Upon discovering that the snail darter would be adversely affected by the damming of the Tennessee River, Hiram Hill—a law student at University of Tennessee—filed a complaint against the Tennessee Valley Authority in the U.S. District Court of Tennessee, Knoxville Division. He was joined in this lawsuit by Zygmunt Plater, a law professor, and Donald Cohen, a local attorney. The complaint sought to stop construction on the Tellico Dam.

This case eventually went before the Supreme Court who found in favor of Hill, et. al. However, legislature was later passed that allowed the project to continue. Tellico Dam was completed in 1979.