Opinion ID: 174796
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Role of Federal and State Safety Standards

Text: Defendants also argue the district court erred in trying the nuisance claims without reference to applicable federal and state safety regulations. Specifically, Defendants argue the jury should have been instructed that if plutonium contamination in the property class area falls within the applicable federal or state safety levels, it cannot be deemed unreasonable. The Defendants point to the Colorado Supreme Court's decision in Van Wyk, where the plaintiffs claimed the defendant's upgrades to electrical lines created an intentional nuisance due to increased noise, electromagnetic fields, and radiation particles invading the property. Id. at 382. The defendant argued the relevant agency's approval of the voltage involved in the upgrades rendered any interference per se reasonable. Id. at 393. The Colorado Supreme Court indicated that to the extent an agency's regulations actually quantify the standard of reasonableness for the particular conduct involved, this determination controls in the nuisance context. Id. Under the facts of Van Wyk, however, the court concluded the agency's determination of reasonableness lacked any specificity with respect to electromagnetic fields and noise such that the complaint stated a viable nuisance claim because it alleged the defendant's conduct was unreasonable to the extent it exceeded the noise and electromagnetic fields the agency anticipated might occur. Id. at 393-94. Under the circumstances, the court concluded the plaintiffs sufficiently pleaded a nuisance claim. In light of Van Wyk, Defendants proposed jury instructions stating Defendants' release of plutonium could only be found unreasonable if the release did not comply with controlling state and federal standards. The district court rejected this instruction, concluding Van Wyk dealt with quasi-judicial determinations that differ in nature from the federal and state regulations identified in Defendants' proposed jury instructions. The district court believed the safety regulations offered by Defendants were more akin to zoning regulations and ordinances and, under Colorado case law, compliance with zoning statutes does not insulate a defendant from nuisance liability. Hobbs v. Smith, 177 Colo. 299, 493 P.2d 1352, 1354-55 (1972). This court need not decide whether Van Wyk applies here because we agree with the district court's alternative ruling that none of the regulations referenced in Defendants' proposed jury instructions are on point. For instance, Defendants rely on a regulation issued by the Colorado State Board of Health which states, Contamination of the soil in excess of 2.0 disintegrations per minute (0.03 Bq) of plutonium per gram of dry soil ... presents a sufficient hazard to the public health to require the utilization of special techniques of construction upon property so contaminated. 6 Colo.Code Regs. 1007-1:4.60. This regulation says nothing about the minimum level at which such contamination becomes unreasonable. It merely indicates special care must be taken for construction on property contaminated at the particular level indicated. Similarly, Defendants point to documents issued by the Atomic Energy Commission and the Department of Energy. It is not clear whether any of these documents have the force of law or apply to safety levels outside a nuclear facility, and the issue is inadequately briefed for resolution here. [21] Accordingly, Defendants have failed to establish that any of the state or federal standards referenced in their proposed jury instructions overcome the general rule that the jury must determine whether a given interference is unreasonable by weighing the harm against the utility of the interference.