Opinion ID: 1772659
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Whether the trial court erred in failing to charge the jury on the minimum clearance for the power line in question as established by the United States Corps of Engineers.

Text: It is APCo's contention that the minimum clearance standard of the Corps of Engineers was pertinent on the issue of the manufacturer's foreseeability of mast contact and thus that it was error to refuse a jury instruction on that standard. The necessity for a permit over navigable waters arises from 33 U.S.C. § 403: The creation of any obstruction not affirmatively authorized by Congress, to the navigable capacity of any of the waters of the United States is prohibited; and it shall not be lawful to build or commence the building of any wharf, pier, dolphin, boom, weir, breakwater, bulkhead, jetty, or other structures in any port, roadstead, haven, harbor, canal, navigable river, or other water of the United States, outside established harbor lines, or where no harbor lines have been established, except on plans recommended by the Chief of Engineers and authorized by the Secretary of the Army; and it shall not be lawful to excavate or fill, or in any manner to alter or modify the course, location, condition, or capacity of any port, roadstead, haven, harbor, canal, lake, harbor of refuge, or inclosure within the limits of any breakwater, or of the channel of any navigable water of the United States, unless the work has been recommended by the Chief of Engineers and authorized by the Secretary of the Army prior to beginning the same. The list of prohibited obstructions is not exclusive, United States v. Illinois Terminal R. Co., 501 F.Supp. 18 (E.D.Mo.1980), but extends to any type of obstruction. United States v. Republic Steel Corp., 362 U.S. 482, 80 S.Ct. 884, 4 L.Ed.2d 903 (1960). The evidence established that the Corps of Engineers of the United States Army was the regulatory agency responsible for issuing authorizations, or permits, for the installation of utility lines over navigable waters. The procedure incumbent in obtaining such a permit first required a minimum of 30.8 feet above maximum high (tide) water to apply for a permit. Nevertheless, officials of the Corps of Engineers testified that the elevation of the line over the water was governed by, and thus controlled by, the height or elevation expressed in the permit ultimately issued by the Corps, which in this case was 40 feet above mean low water. The evidence also established that this 40-foot elevation conformed to the original application for a permit submitted by APCo to the Corps of Engineers in 1936. This application was accompanied by a diagram of the proposed power line which proposed the location of the line as 40 feet above mean low water. Thus, while the minimum clearance standard of 30.8 feet was the minimum with which to support an application, it was the responsibility and within the authority of the Corps of Engineers to grant the final permit at a height deemed safe and feasible to the Corps. United States v. King Fisher Marine Service, 640 F.2d 522 (5th Cir. 1981) (permit issued by Corps of Engineers under 33 U.S.C. § 403 for dredging operations requires strict compliance). See also Zabel v. Tabb, 430 F.2d 199, 207 (5th Cir. 1970), cert. denied, 401 U.S. 910, 91 S.Ct. 873, 27 L.Ed.2d 808 (1971) (33 U.S.C. § 403 is structured as a flat prohibition unless the unless being the issuance of approval by the corps). Additionally, it is shown by the evidence that the minimum clearance requirement was dropped from the Corps regulations prior to the time this sailboat was manufactured. Thus, such former minimum requirement should have had no relevance to the foreseeability of mast contact with this power line. Furthermore, although APCo also argues that the trial court refused to permit evidence of the 30.8-foot standard, the record reflects that both the application standard height and the permitted height were testified to in substantial detail; hence no error can be predicated upon any such alleged error. Sweatman v. Federal Deposit Ins. Corp., 418 So.2d 893 (Ala. 1982). Having so ruled, we need not consider whether the duty of APCo to maintain the power line at the 40-foot level has not already been decided by the jury when it found in favor of the plaintiffs.