The proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) is a "plum" worth billions of dollars to the selected site.  Five locations were recently selected as finalists.  There are two interesting stories; the tiny town in Mississippi that made the final five and the question of hearings on LI about Plum Island (and whether there might still be a chance of DHS deciding to upgrade Plum Island rather than re-locate the NBAF to one of the five finalist locations.  Also please see previous Storm posts on the NBAF shown below.  Additional discussion about Mississippi’s efforts shown below.

The following sites have been chosen to advance to the next phase in
the competitive process to select the location for the proposed
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).

  • Flora Industrial Park, Madison County, Miss.
  • Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kan.
  • Texas Research Park, San Antonio, Texas
  • Umstead Research Farm, Granville County, N.C.
  • University of Georgia/South Milledge Ave., Athens, Ga.

The next step in the selection process is to conduct an
environmental impact statement (EIS) as part of the National
Environmental Policy Act process. Plum Island, as a government-owned site will be considered as one of the alternatives that are evaluated in the EIS.

Flora Mississippi, a town of 1546 people is by far the smallest of the final locations.  There was a public meeting in Flora today to discuss the impact the NBAF would have on that tiny community (don’t know the actual results of that meeting yet).  In an understatement, the Mayor said (prior to the meeting):

"There’s no doubt in my mind. This could be bigger than the car plants," he said, referring to the Nissan plant located in nearby Canton and Toyota in north Mississippi.

About 200 of the nation’s top scientists would move to central Mississippi to work at the lab, which would test and evaluate combating bio and agro terrorism threats.

Another 150 support workers would converge in the Flora Industrial Park on U.S. 49 daily. Pharmaceutical companies likely would locate nearby, hoping to sell the results of the medical research.

The average salary of the 400 jobs it will provide is $75,000 - with a total payroll of about $30.5 million annually.

Considering that other locations were dropped at the last cut because they "lacked the infrastructure to support the lab" (one particular site comes to mind immediately), it is pretty surprising that Flora made the cut.  But it seems that Bennie Thompson (D) represents that District and also Chairs the House Homeland Security Committee (considering one of the other disappointed locations was in the CD of the former Chairman of the House Appropriations sub-committee for Homeland Security, I find it hard to believe that there could be a connection, but stranger things have happened in partisan politics and "bringing home the bacon")…

Partners collaborating on developing the facility include University of Mississippi Medical Center, the Ole Miss School of Pharmacy, Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, and Jackson State University. This facility should provide a multiplier effect of more research, more grants, more jobs — all high-tech, high-paying — making the competition to land it intense. Greaves said that the metro area offers the quality-of-life features along with the technical support to land this project, but public support is critical to landing it. The hearing in Flora is open to all interested and should answer any questions the public may have about the proposed facility.

Here’s some additional insight about the Mississippi proposal from the Sunshine Project on the NBAF.

Unqualified Connections: Battelle, based in Ohio, conducts classified research at its West Jefferson (OH) lab. Battelle also operates national labs, including Oak Ridge (TN), and Pacific Northwest (WA). Mississippi has little to offer in the way of expertise. Battelle has an insatiable appetite for federal dollars and may appreciate weak partners in Mississippi’s educational institutions. This proposal features the crack political team of Gov. Haley Barbour (Chair of George Bush’s 2000 Presidential Campaign Advisory Committee) and Penrose "Parney" Albright, until recently a top DHS official. Between them, just about any relevant ear can be bent.

URL: http://www.governorbarbour.com/NABF.html

But why are they holding town hall meetings and hearings about the possibility of Plum Island (the existing BSL3 facility) getting the "nod?"


Enhanced Defense Facility Proposed For Plum Island
Plum Island, which houses the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, is a
prospective site for a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility,
which would handle pathogens threatening to humans. Though Plum Island
is not one of the leading prospective locations, representatives from
the US Department of Homeland Security hosted a public scoping meeting
to provide information to and solicit comments from the Southold Town
community on August 23. The two main concerns voiced by residents were
how the government planned to secure the island and protect residents
on the East End…

Homeland Security seeks input on Plum Island disease lab

Even though Plum Island is not on the list of five sites being considered for a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, the Department of Homeland Security
is holding a public meeting Thursday night in Southold to solicit
comments on whether the island would be a good site for the lab…

Plum Island, located off Orient Point and home of the Plum Island
Animal Disease Center scheduled to be superceded by the new facility
after 2013, hasn’t been considered for the new lab that will study more
dangerous pathogens in part because the state’s two Democratic
senators, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer, and Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton) oppose the idea as being too dangerous.

But the Long Islanders want the lab to remain at Level 3.  They could build a new facility at the current site, or if, as expected, the NBAF goes to one of the five finalists, Plum Island would, as currently planned, be decommissioned.  Strange doin’s though.  In my opinion of course.

Previous Storm posts on the NBAF:
Biodefense Labs - Power Outage Shows Flaws in CDC Lab
NBAF Finalists Announced - San Antonio Makes the Cut!
National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) News
Texas, A Terrorist Target Because…
BioHazard Level 4 - Target for Terrorism?
NBAF Update
UPDATED: Plum Island and NBAF - Conspiracy Theories and the Spreading of Fiction
San Antonio Stays in the Running for the National Bio-Defense Lab
Biolab Level Four - Update
Safety of Bio-Defense Labs Questioned

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