America’s last alumina refinery yet again riddled with unlawful waste disposal allegation
Updated on 18/07/2025:
State environmental regulators have recorded fresh violations at Atlantic Alumina’s Gramercy refinery in Louisiana, the only operational alumina refinery in the United States. A compliance inspection by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) on May 29 documented nine violations, including discharges from red mud waste lakes, unmaintained levees, and chemical overflows into public drainage systems.
This follows an earlier LDEQ report from March, which found that toxic waste from the site had entered a drainage ditch leading to the Blind River Swamp. Water samples from that ditch contained arsenic levels nearly 1,400% above the EPA’s safety threshold. Inspectors noted that “multiple discharges from Red Mud Lake 3 into Outfall 003” had occurred, while high grass and poor maintenance had compromised the integrity of the levees.
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