Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond is asking a federal judge to block construction of a proposed aluminum smelter in Inola while his lawsuit challenging the project moves through the courts.
Drummond filed a motion for a preliminary injunction in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma ahead of the August 28 expiration of the Town of Inola’s moratorium on new construction at the site. Drummond initially filed a lawsuit seeking to stop the project in June.
“The people of Rogers County stand to lose their health, their herds and their livelihoods,” Drummond said. “The public interest lies in enforcing Oklahoma’s nuisance and environmental laws, protecting the health of Inola families and preserving the livestock economy and natural resources of the region.”
The proposed Oklahoma Primary Aluminum facility would occupy about 633 acres along the Verdigris River near Inola. The project is planned to produce more than 750,000 metric tons of aluminum annually, which would make it the largest primary aluminum production plant ever constructed in the United States.
Emirates Global Aluminium, a state-owned enterprise of the United Arab Emirates, holds a 60% interest in the project. Chicago-based Century Aluminum holds the remaining 40%.
Drummond’s filing raises concerns about the project’s environmental impact as well as its foreign ownership and corporate ties.
“At a minimum, Oklahomans are entitled to fully vet the project, including the environmental impacts as well as ownership and governance ties,” Drummond wrote in the filing.
Drummond also submitted a declaration from environmental engineer Ranajit Sahu, who said the proposed facility could emit large amounts of carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds and fluoride compounds.
According to the attorney general’s office, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has suspended its review of the project’s air permit application after finding, among other issues, that the applicant’s emission calculations exceeded its proposed fluoride limits.
The project has been awarded up to $500 million in federal funding and is eligible for approximately $255 million in state performance-based rebates.
Drummond is also asking the federal court to rule on his pending request to return the case to Rogers County District Court.
