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National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility Impact Report Released, Kansas Preferred Site
This week, the Department of Homeland Security released its environmental impact statement comparing several locations nationwide regarding the future site of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF). After considering factors such as environmental, economic, technical, security and safety concerns, the preferred site is situated on the campus of Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas.
The report estimates around 1,500 temporary jobs producing between $138 and $184 million in labor income will be generated during construction. A further 250 to 350 jobs of researchers, technical support, and operation specialists will be employed when the NBAF is functioning.
The NBAF will house research, diagnostic testing and training programs associated with diseases that affect livestock, especially viruses and bacteria that can harm agriculture and public health in the U.S. The facility will have the capacity to handle the deadliest and most infectious microscopic entities, as categorized at the highest biosafety levels.
The selection process to identify the Kansas site has taken several years, beginning with 26 submissions from across the U.S. in March 2006, winnowing eventually to five final sites in July 2007, including locations within Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Texas. Earlier this year, the Kansas Legislature approved up to $105 million in revenue bonds to support capital improvements at its site (see the May 21, 2008 issue of the Digest). Also included in the recent impact report was an assessment of the facility's existing site (built in the 1950s on Plum Island off of Long Island in New York) and a consideration of a no-build option.
The final decision to base the NBAF in Kansas will come at the earliest in mid-January of 2009, with a thirty-day period required for comments. Construction on the facility would begin in 2010 and take approximately four years to complete.
The environmental impact report for the NBAF can be accessed at:
http://www.dhs.gov/xres/labs/gc_1187734676776.shtm.