Case Law
Environmental

Are owners of properties located in close proximity to overhead electric transmission lines liable for EMF health hazards?

Electromagnetic Fields (EMFs)

The following case is similar to others reaching the supreme courts in Connecticut and Hawaii recently, where the courts have ruled against claims of hazards caused by EMFs from overhead electric transmission lines. In late 1996, the National Academy of Sciences reported that hundreds of studies conducted over the past 17 years provide no conclusive link between EMFs and health problems such as cancer.

San Diego Gas & Electric Co v Cova , 55 Cal Rptr 2d 724 (Cal 1996).

QUESTION BEFORE THE COURT: Are owners of properties located in close proximity to overhead electric transmission lines eligible for compensation due to potential losses in value when buyers perceive that such proximity creates health hazards?

FACTS: Landowners argued that the potential harmful effects from EMFs reduced the values of their properties and was a form of taking without compensation. Plaintiff had proposed new sites for construction of electric transmission lines.

DECISION: The California Supreme Court affirmed a lower court's determination that no compensation was due because there was no physical invasion of -or interference with-the land and, therefore, no impairment in its use or enjoyment.