PAGE - 1 Declaration of Juan P. Aguirre in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment

Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

S. AMANDA MARSHALL, OSB # 95347

United States Attorney

District of Oregon

KEVIN DANIELSON, OSB # 06586

Assistant United States Attorney

kevin.c.danielson@usdoj.gov

1000 SW Third Avenue, Suite 600

Portland, Oregon 97204-2902

Telephone: (503) 727-1000

Facsimile: (503) 727-1117

Attorneys for Defendant United States of America

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF OREGON

EUGENE DIVISION

MARK A. MANN,

Plaintiff,

v.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Defendant.

Case No. 6:14-cv-01774-AA

DECLARATION OF JUAN P. 

AGUIRRE IN SUPPORT OF MOTION 

FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT

I, Juan P. Aguirre, declare and state as follows:

1. Because of the numerous technological terms referred to in this declaration, I have 

attached an exhibit with my definitions of the following relevant terms: Cross Section, 

Cross Section Interval, CADD, DGN, GEOPAK, GPK, TIN, DTM, Surface, XML, 

LandXML, CSV, Text Style, ASCII, XSR, XTB, and DAT. Exhibit 1. 

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Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

2. The Western Federal Lands Highway Division (WFLHD) is part of the Federal 

Highway Administration and within the U.S. Department of Transportation. WFLHD 

administers the surveying, designing, and constructing of roads and highways on federal 

land in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska.

3. I am currently the Engineering Systems Coordinator for WFLHD and have held this 

position since 2009. In 2004, I began work as a senior designer for the agency. My 

major duties include conducting GEOPAK Road software training, documentation, and 

technical support to all employees in Computer Aided Drafting & Design (CADD) 

platforms. I also provide technical assistance to entry level, junior, and senior designers 

to resolve GEOPAK software issues dealing with design, cross sections, and reports for 

road and highway projects on federal lands.

4. The Tiller Trail Highway Project, between Canyonville and Trail, Oregon, was

approximately one-mile long. The project involved grading, slope stabilization, drainage 

improvements, and asphalt paving. Construction work on the project was completed and 

accepted by WFLHD on October 27, 2014.

5. I reviewed Plaintiff’s March 28, 2014, revised FOIA request to WFLHD. 

Plaintiff’s FOIA request, FOIA Control No. 2014-0234, requested the following 

information relating to the Tiller Trail Highway Project: (1) GEOPAK CAD design file in 

MicroStation DGN format; (2) LandXML (“XML”) file of the horizontal and vertical 

alignments; (3) XML file of the original ground surface, and (4) XML file of the final 

design surface. 

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PAGE - 3 Declaration of Juan P. Aguirre in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment

Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

6. I also reviewed Plaintiff’s September 29, 2014, FOIA request, FOIA Control No. 

2014-0457, regarding the Tiller Trail Highway Project. Plaintiff requested the following 

information: (1) GEOPAK XS-List (cross-section files in XSR format) of the original 

ground surface; (2) the horizontal and vertical alignments for the road design in XML 

format; (3) the original ground three-dimensional surface date that is used to generate the 

final design, generate earthwork quantities, and define existing site features such as 

drainages, existing utilities, etc., in XML format; (4) the final design three-dimensional 

surface data in XML format. 

7. I was consulted on this matter by WFLHD’s FOIA coordinator, Telina Thompson, 

while she processed Plaintiff’s FOIA request. 

8. I have reviewed the project design files for the Tiller Trail Highway Project. In 

response to Plaintiff’s FOIA requests, WFLHD did not produce XML files or XSR files for 

the Tiller Trail Highway Project. Although it is technically feasible for WFLHD to 

produce the requested information in both the XML and XSR formats, the agency did not 

produce the requested information to Plaintiff in these two formats for the following 

reasons: (1) WFLHD does not create the requested information in these two formats, 

except when needed in unique and specific circumstances; (2) it would be unduly 

burdensome, in terms of time and resources, for WFLHD to create new files in these two 

formats; and (3) WFLHD has provided Plaintiff the data that it would have used to create

these files into the two formats

9. Providing the information requested by Plaintiff in XML and XSR formats would 

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Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

require WFLHD to create engineering records that do not exist. The XML files of 

proposed horizontal alignment, vertical alignment, final design surface, and existing 

ground surface are not standard files created by WFLHD designers and these files are not 

normally used at any stage of the design process. The XSR files of original ground or 

proposed design is not a standard file created by WFLHD designers and is not ever used at 

any stage of the design process. Also, creating XML and XSR files is not part of the 

standard data provided by WFLHD to contractors who are constructing highway projects.

10. Highway design expertise and many software operations and configurations are 

involved in production of a design project for a road or highway on federal land. Final 

cross sections are unique to each project of the highway design and must reflect the plans, 

specifications, estimate and design intent. Final cross sections are created using 

GEOPAK Road software and is labor and time intensive and a highly iterative process [the 

uses of the term “cross sections” from this point refers to intelligent drawings generated by 

GEOPAK Road software]. Additionally, automated cross sections are sometimes 

hand-edited by designers to assure they reflect plans as well as to correct automation 

shortcomings and to add project specific attributes. Each cross section drawing contains 

points and lines that are geometric and coordinately based. Each cross section file, 

contrary to plaintiff’s assertions, does not contain raw data, ASCII files, text files, or 

reports embedded in the drawing. Rather, GEOPAK software tools are used to query the 

cross sections and extract the geometric and coordinate data from points and lines in the 

drawings and assemble the data in a text-style report and referred to an ASCII text file. 

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Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

GEOPAK software uses varied file extensions, such as XSR, XTB, and DAT to designate 

the report type and style but all the reports extracted from cross sections are text style 

reports (ASCII), including formats for proprietary survey machines. Experienced 

highway designers use expert knowledge and engineering judgment to manage the 

software report operations and to quality control the resulting data to assure the reports are 

accurate to the cross sections, plans, and design intent. I have personally created cross 

sections files thousands of times as part of my career here at WFLHD. I routinely train 

and offer technical guidance on the production of cross sections and cross section reports.

11. Producing final cross sections, running reports and quality checks is an intensive 

effort and requires highly skilled designers. Designers who perform this type of work can 

be Highway Engineers, with a college degree, or can be Engineering Technicians, with an 

associate degree or on the job training. Senior Designers, GS-12 rating, typically perform 

this type of work and have several years of experience performing design duties on large 

and complex projects as a junior designer. Long and complex designs require more time 

and skill to produce accurate and high quality cross sections. The same applies for 

running reports on long and complex projects. The number of cross sections generated on 

any particular project is dictated by many factors.

12. WFLHD has a standard list of report types that are provided as part of an awarded 

contract. In particular, WFLHD produces information of the final design surfaces in a 

CSV file to its contractors for construction of highway projects. Exhibit 2.

1

 The CSV 

 1

 Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of a document attached to the Tiller Trail Highway Project 

contract and it is kept in the regular course of business of WFLHD.

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Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

file has a universal design, applicability and is nonproprietary. These qualities allow the 

CSV file to be read by any person and therefore allow relatively easy quality assurance of 

the data to be shared. Also the CSV file, being in electronic form, allows others to edit, 

segregate and/or parse the data for import (read) into other applications, survey machines 

or machine controllers. The editing, segregating and/or parsing can be done by any 

number of widely available text-editing software. I have personally conducted the 

creation of CSV files hundreds of times as part of my career here at WFLHD. A CSV file 

would be produced in response to a FOIA request. 

13. Producing an XML file is a multi-step process. After survey information is 

collected and design data is produced, the first step is producing a data (DAT) file from the 

cross sections using the GEOPAK reports tool. The second step is to convert the data file 

to a TIN file using other GEOPAK terrain tools. Once the TIN file is created it can be 

visualized and corrective steps applied for accuracy. The third step is to convert the TIN 

file to a XML file using software tools. At this stage of the procedure, the accuracy of an 

XML file cannot be verified without additional optional steps. Using a separate software 

tool and to verify accuracy, the fourth step requires the XML file to be reimported back into 

a TIN file. Using another software tool, a fifth step is to use a separate software tool to 

compare the initially produced TIN and the TIN produced from the created XML file. 

This tool compares the separate TIN files so that any errors can be corrected. I have 

performed this multi-step procedure described here less than 10 times.

14. The XSR file format is a type of text style report produced from querying cross sections 

 

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Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

using GEOPAK Road software tools. It is a specific format created by GEOPAK Road software. 

Producing an XSR files requires a complete set of cross sections drawings, GEOPAK Road 

software, and an understanding of road and highway design information. This text style file is not 

used to further the design process or used in quality assurance here at WFLHD, further, I am not 

familiar what software or machine makes use of this text style file. I have created an XSR file 

fewer than three times in my career at WFLHD. Although it is technically feasible for WFLHD to 

produce the requested information in the XSR format, WFLHD would have to create those 

records. 

15. Producing Horizontal and Vertical alignments are fundamental to highway design. 

GEOPAK Road design software makes use of a proprietary GEOPAK file that houses the 

coordinate geometry database containing alignments, points, lines, curves, and other 

geometric and coordinate data. The GEOPAK file is used in all stages of the design 

process. GEOPAK Road software contains tools to export the Horizontal and Vertical 

alignments in the form of an XML file. The XML file is not a standard file generated by 

WFLHD designers, is not used at any stage of the design process, and has not been part of 

the standard contractual information provided by WFLHD to contractors for construction 

of highway projects. I have personally created XML files of horizontal and vertical 

alignments fewer than 10 times at WFLHD. 

16. I have reviewed the 21 files that were provided by WFLHD to Plaintiff on May 1, 

2014. The 21 files include a GEOPAK Road GPK file and 20 additional design drawings in 

the MicroStation DGN format. With these files (cross-section files of original and final 

ground surfaces, pattern, plan, profile and shape) and the use of GEOPAK Road software, 

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Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA

the XSR reports and XML files can be produced by the Plaintiff.

17. Creating XSR and XML files as requested by Plaintiff’s September 29, 2014, FOIA 

request, FOIA Control No. 2014-0457, regarding the Tiller Trail Highway Project, would 

involve a substantial amount of work hours by an experienced Senior Designer and with 

consultation with the original Designer. I have reviewed the project cross sections and 

consider the project cross sections complex. I estimate producing and checking these files 

would take 40 to 48 work hours.

18. WFLHD construction projects are on the average 5-10 miles in length. Cross 

section intervals for these types of projects often start at larger intervals and during the 

design process the final cross section interval is shortened according to alignment 

complexity, design parameters, and engineering judgment. I have reviewed the cross 

sections of the Tiller Trail Highway Project, approximate length of one (1) mile, and found 

the cross section interval to be an average of 10 feet. While 10 feet may seem an 

overabundance of cross sections, it is appropriate for this project due to the slope stability 

work done, complex horizontal and vertical alignment, and the steep terrain on the project. 

The final cross section interval on the average WFLHD construction project is 25 to 35 

feet. 

19. The Plaintiff has been provided all of the information WFLHD maintains pertaining 

to his requests on the Tiller Trail Highway Project but only in the electronic drawing 

format in which WFLHD maintains it. 

20. The WFLHD files responsive to the Plaintiff’s requests were only in the GPK and 

Case 6:14-cv-01774-AA Document 22 Filed 05/04/15 Page 8 of 9
DGN formats. WFLHD does not have the information the Plaintiff requested in the XSR 

or XML file formats on the Tiller Trail Highway Project. 

21. I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. 

-f'IL 11/J 

EXECUTED on this Lf day of I r I~ y 2015. 

PAGE-9 

JU 

Declaration of Juan P. Aguirre in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment 

Mann v. United States; 6:14-cv-01774-AA 

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