Facility plans cause polarized opinions

By: MELISSA WEINMAN

Posted: 2/20/08

When it comes to the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility, there isn't much middle ground - those who back the lab see it as an economic savior and academic dream, and those who are against it see an environmentally evil eyesore.

Department of Homeland Security representatives visited Athens Tuesday to answer questions about the proposed facility.

Representatives from each side said they want the community to have as much information as possible, and Homeland Security's Web site lists community acceptance as one criterion for site selection.

The founders of an organization opposing the facility, For Athens Quality of Life, said the community has not been given the information it needs.

The facility, regardless of location, will be the only one of its kind in the nation.

It will replace a lab on Plum Island, N.Y., which is too small to meet Homeland Security's needs to study diseases that pose potential threats to humans and animals, according to the department's Web site.

Athens is one of five sites selected for the facility and was chosen based on criteria including "proximity to research and existing programs," Jamie Johnson, director of national labs for Homeland Security, said. "It just seemed to be a good fit."

Johnson also said the University's strong agriculture and veterinary programs and Athens' proximity to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta made it a logical choice.

Some Athens residents said the proposed site, located on South Milledge Avenue and Whitehall Road, isn't right to support such a large facility.

"The middle of a college town is not a good place to be doing this," Kathy Prescott, co-founder of FAQ, said.

Prescott said construction will have negative impacts on the nearby Middle Oconee River and the state Botanical Gardens. She said the facility would strain water and sewage systems because of the amount of water it would take to maintain the animals kept at the lab.

"From everything we read and understand, Homeland Security wants an enclosed area where they can infect large numbers of cows, pigs ... and see how long it takes to spread," Prescott said. "Then put them in a blender, dry them, soak them in Dran-o and put them in our sewer system."

Johnson said Homeland Security is studying the potential environmental impact on the site. In light of the drought, available resources will play into the final decision, he said.

The NBAF supporters say the facility will provide much-needed jobs to Athens. Johnson said Homeland Security estimates between 250 and 350 jobs will be created.

Employees from the Plum Island facility will be given the opportunity to transfer to the new lab, he said.

Grady Thrasher, co-founder of FAQ, said Athens would be "taking all the risk, all the degradation, for a few extra jobs."

Thrasher said he is concerned NBAF will be the first facility of its kind managed by Homeland Security, which the department may not have the experience to handle.

Nevertheless, Johnson said the department is qualified.

"DHS has been running Plum Island for five years," Johnson said. "This is not new to us."

"We just don't feel like Athens should be the guinea pig," Thrasher said. "(Athens) took the bait without understanding what the community interest was."