Shamnoski v. Pg Energy

ARGUED: April 10, 2002 OPINION This negligence action arose in the wake of the flooding of Springbrook Creek in Luzerne County, which resulted when Hurricane Gloria dropped over six inches of rain into that area in less than a twenty-four hour period ending in the early afternoon of September 27, 1985. Appellees are three homeowners, each of whom owned a separate parcel of residential real property along the banks of Springbrook Creek which was washed away or severely damaged by Gloria's floodwaters. Appellant PG Energy owned, maintained and operated four permitted water supply dams with attendant reservoirs in the Springbrook Creek watershed, all of which were upstream from appellees' properties.1 Appellees claimed that the negligent design, maintenance and operation of the reservoirs/dams caused their losses, and prevailed in the action in the courts below. The primary issue which this Court accepted for review is what legal duty a water supply reservoir/dam owner has to undertake with respect to its dams in order to protect downstream property owners against floodwaters caused in the aftermath of a storm of the magnitude of Hurricane Gloria. Because we find that appellant was not negligent as a matter of law, we reverse the determinations below and enter judgment in favor of appellant.2 As the respective geographical elevations of appellant's reservoirs/dams reveal, Springbrook Creek is a fairly steep mountain waterway: the Maple Lake Reservoir/Dam is at an elevation of approximately 1617 feet above sea level; the Watres Reservoir/Dam is at approximately 1440 feet of elevation; the Nesbitt Reservoir/Dam is at approximately 1166 feet of elevation; and the Springbrook Intake Reservoir/Dam is at approximately 915 feet of elevation. The distance from Maple Lake to Springbrook Intake is approximately 5.3 miles. Appellees' properties were in close proximity to one another, at an elevation of approximately 700 feet, and one-half to three-quarters of a mile downstream from Springbrook Intake.