A Rogers County judge has shut the door, at least for now, on a U.S. Department of Justice attorney who wanted to join Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond's lawsuit over the proposed $4 billion aluminum smelter planned for the Port of Inola. Associate District Judge Sue Nigh denied the request from DOJ trial attorney Susan R. Davis, citing procedural problems with her filing.
Paperwork Problems Sink the Request
According to Oklahoma Energy Today, the judge's denial pointed to missing verification of Davis's admission to the Colorado Bar, an incorrect citation and a general failure to comply with court rules and applicable law. Davis had submitted her request on October 19, identifying herself as counsel for the United States and asserting she was in good standing and admitted to practice in Colorado, the outlet reported. The denial leaves the federal government without its own seat at the table in the Rogers County courtroom where Drummond's case is now playing out.
Drummond filed the underlying lawsuit in June against Century Aluminum Company and Oklahoma Primary Aluminum Company LLC, as The Oklahoman reports, seeking to block the proposed smelter at the Port of Inola. The attorney general's office has pushed back hard against the project, which carries a proposed price tag of $4 billion.
A Case That Bounced Between Courts
The lawsuit's path to Rogers County wasn't straightforward. A federal judge sent Drummond's case back to the local court in early September, finding it lacked substantial federal jurisdiction, according to Oklahoma Voice. Around that same time, the DOJ had already filed a statement supporting Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, calling Drummond's lawsuit premature, the outlet noted.
The smelter itself is a joint venture, with Century Aluminum holding a 40% stake and Emirates Global Aluminum owning the remaining 60%, per earlier reporting from The Oklahoman. Backers have promised 1,000 permanent jobs, 4,000 construction jobs and more than $1 billion in state and local tax revenue over 30 years if the project moves forward.
Emissions Plan and a Murky Moratorium
As the legal fight has unfolded, the project's ownership group has also revised its environmental proposal, submitting an emissions plan that would cut permitted fluoride output by 37% from the original design, according to the same Oklahoma Voice report. That change came amid continued scrutiny of the project's environmental footprint.
Reporting on Inola's local construction moratorium has been inconsistent. Oklahoma Voice reported in September that the town's moratorium on the project had expired the week before that story published, while News on 6 has reported that Inola's heavy industrial construction moratorium runs through April 7, 2027, when voters are set to decide on a proposed aluminum-smelting ban. The discrepancy between those accounts remains unresolved in available reporting.
A Company With a Pollution Record Elsewhere
Century Aluminum's track record at other facilities has become part of the backdrop to the Oklahoma dispute. Residents near the company's South Carolina smelter sued in 2023 over alleged emissions, and the company agreed in 2025 to pay more than $940,000 to 719 nearby property owners to settle that case, The Oklahoman reported. South Carolina's Department of Environmental Services separately fined the company more than $360,000 for air-pollution violations and for failing to submit required inspection reports.
In Kentucky, Century Aluminum racked up roughly 30 violations over a 12-year span involving emissions, hazardous waste, emergency planning, monitoring and water quality, according to the same Oklahoman report. That history has fueled opposition from residents and officials wary of a similar facility rising along the Verdigris River at Inola.
For now, the courtroom fight over the smelter continues in Rogers County without the DOJ attorney at the table, and it remains unclear whether the federal government will attempt to refile its request to appear.
