OKLAHOMA CITY (Aug. 20, 2026) – Attorney General Gentner Drummond is asking a federal court to send his lawsuit over the proposed Inola aluminum smelter back to Rogers County District Court. He is also asking the court to order the defendants to pay the State’s costs and attorney fees for improperly removing the case.
In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma, Drummond argues that every element of the State’s claims comes from Oklahoma law, and that the federal court therefore has no jurisdiction over the case.
“My responsibility as Attorney General is to defend Oklahomans and enforce the laws of this state,” Drummond said. “I will not allow these corporations to use federal court as a means to evade Oklahoma law or delay our efforts to protect the people, livestock and natural resources of Rogers County. This case belongs in Oklahoma state court, under Oklahoma law, and I will continue fighting to ensure it is decided there.”
Drummond’s filing argues that binding precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit makes clear that a federal defense, including an argument that federal law preempts state law, cannot provide a basis for removing a state-law case to federal court. The defendants themselves have acknowledged they are not arguing that the federal Clean Air Act completely preempts the State’s claims. Because that rule is settled, the filing argues, the defendants had no objectively reasonable basis to remove and should bear the costs they caused.
“The law on this issue is clear, and the defendants had no reasonable basis to drag this case into federal court,” Drummond said. “Oklahoma taxpayers should not be left footing the bill for an unnecessary legal detour. We are asking the court to send this case back where it belongs and hold the defendants responsible for the costs they created.”
Drummond initially filed a petition in June to stop development of Oklahoma Primary Aluminum, a massive proposed smelter near Inola. Drummond’s lawsuit seeks to protect the health of area residents, livestock and natural resources from the threatened public nuisance posed by the project. The defendants subsequently removed the case to federal court on July 21.
Drummond also has a pending motion for preliminary injunction seeking to block construction of the proposed smelter while the lawsuit is decided.
