Episode 44: Dark Waters (2019) (Guest: Mark Templeton)

Dark Waters (2019), directed by Todd Haynes, tells the real-life story of how a lawyer, Rob Bilott (Mark Ruffalo), waged a twenty-year battle to hold the DuPont corporation accountable for contaminating a local water supply with carcinogenic chemicals that poisoned tens of thousands of people. While Bilott is ultimately able to achieve some degree of compensation and justice for the victims, the film shows the challenges of litigating against a powerful company bent on denying responsibility and covering up its misconduct. Guest: Mark Templeton Mark Templeton is Clinical Professor of Law and Director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School, and Research Affiliate of the Energy Policy Institute at Chicago (EPIC). Previously, Professor Templeton was a Trustee and Executive Director of the Office of Independent Trustees for the $20 billion Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Trust. He also served as the cabinet-level Director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, leading the state’s efforts in energy, environmental protection, state parks, and water resources. Professor Templeton’s prior experience additionally includes serving as Associate Dean and COO at Yale Law School, developing environmental and sustainability strategies at McKinsey & Company, and serving as Special Assistant and Senior Adviser to the US Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor and an adviser to the US Delegation to the UN Commission on Human Rights. Timestamps: 0:00 Introduction2:35 The origins: a small case for a family friend back home 6:24 Teflon and the “miracle” chemical10:24 How attorney Rob Bilott uncovers the pollution13:49 Getting the Taft firm on board21:50 Addressing the legal challenges in the case 24:30 Medical monitoring and causation in toxic tort cases28:36 Divisions in the community, financial pressures, and client management30:30 DuPont’s clout35:14 Bellwether trials: trying the cases in court39:44 What the litigation achieved and the continued challenges46:27 The risks of “forever chemicals” 49:50 Developments since the film was released55:43 Can the legal system deliver justice? 1:01:53 Some further developments Further Reading: Bilott, Robert, Exposure: Poisoned Water, Corporate Greed, and One Lawyer's Twenty-Year Battle against DuPont (Atria Books 2019) Carucci, Rob, “Leadership Lessons from Rob Bilott’s 20 Year Battle for Justice Against DuPont,” Forbes (July 12, 2021) Nevitt, Mark P. & Percival, Robert V., “Can Environmental Law Solve the ‘Forever Chemical’ Problem,” 57 Wake Forest L. Rev. 239 (2022) Rich, Nathaniel, “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare,” N.Y. Times Magazine (Jan. 6, 2016) Small, Sarah Chen, Note, “Toxic Film: Analyzing the Impact of Films Depicting Major Contamination Events on the Regulation of Toxic Chemicals,” 35 Georgetown Env. L. Rev. 561 (2023) Tabuchi, Hiroko, “Trump Administration to Uphold Some PFAS Limits but Eliminate Others,” N.Y. Times (May 14, 2025)