It’s likely to be a well-attended meeting scheduled this week in Inola where the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality intends to answer questions about the $4 billion proposed aluminum smelter for the city.
While a Stop the Inola Smelter group is organized in opposition to the manufacturing plant, the DEQ issued a public reminder on Friday that it intended to hold a public process meeting on Thursday, April 23 at 6 p.m. in the Inola High School.
The developer of the proposed smelter, Emirates Global Aluminium based in the United Arab Emirates, filed a permitting process related to the air quality construction permit. The public meeting by DEQ is part of the process of review
During the meeting, DEQ representatives will provide an overview of the agency’s air quality permitting process, explain how the public can participate and submit comments during future public comment periods, and answer questions about the permitting process. This meeting will focus specifically on DEQ’s air quality permitting process.
DEQ explained that Oklahoma Primary Aluminum representatives will not be present, allowing DEQ to focus solely on its permitting process. Additional opportunities will be scheduled in the future to discuss technical aspects of the permit application submitted by Oklahoma Primary Aluminum.
DEQ encourages community members to stay informed and actively participate in the permitting process. The air quality construction permit for this project can be viewed at the Inola Public Library, 15 N Broadway Ave., Inola OK 74036, or at DEQ’s Oklahoma City office. DEQ has also created a website application to make available the permit, status, and supporting documentation on the agency’s website at https://applications.deq.ok.gov/PermitsPublicReview/viewpermits.aspx.
At this time, DEQ has received only the air quality construction permit application for this project. Additional DEQ permits will likely be required for the facility and will be made available once received.