Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond, who is also a candidate for Governor, has gone to court in a move to block the proposed $4 billion heavy-industrial aluminum smelter in Inola.
If it were to be built,it would be the first such aluminum smelter to be constructed in the United States in 50 years. The project, proposed by a United Arab Emirates company, also was supported by the state of Oklahoma through millions of dollars in incentives.
Drummond held a news conference in Inola to announce the filing of a petition in Rogers County District Court and his announcement drew the applause of those who gathered for his announcement.
“Today’s petition to block the enormous smelter is a major to protect Oklahomans, our air, our land, and our water. The smelter would occupy about 350 acres along the Verdigris River, just 3 miles from schools,homes, and farms. A primary aluminum smelter does not belong in a community’s backyard, and its emissions do not respect property lines,” Drummond said, adding that winds could carry pollutants into the surrounding northeastern Oklahoma communities. “The injury is imminent, it is grave, and it is irreparable.”
His announcement drew a sharp response from Gov. Kevin Stitt who is a backer of the aluminum smelter.
Governor Kevin Stitt issued a statement criticizing Attorney General Gentner Drummond for targeting one of the largest economic development projects in state history. This project, backed by President Donald Trump, will strengthen a critical supply chain for all Americans.
“As soon as President Trump made his endorsement in the governor’s race, Drummond dropped the act and showed his true colors,” said Stitt. “Now he is turning his machine against one of President Trump’s top priorities, once again weaponizing his office to settle scores instead of serving Oklahomans. President Trump’s aluminum project in Inola will rapidly grow Oklahoma’s economy and strengthen America’s supply chain for generations, while Drummond turns his back on our state in favor of cheap political gimmicks and personal gain.”
Drummond explained that Count 1 of his petition is anticipatory public nuisance under Title 50, Sections 1 and 8, and Count 2 is a threatened pollution under the Oklahoma Environmental Quality Code, plated in the (1:36) alternative, under Title 27A, Section 2-6-0-5.
“And the prayer for relief seeks a temporary, preliminary, and permanent injunction restraining the destruction and the operation of the smelter in and around Inova, an order of abatement of anticipated public nuisance, and is actually the only other relief that this court would be determined appropriate.”
Drummond also pointed out that one of the project’s two owners is an Islamic foreign monarchy. Emirates Global Aluminium (EGA), which is a state-owned enterprise of the United Arab Emirates, holds a 60 percent controlling interest in the project.
“The controlling hand behind the largest smelter ever proposed on American soil belongs not to Oklahomans, nor even to Americans, but to a foreign sovereign more than 7,000 miles away,” Drummond wrote in the petition.
“In this instance, 60% is owned by a Muslim monarchy, 7,000 miles away, and has concerns about the enforcement of the water, air, and land rights of Oklahoma.,” he told the crowd on hand.
Century Aluminum holds the minority 40 percent interest. The Delaware corporation is headquartered in Chicago.
The proposed facility – Oklahoma Primary Aluminum – would be the largest primary aluminum production plant ever constructed in the U.S. with a planned capacity exceeding 750,000 metric tons of aluminum per year. Primary aluminum smelting generates a hazardous waste stream, consumes significant amounts of electricity and water and is one of the most polluting heavy-industrial activities that exists. The process also wreaks havoc on cattle, threatening Oklahoma’s single largest agricultural sector.
The facility is projected to draw more than 1,000 megawatts of continuous electricity, more power than many Oklahoma cities consume, placing extraordinary strain on the regional grid served by Public Service Company of Oklahoma and threatening the reliability and affordability of electricity for Oklahoma ratepayers.
Drummond said the project is propelled by an extraordinary infusion of public money. Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy selected Century Aluminum for a grant of up to $500 million to underwrite the smelter’s construction. The State of Oklahoma has added its own subsidies including a $255 million incentive package.
Drummond said he filed the petition to protect Oklahoma’s people, air, land and water. The smelter would occupy about 350 acres along the Verdigris River, within about three miles of Inola’s schools, homes and farms.
The Attorney General admitted that despite his petition, there remains a possibility the project could proceed.
“And if, through this process, they illustrate that they can take care of the air and not disperse 455 tons of fluoride across Rogers County, Mays County, Tulsa County, if they can show that they can treat the water and not ruin the Verdigris River, which provides the primary source of drinking water for the communities around that conclude Broken Arrow, and if it can conclude, if it can satisfy me, of the pot liner refuge, which is packed with cyanide and other heavy metals, what are they going to do with it? You can’t even put it in a landfill in the United States of America. There’s a reason that they do it in the deserts of Abu Dhabi, because nobody lives there.”
Drummond was asked about the timelineof the legal challenge because of the timeliness of the approaching primary election where he is one of a handful of candidates for the Republican nomination for Governor.
“Well, folks, this is why you need to elect me governor. Because I will take this case from the attorney general and transfer it into the governor’s office, because other elected officials will not have my appetite for risk and challenge. And I promise you here, if elected, this case will be transferred to the governor’s office so that we can continue it through to a logical conclusion and not be dismissed by somebody who might follow me.”
Drummond further stated he was elected as an independent attorney general and described himself as an attorney general who’s equipped to do the right thing regardless of the cost.
“And I put your future,our future, primary over any profits any foreign-owned entity could make.”
