Alternative Dispute Resolution
school threatened by a Massey Energy project. Unfortunately, while on the surface fulfilling, his meeting with Senator Byrd does not lead to the dollars necessary to relocate the school. Shnayerson tries his best to avoid boring his audience with
too much environmental legal jargon and technical minutia, but that is a tall task in the context of the story he tells and he only partially succeeds. Shnayerson also misses a subplot that would have made his story more interesting. It is plain that not only are Lovett, Bonds, and others opposed by the forces of industry and government, but also by the coal unions. Te coal unions, otherwise thought to reside within liberal orthodoxy, oppose attempts to curtail mountain topping because they fear job loss. Tis creates strange bedfellows, indeed, as the unions and Blankenship become allies of limited purpose. Had it been explored in detail, this dynamic would have made compelling reading and highlighted the fact that the battle in West Virginia over mountain topping is much more complicated than merely one of left versus right. Shnayerson, whose politics are clearly far left of center, fails to explore this interesting dynamic in anything but a cursory fashion. Another shortcoming of the book is that it really does not
conclude so much as it peters out. Lovett wins a major federal court case against the Army Corps of Engineers, but we are left to wonder what the real impact will be. In fact, after publication, Lovett’s victory was reversed by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Te primary narrative ends with the statement that, after his victory, Lovett “had only to hold on for a while
longer until a new administration came into power and let the law prevail.” Time constraints on publishing notwithstanding, it would be quite interesting to know if, in the wake of a new administration, the law has “prevailed” or whether it is business as usual in West Virginia once again. Nonetheless, Coal River is a worthwhile read for anyone
interested in environmental affairs and the assault on the environment by King Coal in West Virginia. Shnayerson knows a good story and generally tells it well. It is a story of greed and economic expediency versus environmental activism. Although Lovett’s final victory is ambiguous (and eventually overturned), it is encouraging that there are individuals like Lovett, Bonds and Wiley willing to stand up against those who would ravage our mountains in the name of profit.
Biography David J. Wildberger is a principal in the law firm of Iliff,
Meredith, Wildberger & Brennan, PC in Pasadena, Maryland. He received his JD from the University of Maryland School of Law. Mr. Wildberger serves on the MAJ Board of Governors, and is the Co-Chairperson of the Medical Negligence Section, as well as a member of several other MAJ committees and sections. He is a member of the Maryland, District of Columbia and Federal Bars. His primary area of practice involves the representation of individuals and families harmed by acts of medical negligence.
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