The farmer considers that the proximity of his farm to a very high voltage line has notably disrupted the milk production of his herd.
The company RTE, a subsidiary of EDF, was condemned by the court of Coutances (Manche) to pay more than 450,000 euros to dairy farmers for damage concerning their production, attributed to a very high voltage line (THT), a we learned Friday from the registry. The court ordered RTE to pay the breeders “the sum of 458,337 euros for operating damages“, indicates the judgment dated June 2. On the other hand, the farmers’ claims for economic losses due to mastitis suffered by the animals, as well as for overtime and moral damage suffered, were dismissed.
An improvement in milking since the relocation of the farm
Having had a milking parlor since 1990, the breeder, who later joined a GAEC (Groupement agricole d’exploitation en commun) with another breeder, suffered for years from multiple problems with his herd. “Faced with the explosion of cases of mastitis in its herd, whose food, infectious or zootechnical origin could not be demonstrated“, Traces the court, the farmer suspected electrical interactions due to the proximity in particular of a very high voltage line (THT, 400,000 volts). To assess these possible effects, the line was stopped between August 2 and 29, 2012.The visit (control) carried out as part of the follow-up concludes with a complete change in the behavior of the animals since the line was stopped: calmer, work greatly facilitated during milking for the breeders“, according to the judgment.
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Finally, the breeding is moved in April 2014. The breeders then note “an improvement from October 2015 which was confirmed in the following years“, notes the court. “This is an important decision, because it allows breeders who are in the same situation to hope for favorable decisions concerning them, and sets fairly high compensation amounts compared to previous decisions.“, reacted Me François Lafforgue, lawyer for breeders. Asked by AFP, RTE said that it “aware of the decision” and “did not rule out the possibility of appealing“. Breeders who believe they have suffered damage due to high voltage power lines have repeatedly taken legal action against RTE. At the end of 2015, the Caen Court of Appeal had reduced to 37,000 euros the amount of compensation – against 142,000 euros granted by the Coutances expropriation judge – that RTE had to pay to a breeder for damage suffered from 2004 to 2011.