Erin Brockovich meetsDark Watersin this propulsive and heart-wrenching legal drama set in Appalachian coal country, as one determined lawyer confronts a coal industry giant in a battle over clean drinking water for a West Virginia community-fromWall Street Journalreporter Kris Maher.
For two decades, the water in the taps and wells of Mingo County didn't look, smell, or taste right. Could it be the root of the health problems-from kidney stones to cancer-in this Appalachian community? Environmental lawyer Kevin Thompson certainly thought so.
For seven years, he waged an epic legal battle against Massey Energy, West Virginia's most powerful coal company, helmed by CEO Don Blankenship. While Massey's lawyers worked out of a gray glass office tower in Charleston known as "the Death Star," Thompson set up shop in a ramshackle hotel in the fading coal town of Williamson. Working with fellow lawyers and a crew of young activists,...