Nootka, Alcoa have 23 days to hammer out details of smelter deal
Wednesday, August 4, 2004 7:25 AM PDT
By Eric Apalategui
Printable version
E-mail this articleA federal bankruptcy judge Tuesday gave Nootka Holdings and Alcoa most of this month to work out a deal to bring a lime importer to the site of the Longview Aluminum plant.
If negotiations don't resolve a legal standoff, Judge Eugene R. Wedoff will open a trial in Chicago Aug. 27 to determine whether Nootka can buy the smelter's assets over Alcoa's objections. Already, Wedoff has allowed two postponements as negotiations continue.
Alcoa primarily is concerned with long-term responsibility for the site's environmental conditions, said Chicago attorney Bruce Wald, who is representing British Columbia-based Nootka.
An Alcoa spokesman in July said the Pittsburgh-based aluminum giant wants to make sure any deal protects the company and the Longview community, but he declined to discuss the specific issues holding up the sale while talks are under way.
However, Wald said Nootka leader Barry Oliver and Alcoa's representatives continued to discuss the deal after Tuesday's hearing and are "working in good faith" to resolve differences.
"The trial could be a moot point," Wald said.
Longview Aluminum was formed when Alcoa sold the former Reynolds Metals Co. smelter to a group headed by Chicago businessman Michael Lynch in 2001. Lynch immediately shut down the smelter, and Longview Aluminum declared bankruptcy last year.
Alcoa retained ownership of the 500-acre property, although it signed a long-term lease for the land. To satisfy creditors, a bankruptcy trustee sold off many of Longview Aluminum's assets last month and hopes to sell the remaining assets to Nootka.
Nootka wants the site's ship-unloading equipment and other facilities to bring in and process lime from its plant in British Columbia. Lime has industrial and agricultural uses.
Wald said that his client, Oliver, would not speak publicly about his plans for the site until he completes a deal to use the site. Nootka has offered $2.5 million for the plant's remaining assets.
Court documents do not reveal how many workers Oliver might hire in Longview. Court-appointed trustee Bill Brandt previously said he didn't believe Nootka could match the more than 900 aluminum workers who once had jobs there, but Brandt thought Nootka's payroll could reach as high as 200 employees. Brandt was traveling on business Tuesday and was unavailable for comment.
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