An Ohio couple is being sued by the local electric utility company because of the placement of their swimming pool.  According to news sources, Ohio Edison Co. is suing Joseph and Marsha Bettura of Boardman, Ohio, claiming their in-ground swimming pool interferes with safe and reliable electricity delivery over the company's 69,000-volt overhead transmission lines.

Yet, the pool has been there for 21 years.  "Why now?" Joseph Bettura asked.

"We periodically review our easements, and, if we detect a potential safety violation, we need to take steps to rectify that situation,” answered Mark Durbin, manager of energy delivery communications for First Energy Corp., parent of Ohio Edison.

Ohio Edison is seeking recovery of the costs associated with moving the electric line to remedy what it calls a safety-code violation that results from defendants having a pool in the company's 1949 easement for electric transmission. Additionally, the suit seeks to enjoin the Betturas from enlarging their pool or placing any new items in the right of way such as flagpoles, storage sheds, decks, wells or septic systems.

After the power lines were raised and the Betturas signed an encroachment agreement in which they agreed to increase their liability insurance, refrain from placing new items on the easement, and absolve Ohio Edison of any liability issues, they thought the matter ended.

“We felt the issue had been resolved based on their raising the lines and the encroachment agreement,” Bettura said. “It’s like, ‘Here comes big brother.’”

—Source: Youngstown Vindicator