One Lawyer’s Fight For Justice
In The Wake Of America’s Great Coal Catastrophe
WHAT IT’S ABOUT
A riveting courtroom drama about the victims of one of the largest environmental disasters in U.S. history—and the country lawyer determined to challenge the notion that, in America, justice can be bought
For over fifty years, a power plant in the small town of Kingston, Tennessee, burned fourteen thousand tons of coal daily, gradually creating a mountain of ashen waste sixty feet high and covering eighty-four acres, contained only by an earthen embankment. In 2008, just before Christmas, that embankment broke, unleashing a lethal wave of coal sludge that covered three hundred acres, damaged nearly thirty homes, and precipitated a cleanup effort that would cost more than a billion dollars—and the lives of more than fifty cleanup workers who inhaled the toxins it released.
Jim Scott, a local personal injury lawyer, agreed to represent the workers after they began to fall ill. That meant a legal battle against the Tennessee Valley Authority, a colossal, federally owned power company that had once been a famous cornerstone of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal. Scott and his hastily assembled team gathered extensive evidence of malfeasance: threats against workers; retaliatory firings; disregarded safety precautions; and test results, either hidden or altered, that would have revealed harmful concentrations of arsenic, lead, and radioactive materials at the cleanup site. At every stage, Scott—outmanned and nearly broke—had to overcome legal hurdles constructed by TVA and its hired firm to help execute the cleanup. He grew incredibly close to one of the victims, whose swift decline only intensified his hunger for justice. As the incriminating evidence mounted, the workers seemed to have everything on their side, including the truth—and yet, was it all enough to prevail?
Undoubtedly, Scott’s lawsuit on the workers’ behalf was about their illnesses. But it was also about whether blue-collar employees could beat the C-suite; if self-described “hillbilly lawyers” could beat elite corporate defense attorneys; and whether strong evidence could beat fat pocketbooks. With suspense and rich detail, Jared Sullivan’s thrilling account lays bare the casual brutality of the American justice system, and calls into question whether—and how—the federal government has failed its people.
Details
- Publisher : Knopf
- Publication Date : October 15, 2024
- Hardcover : 384 pages
What’s Being Said
“Valley So Low is more than a tale of unrepentant corporate evil and incomprehensible environmental destruction. It’s more, even, than a spellbinding courtroom drama. This brilliant, necessary book is a testament to the power of perseverance and a blueprint for challenging industry’s shrugged-off human costs. Valley So Low is a ballad, yes, but it’s also an anthem. And a triumph.” —Margaret Renkl, author of The Comfort of Crows
“Sullivan brings a maximalist, punctilious approach…. We don’t just read about the trial’s interminable delays: We feel them.” —Nathaniel Rich, The New York Times Book Review
“Jared is a master storyteller and Valley So Low is definitely worth your time.” —John Hendrickson, staff writer for The Atlantic
“Propulsive and written with flair, Valley So Low is a valuable addition to the pantheon of legal thrillers.” —Bookpage (starred review)
To begin with, I’d like to share some headings from other reviews:
As enthralling as any Grisham novel but this one is true – and heartbreaking.
Great read, heartbreaking story
These headlines say so much. Jared Sullivan took some incredible facts and wove them into a story that was anything but a regurgitation of facts. This real-life story had me reading from the time I crawled into bed until the early hours of the next day.
This book tells the story of an environmental disaster that took place in Kingston, TN in 2008. One of the many power plants that was operated by Tennessee Valley Authority burned on average fourteen thousand tons of coal a day. The waste, or coal ash, was deposited on an 84 acre area with earth walls.
“On December 22, 2008, the embankment broke, unleashing a lethal wave of sludge that covered hundreds of acres, damaged nearly 30 homes, and precipitated a cleanup effort that would cost more than $1 billion—and the lives of more than 50 workers.”
Author Jared Sullivan, shares a story that is full of facts but also a close look at the human elements. We get a close-up look at several families involved in this crisis.
- Jim Scott: A local attorney who sees how this ordeal has affected families in the surrounding area. And we also learn of the toll it ends up taking on his life and family.
- Ansol and Janie Clark: Ansol one of the first construction truck drivers to arrive after the disaster. He knew that the mountain of coal ash was being dumped into an unlined pit known as a holding pond: a mountain that had grown to sixty feet tall. As readers we see how this disaster weaves deeply into their family.
- Mike McCarthy: A heavy equipment operator from Knoxville showed up to help with cleanup. “It was crazy. We were trying to find bodies buried, you know, vehicles. We didn’t know if there was anybody underneath the ash or not.”
After meeting with many workers and hearing their stories regarding clean-up efforts, attorney Jim Scott decided to take on TVA. The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) is a federally owned electric utility corporation I’m sure taking on a group of this size would have taken a deep concern and love for the people who were sharing their experiences. This TVA was started between 1933 and 1938 with the aim of addressing the Great Depression, which began in 1929.
As with any good historical book, it drew me into the characters’ lives and events. It only took a few pages to capture my interest. However, as the story advanced, I was stunned at how little TVA valued lives. As the saying goes, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to realize that the clean-up instructions given by those in charge were ridiculous. And as people became ill, they weren’t provided masks or respirators. Even worse, doctors of these sick workers prescribed masks, and those in charge of clean up claimed they were cutting staff. But only the staff wearing masks, it can be assumed that masks would scare other workers.
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