Catchings v. Salazar et al

Filing 75

ORDER RE: SETTLEMENT. Signed by Judge Maria-Elena James on 7/26/2012. (cdnS, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 7/26/2012) (Additional attachment(s) added on 7/26/2012: # 1 Exhibit) (cdnS, COURT STAFF). (Additional attachment(s) added on 7/26/2012: # 2 Exhibit) (cdnS, COURT STAFF).

Catchings v. Salazar
USDC Case No., 10-0625
Defendant’s Proposed Neutral Letter
(Redline of Plaintiff’s July 16, 2012 Draft)
From approximately October 2005 to May 2008, Dr. Rufus Catchings was Team Chief Scientist
(“TCS”) of the Earthquake Hazards Team (“EHZ”), one of the larger cost centers among about
188 cost centers within the United States Geological Survey (“USGS”). With a budget estimated
at more than $25 million, EHZ consisted of approximately 170 to 200 scientists, engineers,
technicians, administrative staff, emeriti, and volunteers from FY05 to FY08.
As TCS, Dr. Catchings oversaw USGS scientific investigations of earthquake hazards in the
western U.S. His duties included providing scientific and managerial leadership to EHZ,
fostering scientific communication and career-development opportunities, overseeing the annual
preparation and review of work plans, position descriptions, and performance appraisals,
addressing issues affecting the morale and productivity of the team, and emphasizing safety as an
integral part of operations.
Dr. Catchings directly supervised about 21 staff members. He fostered ethnic diversity, with one
of the best diversity records of USGS managers.
Dr. Catchings’ successfully participated in the development of EHZ’s vision, objectives, and
plans, as well as implementation of the Geologic Division Scientific Strategy. He successfully
cooperated with Geologic Division Programs to enhance their objectives and plans through EHZ
resources, identified and negotiated funding support from entities outside the USGS, maintained
liaison with other USGS units, other federal agencies, state geological surveys, universities,
research organizations, and professional societies to identify and further opportunities for
partnerships and collaboration. He maintained strong partnerships with the other USGS teams
and programs, excelled in identifying and negotiating external funding, looking to other
agencies and societies for new opportunities, and helped negotiate reduced assessment rates.
In addition to his duties as TCS, Dr. Catchings served on nine national and regional panels for
earthquake hazards, and published numerous papers, reports, and abstracts. He encouraged the
development of a major international workshop on rotational seismology that is prompting a
major advance in seismology and structural engineering. He helped EHZ scientists in an effort to
extend digital records of earthquakes back in time to as much as 100 years. Dr. Catchings helped
develop or extend multiple partnerships between EHZ and other organizations, including
Google, the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the
National Science Foundation, the Southern California Earthquake Center, and many others.

EHZ has a long-standing reputation as one of the most scientifically productive teams within the
USGS, and EHZ scientists are among the most scientifically recognized scientists within the
USGS, with multiple National Academy of Sciences members, AGU and GSA Fellows,
Department of the Interior (DOI) MSA, DSA, and SSA recognitions, and DOI Senior-ST
scientists. That reputation continued while Dr. Catchings’ was TCS, with more than 100
publications in FY 07. Among many of EHZ’s scientific achievements during Dr. Catchings’
tenure as TCS. for the first time in scientific history, cores of the San Andreas fault were
sampled at seismogenic depths during the SAFOD program run by two EHZ scientists.
Additionally, during this time period, EHZ developed an internet-based strong-ground-motion
monitoring system that placed seismographs in the homes of volunteers and helped develop a
program to provide early warning of earthquakes.