INOLA, Okla. — Tulsa Port of Inola plans construction on the first new American aluminum plant in almost a half-century later this year, but a citizen opposition group is still advocating for a larger voice at the table to address concerns.
State leaders have previously said the project will usher in more than a thousand jobs by 2030.
- Previous coverage>>> Inola residents share mixed opinions on aluminum plant
"The people that are coming in down there, the port people – they don’t care. They really don’t care about our community,” Inola rancher Joleta Ingersoll said during public comment of the Inola City Council meeting on March
9.
WATCH: 'It will not fit here': Residents continue push against Emirati-funded aluminum plant
The group Stop The Inola Smelter argues its unaddressed concerns include allegations of adverse health effects of the hay capital of the world (Inola's self-proclaimed title) becoming perhaps the aluminum capital of the Americas.
"This will make Inola the air pollution capital of Oklahoma just based on the numbers Emirates Global Aluminum has submitted here,” Inola resident Eric Reilly said.
"This town needs an expert. You need a third party independent environmental consultant/environmental engineer who actually knows how to evaluate these issues and provide the town the best protections," fellow Inolan Thomas Harrington said.
Rep. Tom Gann (R-Inola) told 2 News he voted against the Reindustrialize Oklahoma Act of 2025, which Senate Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton boasted would "set the stage" for the $4 billion project.
City of Inola is currently in talks with EGA and U.S. Century Aluminum for its development agreement before it can begin construction.
However, members of the local advocacy group, which has also started an online petition, plan to fight against it.
"We will work on this until we prove that it will not fit here,” Ingersoll said.
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