Inola City Council Approves Moratorium on $4 Billion Aluminum Smelter

The Inola City Council unanimously approved a 60-day moratorium on construction within the city's Industrial Heavy District on June 29, 2026. The move halts the development of a $4 billion primary aluminum smelter proposed by Emirates Global Aluminum, marking a significant delay for the first new facility of its kind in the U.S. in decades.

The decision followed a five-hour meeting at the Inola High School Fine Arts Center, where a standing-room-only crowd debated the project. Opposing residents raised concerns regarding air quality, water usage, and public health, while developers and economic leaders emphasized the potential for hundreds of permanent jobs and a strengthened domestic supply chain.

The project has sparked a political divide. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond filed a legal challenge to block the construction, drawing criticism from Governor Kevin Stitt and President Donald Trump, both of whom advocate for the facility to return manufacturing to the United States. To support the initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy provided $500 million and defended the project's use of closed-loop technology to mitigate emissions. Prior to the vote, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality provided presentations on the environmental permitting process.