TULSA, Okla. — Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a motion for preliminary injunction to block construction of the proposed heavy-industrial aluminum smelting complex in Inola.
The motion comes ahead of the Aug. 28 expiration of the Town of Inola’s moratorium on new construction at the site.
Drummond said the legal action is to protect Oklahomans and their natural resources.
“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.”
Drummond wants construction on hold while the lawsuit to block the project is decided in court. Drummond initially filed a petition in June to stop the smelter’s development. Behind the massive project are two corporate ventures, one of which is owned by the government of 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, meaning the controlling hand behind the project belongs not to Oklahomans, nor even to Americans, but to a foreign sovereign more than 7,000 miles away. Century Aluminum holds the minority 40 percent interest. The Delaware corporation is headquartered in Chicago.
In March, Century filed an Iran Threat Disclosure with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), revealing that its largest stockholder, Glencore, has agricultural sales contracts with the Islamic Republic of Iran. EGA is owned by Mubadala Investment Company of Abu Dhabi and Investment Corporation of Dubai. Mubadala is a sovereign wealth fund in the United Arab Emirates that manages investments for its shareholder, the Government of Abu Dhabi, and has substantial partnerships with China.
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 hazardous waste streams, consumes significant amounts of electricity and water and is one of the most polluting heavy-industrial activities that exists. The process also causes fluoride to settle on hay and wreaks havoc on cattle, threatening Oklahoma’s single largest agricultural sector. The smelter would occupy about 633 acres along the Verdigris River, within about three miles of Inola’s schools, homes and farms in the Hay Capital of the World.
Along with the motion for preliminary injunction, Drummond filed a declaration from Dr. Ranajit (Ron) Sahu, an engineer and environmental expert. According to Sahu, not only would the smelter be the largest by production, it would also emit vast quantities of a wide range of pollutants.
2 News Oklahoma started covering the project when officials first announced it:
Drummond also asked the court to resolve the pending motion to remand in the case and return it to the District Court of Rogers County.
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