: Avoid Pitfallsin Specifying and Procuring, Atlanta, Georgia.

March 21-23, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Structural Vibration Analysis, Designand Troubleshooting, Houston, Texas.

March 21-23, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Streambank Stabilization for Restorationand Flood Control Projects, Atlanta, Georgia.

March 22-23, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Structural Design of ResidentialBuildings Using the 2003 International Residential Code,Memphis, Tennessee.

March 22-23, 2007 Louisiana Section Annual Spring Meeting andConference, Shreveport.

March 23-24, 2007 Deep South Conference of ASCE student chapters meet-ing hosted by Louisiana Tech University, Ruston,Louisiana.

March 29-30, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Progressive Collapse Mitigation:Practical Analysis Methods and Proven Solutions,Atlanta, Georgia.

March 29-30, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Low Impact Development Applicationsfor Water Resource Management, New Orleans.

March 29-30, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Preparation of Contract Documents andSpecifications for Engineers and Technical StaffMembers, Texas.

March 29-30, 2007 ASCE Seminar * Probabilistic Design, Orlando, Florida.

April 9-12, 2007 Association of State Flood Plain Managers workshop onmitigating gulf coast flooding “MissionMitigation” NewOrleans. For more information go to www.floods.org.

May 13-17, 2007 ASCE Conference * Coastal Sediments, New Orleans.

*For more information, call ASCE toll free at (800)548-2723 or visit the ASCE web-site: www.asce.org.

For the schedule and registration for the ASCE webinar continuing education reg-ularly offered: Visit the ASCE website / continuing education / distance learning /live interactive web seminars.


Education: Why do Americans do so badlyon international educational (testing) compar-isons and yet support an advanced economy?...One reason U.S. students (in the school system)rank low globally is that many do not workhard.... The American learning system has, Ithink, two big virtues. First, it provides secondchances... Second, it is job-oriented... Up to apoint... this system is hugely wasteful... teachingkids in college what they should have learned inhigh school - and in graduate school what theymight have learned in college... (The legitimateobjection that it is hugely wasteful misses) thelarger point: The American learning systemaccommodates people’s ambitions and energieswhen they emerge... This fragmented and most-ly unplanned learning system compares favor-ably to other countries’ more controlled govern-mental systems... (and) partially explains how asociety of certified dummies consistently outper-forms the (expectation of the) test scores... In the1830s, Alexis de Tocqueville observedAmericans are addicted to practical, notabstract, knowledge. That is still true.

- Robert J. Samuelson, ColumnistThe Advocate 9/6/06

❖ Quote ❖

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Newlywed finance: What to think about before the weddingBy Thomas R. Thurmond

When your beautiful wedding and honey-moon are over and real life together has begun,you will be much happier if you have put effortinto planning the marriage of your finances.

Two people — one teamPresumably you are marrying someone who

shares your values and goals. But it is alsoimportant to know how compatible you are inmatters of finance. Let us say your joint goal isto save a lot of money. Ask each other why?One of you may value security, while the othervalues status.

Consider that when you wed you are alsouniting 2 opinions about money, 2 patterns ofmanaging money, and 2 family backgrounds withdiffering assets, attitudes and assumptions aboutmoney. How you grew up and even where yougrew up has a huge impact on forming yourfinancial habits and feelings. How you manageyour finances can get tangled up with emotionalcomplexities driven by love, power, envy, status,family, selfishness and fear.

Agreeing on goals — building a lifeCounselors say that 75 to 80 percent of mar-

riages that break up do so over money issues.Long before the wedding, take time alone witheach other to ask yourselves some hard ques-tions. If avoided or left unanswered, these ques-tions might reappear in unnecessary conflictslater.

You can begin by noting the similarities anddifferences of each of your parents’ attitudestoward money. For example• Are your parents cautious about debt?• Do they fight over money?• Do they donate to charity?• Do they save and set aside money for vaca-

tions?• Do they have money secrets?• Have they had financial problems for a long

time?• Do they keep separate checking and invest-

ment accounts?• Do they pay bills on time?• Is one of them a spender and the other a

saver?• Do they use money to control or punish one

another?Honestly answering these questions will

uncover surprising differences and help start dis-cussions between the 2 of you about your ownfeelings and ideas.

Common sense — committed disciplineTake heart. Financial problems can be

avoided with some common sense and commit-ted discipline.• Find the courage to continue communicating

transparently and patiently about money.• A budget is a necessity, not an option. Make

it simple and do it together. You must knowwhere your money is coming from andwhere it is going. Monitoring your cash flowis critical, so that you do not lose control ofyour expenses and accounts. Software pro-

grams are available, although a notebook andpencil can work just as well. A budget is aroad map to help you achieve your goals. Beopen to changing your budget as your goals,priorities and family change.

• File, do not pile. Establish a simple methodof record keeping and filing. You need fold-ers for taxes, debt, credit cards, 401(k) orIRA, investments and so on.

• Decide who is in charge of what. Division oflabor gives each spouse a valuable role toplay and helps ensure teamwork. Regardlessof who pays the bills, both partners shouldhave ready access to the billing records andreview the budget together monthly.

• Establish how you will use credit and debitcards. One person may consistently pay thefull balance every month and the other maypay only the minimum and seem unbotheredby interest and late fees. Look at eachother’s credit reports together. Did one ofyou bring debt to the union and the otherbring assets? Work out your plan for han-dling this now, not later.

• Set aside an emergency fund of at least 6months’ expenses and decide at the begin-ning what constitutes an emergency.

• Make personal savings a fixed item in yourbudget. Contribute what you reasonably canto your 401(k) at work, especially if youremployer matches part of your contribution.What you keep is more important than whatyou make. Your best opportunity for a finan-cially secure life rests on what you do now,at an early age. Every dollar saved andinvested is money working for you.

• Discuss and agree on the basics. For exam-ple, do you want to take advantage of directdeposit for your paychecks? How muchinsurance do you need? How do you want tofinance and manage your mortgage?

• Beware of get-rich-quick shortcuts like hotstock tips or promises of easy money. If you

have questions, get professional advice inmanaging your money and building yourfuture.Remember that money is a means to an end,

not an end in itself. Find out what your financialvalues are for each of you so that you can setcompatible goals. Be brave enough not to hidemoney matters from your partner and learn toforgive. Encouraging each other and holding oneanother accountable will deepen and strengthenyour relationship. A team of 2 who truly partnertogether have a powerful opportunity to buildwealth and a wonderful life over the years. Thereis too much at stake to not get professionaladvice in managing your money and buildingyour future._______________________________________Thomas R. Thurmond, Senior Vice President,Wealth Advisor with Morgan Stanley in NewOrleans, Louisiana. He may be contacted by e-mail at [email protected] by telephone at (504)587-9669 or (800)659-0009. Any particular investment should be ana-lyzed based on its terms and risks as they mayrelate to your circumstances and objectives.Information and data in this article wereobtained from sources considered reliable andpublished for general information and educa-tional purposes. Their accuracy or completenessis not guaranteed and the giving of the same isnot an offer or solicitation to sell or buy anysecurities or commodities or participate in anytrading strategy. Investments and services areoffered through Morgan Stanley DW Inc., mem-ber SIPC. Morgan Stanley does not renderadvice on tax or tax-accounting matters toclients. This material was not intended or writ-ten to be used, and it cannot be used by any tax-payer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties thatmay be imposed on the taxpayer under U. S. fed-eral tax laws. Consult your tax or legal advisersbefore making any tax- or law-related investmentdecisions.


apply only to flooding from a natural eventexceeding that which was anticipated and engi-neered for rather than a manmade event resultingfrom the premature failure of the engineeredflood protection system during a lesser event.

Editor’s Note: Most of this article wasextracted from randomly selected Internet spamand the Levees.Org website. It is not intended torepresent what I believe is an informed sourcefor representing the engineering issues and therelationship between the various investigativesources into the Hurricane Katrina-relatedflooding. It is, however, intended to represent thedisparity between what I believe are the“informed” realities circulating in the engineer-ing community and what is circulating in somesegments of the lay public and among our politi-cians. Portraying what I thought was criticismbetween various independent/dependent inves-tigative authorities working in “partnership”and doing what partners do to solve complex

problems is interpreted as evidence of possibleincompetence and misfeasance. It demonstratesthe chronic public relations problem from whichthe engineering profession suffers. It seems that99.9... percent of the time engineered facilitiesare constructed and perform reasonably wellover their expected service lives. This is the wayit is supposed to be and it goes without notice orappreciation. There is no “good” press for theexemplary service of a profession so well remu-nerated for it. However, when a catastrophicfailure occurs — particularly when it takes livesand culpability can be attributed to the engineer-ing — there is plenty of “bad” press to go aroundas well it should be when it is responsible andauthoritative. This is a conundrum engineershave yet to master, if it can be mastered. The 8-29 commission being considered can benefit theengineering profession if the politicians can beguided past their primary instinct to pillory eachother and appear regal at the same time.

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Editor’s JournalBy James C. Porter, PEInformation technology

Changing the face of the ASCE

Peter M. Curtis, associate professor of facil-ities operations and management at New YorkInstitute of Technology, discusses the evolutionof a problem for which civil engineers would dowell to pay attention to his concerns. The prob-lem is the effective operations of mission criticalfacilities or facilities that are required to operatecontinuously. Until recently, the gains in facilityand equipment (such as electrical and mechani-cal) enhancement were mostly through designand manufacturing research resulting inimproved efficiency and reliability. All was welluntil the mission critical workforce recentlybegan changing in character.

Employee turnover precipitated by the lossof the paternalistic attitude of business towardemployees and the corresponding loss ofemployee loyalty has decimated the ranks oflong-term employees who have decades of oftenparallel experience in the same area. With theprevious large body of similarly experiencedemployees, there was little emphasis on — orneed for — formal documentation and training.

The greatly improved equipment efficiencyand reliability through improved technologyresulted in proportionately more maintenance

and operation lapses caused more often byhuman error. This was compounded by the inad-equate experience and training of the larger pop-ulation of short-term employees and/or their lackof access to accurate data and information appli-cable to an effective response to crisis situations.

It was recognized that there is a significantloss of intellectual assets in terms of the invest-ment in knowledge and skills that leaves with theexperienced employees and it does not usuallyreturn with the new, inexperienced employees.To compensate for this loss, mission criticalengineers now realize the needs to• organize system information• document critical data• establish effective education methods and• train new mission critical employees.

These needs are exacerbated by the increasedcomplexities in the advanced mission criticaltechnology, the little emphasis that is placed onmission critical systems management and thespecialization of mission critical engineers thathampers their communications and mobility.

Mission critical employees need to effective-ly share knowledge (information and experience)by establishing an accessible, common and com-

prehensive knowledge base. Online technologyprovides instant access to information worldwideand browser technology provides accessibilityand dependability while reducing reliance ofpaper documentation, training and obstructionsto effectiveness.

Having developed professionally in anorganization side-by-side with many experi-enced, long-term employees and gaining somedegree of experience myself, I am not confidentthat easy accessibility to critical data by — andtraining of — inexperienced, short-term employ-ees is immediately equivalent to the experienceof long-term employees. I believe that there willremain missing the intuition and critical thinkinggained through experience because they do notdevelop overnight. This intuition often aids inextending knowledge and it is more likely toinspire an effective response to an unanticipatedor undocumented crisis situation. However, themethods intended to compensate for the lack ofexperience may well serve as the means to morerapidly and desirably facilitate the process ofgaining experience.

In my estimate, the ASCE has been a moder-ate success as a technical society and a moderatefailure as a political (sometimes misrepresentedas professional) society in serving the breadth ofthe interest of its membership. Now it appearsthat the ASCE aspires to emulate its ne’er-do-well cousin, the National Society of ProfessionalEngineers, by following its formula to medioc-rity and stagnation. The basic formula is tobecome politically more active.

In mid-2005, ASCE’s Board of Directioncreated a Task Force on PoliticalInvolvement to examine the Society’sinvolvement in political activities, both cur-rent and future endeavors. During the pastyear the Task Force has evaluated our currentactivities and also looked at ways to increasethe Society’s public policy and politicalinvolvement. The Task Force is preparing torecommend to the Board the establishmentof a parallel 501(c)6 organization, thusallowing increased lobbying and politicalactivity on behalf of the membership ofASCE.This effort may have begun by the ASCE hir-

ing an expert — an ex-NSPE staffer as itsExecutive Director — intentionally or uninten-tionally to lead it into becoming NSPE’s eviltwin. This will be done by enabling the ASCE toexpend considerably more resources to serve thepolitical interests not of the ASCE general mem-bership but of the same narrow and powerful seg-ment in the NSPE — the engineers in privatepractice. If this happens, I believe that it will be— as it already is with the NSPE — to the detri-ment of many ASCE members and more impor-

tantly potential members. The chief assumptionappears to be that the ASCE members who willbe abused by ASCE’s expanded political activi-ties are stupid and will continue to blindly sup-port the ASCE with their dues. As the ASCEbegins as it has in the past to more effectively acton behalf of the political interest of a narrow partof its membership but with substantially moreresources, I believe that there will be a “realign-ment” in its membership between those servedand those abused.

This strategy has worked well for the NSPE— the professional society — by attracting most-ly the constituency that is served by its narrowpolitical aims. The NSPE has a $6 million budg-et with 50,000 members who are either attractedto — or are not concerned about — its politicalaims and who are recruited from the total popu-lation of 1.45 million professional engineers inthe United States. This compares to the ASCE— a technical society — that has a $50 millionbudget with 139,000 members recruited fromamong the population of 0.24 million civil engi-neers.

If the ASCE is successful in emulating theNSPE’s formula for successful stagnation anddecline as a professional society, I believe that itsmembership will prove to be no more stupid thanthe larger population of professional engineersthat opts out of the NSPE. If so, the ASCE maymove toward a lower bound of a national budgetnear $3 million and a membership of around9,000 that is attracted more or less to its narrowpolitical aims. This may be modified upward ifthe ASCE’s technical services can remain attrac-tive enough to overcome its political alienation

of a large segment of its membership and it doesnot give rise to competing societies that effec-tively and exclusively serve the technical interestof civil engineers who are otherwise politicallydisenfranchised by the ASCE.

Two-faced positions like favoring the indis-criminate outsourcing of all in-house govern-ment engineering services to private practiceservices because they allegedly cost less andopposing the outsourcing of all private practiceservices overseas because they do cost lessexcept when the services are not domesticallyavailable does not ingratiate me to the ASCE orthe NSPE as an engineer in government service.I believe that the ASCE leadership suffers amajor disconnect in logic by claiming not tounderstand the consequences of overtly support-ing the political interests of engineers in privatepractice in California with $100,000s — a lowerthan expected portion of engineers in govern-ment among their membership. If the ASCE pro-ceeds to marginalize itself as the NSPE has inservice to something other than the whole civilengineering profession, it may boil down to whoreally may turn out to be stupid.

...that more than 1400 documented tech-nologies have benefitted American industry fromthe research and development driven by theNASA over its last 30 years in existence? It hasalso produced 1000s of spinoff benefits in areaslike national security, economy and productivity.

Did you know...

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Professional relationships/obligations

There have been questions raised recentlyabout the professional relationship/obligationthat news reporters have to their news organiza-tion/employer in light of the Valerie Plame“affair” and the part the news media played inpublically leaking her CIA undercover identity.This discussion seems to hinge on the incarcera-tion of Judith Miller, a New York Times writer, forcontempt of court for failing to reveal her confi-dential sources in this news story. Public criti-cism of the military establishment by recentlyretired general officers seriously raises questionsabout the professional relationship/obligationsthey have as trusted professional servants.

The issue the news reporter’s professionalrelationship/obligation centers around is theirjudgment to inform their editor about the vitalconfidential information they obtain and thesource of that information in a timely manner. Ithas many parallel issues that we experience inthe practice of civil engineering relative to ourprofessional relationship with ouremployers/clients. While freedom of the press isguaranteed in the bill of rights of theConstitution, there is no law that protects newsreporters who give their word to informants tonot divulge their identity as anonymous sources.This anonymity is offered in exchange for infor-mation that could otherwise put at risk the infor-mant’s life, safety, career, significant others, rela-tionships, etc. if the informant’s identity isknown.

This long-established practice of a newsreporter agreeing to protect the anonymity of aninformant was discussed in some depth bycolumnist Jules Witcover in his essay titled“Woodward reflects writer conflict” — 12/1/05Advocate. This practice is apparently consideredan important part of the lifeblood of the news-gathering process. It often enables importantinformation to be acquired that would otherwisenot be available. This information can be some-where between hard news and partisan gossip

that is usually acquired and reported based onmaintaining the confidentiality of the source.

The apparent first order obligation of a newsreporter is to divulge the newsworthy, confiden-tial information and its source to the news organ-ization/employer in a timely manner. This leadsto a potential conflict of interest for the newsreporters who also write books outside of thenews organization. The news reporter may beinclined to withhold confidential, newsworthyinformation from the employer to use exclusive-ly in a book to improve sales. This may result ina partial failure of the news organization/employ-er to meet its obligation to its customers to pro-vide news in a timely manner and cause it to suf-fer a loss of credibility and/or competitive edge.

The professional judgement of the newsreporter is apparently trusted to distinguish whatconfidential information is vital news and infor-mation that should be divulged to the newsorganization/employer in a timely manner for itsconsideration to publish. This is — I believe —an integrity issue at the heart of the meaning ofprofessionalism and the trust it demands.

Witcover proposes that it should be theresponsibility of a news reporter to indiscrimi-nately divulge to his/her employer all news gath-ering activities including agreements withinformants to protect their anonymity. In return,the employer would collectively bear the respon-sibility to protect the anonymity of informantsrather than leaving it with the individual newsreporter. With collective responsibility, it isuncertain who in the news organization — thereporter, editor, publisher, owner... — may beindividually held in contempt of court for failureto divulge the identity of an informant.

Does the news organization really want to goto the wall for a reporter’s judgment to offer con-fidentiality to an informant providing news/gos-sip even though it chooses to publish it? If myinstincts are correct here, Witcover’s proposal —because of the consequences — would appear to

make the news organization management respon-sible for and thereby more discriminating aboutwhat it chooses to publish. For this reason alone,I surmise that his proposal is dead on arrival.

Professional engineers can find themselves— though rarely — negotiating with a newsreporter as a confidential source in the act ofwhistle blowing or providing sensitive informa-tion vital to public discourse and decision mak-ing. This act of anonymously and publicallydivulging information may be contrary to theorders of an employer/client, or contrary to anemployment agreement. The conflict of interestin such an act is measured in the subtle hues ofprofessional judgment and the engineer’s higherpublic obligation.

The professional engineer is under an obli-gation to act as a faithful servant/agent in the bestinterest of the employer, and to also act in thebest interest of the health, safety and welfare ofthe public — the higher obligation. This is anintegrity issue that is also at the heart of themeaning of professionalism. The judgment ofthe engineer is trusted by the employer and thepublic to decide when the best interest of thehealth, safety and welfare of the public is com-promised and in conflict with otherwise servingthe apparent best interest of an employer. It isthe responsibility of the engineer to recognize,avoid and resolve such conflict confidentially. Apublic act of whistle blowing should be a highlyimprobable and desperate act of last resort. Theprofessional character of the individual whocommits such an act would be measured by theconditions that initiated it.

The military’s generals are considered loyalprofessional servants of the military institution.They overtly swear an oath of allegiance to theirnation and have an obligation to the militaryinstitution to provide their loyal professionalservice. The significance of any professionalservice is easily defined by what it is not. It is

Elegant journey

Sitting in a series of sessions during a con-ference for transportation engineers and listeningto the buzz of the presentations and the followingdiscussions, it occurred to me that we engineersin transportation are truly among the busiestworker bees of society. We accomplish much.To do this, it would appear that we struggle dailywith the details of what I would suppose hasbecome an attempt to transform nature to effec-tively facilitate the activities of man while at thesame time preserving nature’s important ele-ments with as little compromise as possible. Itseems to me that in the heat of the moment thereis often a loss of contact with a deeper purposesuch as this. Whether the deeper purpose is whatI suppose here or something else — one thing issure — it will not be achieved well or at all if itis not kept in focus.

Do we think clearly or continuously about adeeper purpose as we forge ahead with the prob-lems to be solved in all their detail — where thesolutions really are? Do we actively seek the

deeper contextural understanding of our prob-lems in the process of solving them? It wouldseem to me that we should be encouraged to doso — even if the only encouragement comesfrom within our own psyche. I believe that thereis a need to continuously strive to better under-stand, to question, reevaluate our solutions in thecontext of a deeper purpose.

Inasmuch as the need for — and scope of —engineering services are often perceived and ini-tiated by clients then narrowed by others andthen again by regulations long before we proceedto provide them, the final solutions and the direc-tion they may take are not that constrained. Withall of the constraints, the direction and the ele-gance of a solution are still significantly affectedby the contribution of the engineer’s own geniusand sweat.

It would appear that in an ideal democracyconstituents would typically seek out and electexperienced and trusted leaders who have a com-pelling direction in which they want to go and

they are capable of effectively articulating it.However, I believe that the true service and suc-cess of the elected leader in a democracy is to beperceptive enough on the fly to lead their con-stituents where they — the majority of their con-stituents — want to go. Similarly, engineers,particularly in public works but in industry aswell, must also be perceptive enough to lead theirclients where they — the clients — want to go.

Part of leadership is inevitably defining andeffectively articulating a clear path with antici-pated consequences as best as one’s experienceand acumen will allow. This is because whereconstituents want to go and can go will ultimate-ly be defined by trusted and experienced leadersthrough their professional knowledge appliedthrough the effectiveness of the relationship theyestablish with their constituents. In both cases— politics and engineering — success is meas-ured by and in the elegance of the journey andthe solutions — consequences — that come fromcapable, attentive and focused leaders.


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( f g )

Nature of technical literature

Cathy Bazaan-Arias, EIT, was recently quot-ed on an Internet website expressing her concernabout the nature of the technical literature avail-able on the Internet. The recent PhD noted thatsome of this technical literature seemed to be invarious degrees little more than a regurgitation ofpreviously developed works or simply not origi-nal or seminal thought. I am uncertain if this wasintended as a criticism of sorts or just an obser-vation. It has been my modest experience inresearching literature in both the digital and thepaper jungle that the literature published appearsto conform to the description she gives.

Nowadays, there are a relatively large num-ber of technical articles that are accessiblethrough electronic venues. However, theimpressive amount of data does not implythat all of those articles provide new or rele-vant information... In some instances, theinformation conveyed seems to be a regurgi-tation of other articles. It has becomeincreasingly difficult, I think, to identify thepublications that really contribute to theimprovement of engineering.My initial knowledge of a subject I am

researching affects the way my research will pro-ceed. If I have little knowledge of the subject, Iimmediately look for a regurgitation — prefer-

ably in an easy-to-read summary — to get intothe subject. Depending on what I need to know,I may stop here, or I may refer to an easy-to-readbut a more authoritative regurgitation. If neces-sary, the last stage is to the seek refereed litera-ture that tends to be original works that providethe formal references that usually lead onealmost immediately to the original works.

The cutting edge practice/thinking in tech-nology is sometimes not in the reporting of for-mally developed research and thought processesthat lead to a successfully published paper in arefereed journal. It may be as messy as are thetypical means that lead to original thought anddiscovery. The sources — though sometimes inthe conclusions and recommendations for futureresearch in refereed papers — for me appear tobe more often found in the discussions of refer-eed papers, conference papers and presentations,informal articles, technical news items, letters tothe editor, or even in informal peer conversa-tions. Discerning the speculative and/or actualvalue of the information from these sources thatis often not rigorously founded will depend heav-ily on the experience and knowledge and some-times the attentiveness and imagination of theresearcher. Formal applied research efforts areoften initiated on the premises of confirming the

original thought in these aforementionedsources. The results published in a refereed jour-nal are often in the form of the scientific proofwhich was to be demonstrated — QED (quoderat demonstrandum) — not the discovery of aoriginal thought or idea.

It may be “...increasingly difficult...” to iden-tify the literature being sought because there is somuch more of it and not because there is a widespectrum of seminal, not-so-seminal and purelyregurgitated literature that must be fathomed bythe researcher based on how authoritative theneeds of the research are. From my experience,I believe that the spectrum if not the volume ofthe literature available was present long beforethe Internet and the Internet simply reflects itsnature. However, in digital or paper form, Ibelieve that the nature of the problem of discern-ing and locating the literature sought from whatis available is pretty much the same as it hasalways been. It should not be an unexpectedfrustration, it is just part of the literature search inconjunction with a research project. It should beexhaustive and done in a workmanlike manner asany other part of the research. It is not uncom-mon that it is done poorly. Sometime to theextent that research is duplicated and duplicatedpoorly.


not menial service to be provided with unques-tioning obedience. Professional service is pro-vided to achieve good quality results that requirethe specialized knowledge, skills and abilities ofthe professional servant. To do this, the profes-sional servant must develop an effective peerrelationship with the employer to the extent thatthe results of professional services are mutuallyunderstood and acceptable to both. This surelyrequires an intimate meeting of the mindsbetween the employer and professional servantconcerning their roles in the process and a strongand active participation in the process by both.

Whether either or both the civilian (employ-er) and military (servant) leadership in thePentagon failed to perform their respective rolesor not, one thing appears clear — the unprofes-sional way some recently retired generals have

violated their role of trusted professional ser-vants. They may have failed or may have beenpart of a failure to form an effective relationshipwith their employer. Instead they chose to seri-ously compromise the trust and credibility theymay have had by publically airing their peevish-ness in retirement. Thereby, they may have seri-ously impugned the trust and credibility — effec-tiveness — of the successors they left behind. Aspreviously posited, the professional character ofa general who commits such an act is ultimatelymeasured by the conditions that initiated it.

Conflict between the employer and the pro-fessional servant is not a taboo. It is a naturalpart of any effective professionalservant/employer peer relationship that dependssubstantially on a collaborative partnership andthe specialized knowledge used by the profes-

sional servant to effectively provide professionalservices desired by the employer.

The circumspect behavior of the profession-al servant to keep any conflict in perspective andeffectively resolve it confidentially inasmuch asit is possible is particularly the professional ser-vant’s obligation in the relationship. As a result,it would appear that part of an important judg-ment that must be made early on by a profes-sional is to evaluate the temperament and cultureof a prospective employer as to whether or not itcan support an effective relationship with a pro-fessional servant. If the answer is no, the bestadvice is, “Don’t go there!” If it is too late, finda way to... “Get the hell out of Dodge!” before itis really too late.

Experience

As anyone with work experience shouldknow, pursuing work with the motive to do welland to do right does not always translate intoresults that appear to be consistent with doingwell or doing right. The work that emanatesfrom well-intended motives leading to success orfailure or more typically somewhere in between— barring overt incompetence — is important toexperience gained. One of the most valuableexperiences for an engineer can often be found inthe success that is ripped from the jaws of apotential failure.

How experiences are conscientiouslyprocessed and used to make better, less naivechoices in the future are, I believe, the principal

part of the quality of the experience applied inengineering practice. Experience in engineeringpractice comes from knowing success and fail-ure, and studying the success and failure of oth-ers; and continually learning from — and build-ing on — the lessons they offer and effectivelyapplying what is learned to future work.Experience in engineering practice leads to per-sonal improvement and professional develop-ment — growth that is a measure of the inherentvalue of the individual who possesses it and themarket value of the services he/she provides.

How well one is able to appreciate, processand share what can be gleaned from successesand more importantly failures and then profit

from the experience in his/her ongoing practicedefines the quality of experience. This was oncemade clear when an engineer was overheardgrousing about being passed over for a promo-tion by another with less experience. The feed-back received was that he had 20 years of 1year’s experience — professional developmentor growth — that was not acceptable for the workto be done at the next level in the organization.Said more concisely, tenure is not the same asexperience.

Because of its inherent public health andsafety issues, the practice of engineering does


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These cases indicate that a contract confect-ed before the 1999 amendment is subject to a 10-year peremption, and those confected after1999, at least until 2003, have a 7-year peremp-tive period. The law after 2003 is less clear, how-ever, as the “prospective application” languagehas been deleted. Thus, arguments can be madethat the 2003 five-year preemptive period appliesretroactively.

Most recently, in In Re Katrina Canalbreaches Consolidated Litigation, the Courtexamined the retroactive nature of LRS 9:2772.30

The plaintiffs averred that this statute was notretroactive in nature and that their claims werenot perempted by the 5-year period afforded byLRS 9:2772. Rather, plaintiffs asserted that theirclaims were timely filed because the former7-year peremptive period applied.31 The plain-tiffs, further, claimed that even if the 5-year peri-od was applicable, the statute was unconstitu-tional because a “vested” right was taken away.32

The Court disagreed and held that LRS 9:2772,which was remedial in nature, was retroactive.33

The Court further held that plaintiffs’ rights werenot violated because plaintiffs’ injuries were notincurred until after the 5-year period ran. As aresult, the plaintiffs’ cause of action was not“vested” as their claims were perempted and nolonger existed.34 As this is a recent Federal deci-sion, this matter is still unresolved and will mostlikely be an area of the law that may continue tobe litigated in 2007.

ConclusionThe unfortunate reality is that some of you

will find yourselves defending a lawsuit duringyour professional careers. When this occurs,please remember that you may be able to utilize

your friend, LRS 9:2772, and if applicable, mayhave a basis to dismiss the lawsuit. A gooddefense, however, is only as good as its support.Thus, to properly utilize LRS 9:2772, make sureto keep detailed records of all contracts, workperformed and dates of completion so that anaccurate commencement date can be determined.These proactive measures will save you time andeffort should the need to use LRS 9:2772 arise.In addition, keep a calendar close — 5 years andcounting.

References1. Lauren Plaza Ass’n, Ltd v. Gordon H. KolbDevelop, Inc., 853 F. Supp. 941 (E.D.La. 1994).2. Bunge Corp. v. Gatx Corp., 557 So. 2d 1376,

1379 (La. 1990).3. Id at 13 78.4. Harris v. Black Clawson Co., 961 F. 2d 547,551 (La. 1992).5. 12 La. Civ. L. Treatise, Tort Law § 15.33.6. Bunge Corp, 557 So. 2d at 1378, 1979.7. Guidry v. Sunset Recreation Club, Inc., 571So. 2d 870 (La. App. 3 Cir 1990), writ den. 577So.2d 14.8. Lauren Plaza Ass’n. at 944.9. Harris at 552.10. Id. at 551.11. Id. at 554.12. Guidry at 872.13. Lasseigne v. Schouest & Sons, Builders,So.2d 371, 371 (La. App. 1 Cir. 1990).14. Id. at 372.15. Academy Park Imp. Ass’n v. City of NewOrleans, 469 So.2d 2, 4 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1985).16. Id. at 3.17. Id.18. Id. at 4.

19. Bunge at 1378.20. 562 So.2d 112 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1990).21. The previous Section A of this statute pro-vided that as action must be brought within 7years from the date of filing of the acceptance ofthe work, if no acceptance is filed within 6months of occupancy, the date the owner hasoccupied or taken possession, in whole or in partof, the improvement, or if the land surveyingservice were not rendered preparatory to con-struction or if the other enumerated services.22. See La. .Civ. Code Ann. Art. 8 (1999) whichprovides that if “a law can only provide for thefuture, it can have no retroactive operation . . .”23. Ardoin v. Hartford Ace. & Indem. Co., 360So. 2d 1331, 1334 (La. 1978).24. 64 So. 2d 417, 420 (1953).25. See, Stipe v. Neyrey Gen. Contractors, Inc.,385 So. 2d 568, 570 (La. App. 4 Cir 1980)(where the court used that philosophy in con-cluding that a statute of establishing a burden ofproof in malpractice actions clearly is procedur-al and applied to pre-existing acts and relations,should be given retroactive effect).26. Reeder v. North, 97-0239 (La. 10/21/97),701 So.2d 1291, 1296 (citing Lott v. Haley, [370So.2d 521] at 523-524.27. WL 1473998 at 3 (W.D.La. 2005).28. 837 So. 2d 78, 80 (La App.5 Cir. 12/30/02).29. Id. (See also, Exxon Corporation v. FosterWheeler Corporation, P 16,253, 2000-2093, (La.App. 1 Cir. 12/28/01), 805 So.2d 432, 438.30. Berthelot v. Boh Bros Const. Co., L.L.C., 05-4182 (E.D. La. 2006); 2006 WL 3627749.31. Id. at 4.32. Id.33. Id. at 6.34. Id.


not and should not typically entail high risk, indi-vidual decision-making that results in a highrisk/frequency of failure. Engineering is moretypically practiced in a collaborative, regulatedenvironment and the work tends to become moredemanding in application — consistent with theengineer’s incrementally gained experience.

Engineering internship is intended to shelterthe initial practice of an inexperienced yet tech-nologically competent graduate engineer. It typ-ically involves the practical application of con-ventional technology under the tutelage of expe-rienced, practicing engineers. The intern’s shel-

tered practice is intended to provide the experi-ence necessary to independently practice engi-neering. The process of incrementally gainingand then applying experience in engineeringpractice is consistent with the low frequency offailure experienced.

The low frequency of failure experiencedshould be expected regardless of an engineer’scareer path. This is because it is consistent withthe engineers’ individual — personal and profes-sional — recognizance to work within the limitsof their competence. This is stipulated in theprinciples of practice historically exacted in state

licensing laws that regulate engineering practice.Oddly enough, there was a low frequency of fail-ure when the practice of engineering — regulat-ed by the same principles of practice — lackedthe burdens of mandatory minimum internship(circa 1960) and the tedium of continuing pro-fessional development (circa 1990). Some willattribute this to a combination of responsible pro-fessional and consumer behavior, and therefore,consider the later mandatory requirementsunnecessary and inconsistent with a public trustpreviously demonstrated and won.

14763_ASCE Jan07 rev 1/31/07 4:11 PM



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