OKPOLICY.ORG
With the first interim study of this year scheduled for next week, and most legislators preoccupied with their own election, a friend’s election, or who they will have to work with in the governor’s office next year, there’s not much happening on the legislative side of state government.
The ninth inning activity in the Stitt administration seems to be limited largely to movement of various members of the administration from one job to another and looking toward “life after.” Aligning himself with federal politics, Gov. Kevin Stitt joined the war on terror with a new executive order.
Last week, he ordered the Oklahoma Office of Homeland Security within the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety (DPS) to conduct an intelligence-based assessment to determine whether agents of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on Islamic Relations (CAIR) are engaged in conduct presenting a terroristic or public-safety threat in Oklahoma. Apparently the “Oklahoma Turnaround” touted by Stitt since 2019 is completed.
Possibly the most consequential news of the week, at least in Eastern Oklahoma, resides in the judicial branch. Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed for an injunction in federal court against the owners of the proposed aluminum smelter in Inola seeking to halt construction while litigation over the smelter’s ownership and potential health and environmental effects proceeds.
A forum I attended in Tulsa last week was supposed to feature the two Republican gubernatorial candidates along with the two Republican candidates for State Superintendent. Mike Mazzei had a scheduling conflict and didn’t appear, leaving plenty of time for questioning of the Attorney General. Drummond did a thorough job of explaining both the health and environmental issues and the problems with the proposed smelter’s ownership structure.
The owner of the smelter project is Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, which is owned by Emirates Global Aluminum (EGA), a state-owned enterprise of the United Arab Emirates and Chicago-based Century Aluminum. EGA holds a 60 percent controlling interest in the project, and Century Aluminum holds the minority 40 percent interest.
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 it has substantial partnerships with China, according to Drummond.
The American company, Century Aluminum, has filed an Iran Threat Disclosure with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as required by law, revealing that its largest stockholder, Glencore, who is also its largest customer, has agricultural sales contracts with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Drummond says all these foreign ties need to be fully vetted.
Regarding the potential health and environmental hazards, Drummond received a report from engineer and environmental expert, Dr. Ranajit (Ron) Sahu. According to Sahu, not only would the smelter be the largest primary aluminum plant by production ever constructed in the United States, but it would also emit vast quantities of a wide range of pollutants.
Emissions of air pollutants projected in the smelter application include 87,182 tons per year of carbon monoxide, 316 tons per year of nitrogen oxide, 731 tons per year of particulate matter, 217 tons per year of volatile organic compounds, 187 tons per year of highly toxic air pollutants, including many carcinogens, and 425 tons per year of total fluoride compounds. Sahu believes the emissions would likely be higher.
According to Sahu, the proposed plant would be the highest fluoride emitter among the seven primary aluminum plants reflected in the most recent National Emissions Inventory data for the United States. It would also rank as the highest-emitting plant among all industries of any kind in the United States.
The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality has now suspended its review of the project’s air-permit application after finding, among other things, that the applicant’s own emission calculations exceed the fluoride limits it proposes.
Drummond also said the facility is projected to place an extraordinary strain on the regional grid, threatening the reliability and affordability of electricity for Oklahoma ratepayers.
As with any litigation or political dispute, there is more than one side to the story. The federal government has awarded up to $500 million toward the smelter’s construction, and the State of Oklahoma has added a $255 million subsidy. Gov. Stitt announced in May 2025 that the $4 billion aluminum smelting facility would bring 1,000 direct jobs and 1,800 indirect jobs to Oklahoma. In addition, Century has said it will employ the best and latest measures to protect health and the environment.
