The Red and Black

Issue date: 8/18/08 Section: News

Grady Thrasher about NBAF

Charles Craig about NBAF

University Provost Arnett Mace about NBAF

Letter in opposition of NBAF

Concerned Athens citizens voiced their final thoughts about the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility Thursday.

Members of the community met to express their support for or opposition to he Department of Homeland Security's NBAF, a controversial laboratory that has polarized citizens for more than a year.

Homeland Security hosted two sessions to present a draft environmental impact statement and receive public comments.

Kathy Prescott, co-founder of the NBAF opposition group For Athens Quality-of-life, said public comment sessions are especially important because they will be part of the public record considered by Homeland Security during the final site selection process.

"All the public comments, whether they come in by writing or are made orally, will be looked at and answered in the final for all the sites," Joanne Jones-Meehan, a scientist for Homeland Security, said.

The proposed $500 million, 500,000 square-foot facility would be located on South Milledge Avenue, adjacent to the state botanical gardens.

The site would include biosafety level 3 and level 4 large livestock laboratories for detecting and producing countermeasures for pathogens such as Foot and Mouth Disease and the Nipah Virus, Jamie Johnson, director of national labs for Homeland Security, said.

Athens is one of six finalists vying to become the home of NBAF. The five others include Butner, N.C., Manhattan, Kan., Flora, Miss., San Antonio, Tex., and Plum Island, N.Y.

Before a final decision is made, a panel of federal employees will prepare a final environmental impact statement for each potential site to answer questions raised by the public and to name the panel's preferred choice. About 30 days later, DHS Undersecretary Jay Cohen will issue a decision of record which will name the final site.

Homeland Security plans to have the decision process completed by the end of the Bush presidency, Johnson said.

John Verrico, a Homeland Security spokesman, said politics were not involved in the decision-making process. The scores were only recommendations out of the multiple factors that were considered, he said.

David Lee, University vice president for research, said he was not familiar with the Flora, Miss. proposal and could not comment on the site's specifics.

"I am reluctant to assume that Mississippi is on the final list solely because of political considerations," Lee said. "Having said that, I think only a naive observer wouldn't think politics come into play with the awarding of the $500 million project."

Despite rumors of favortism, Lee said he is confident Athens is in the running and one of the top sites for a number of reasons.

"The research environment of the Athens-Atlanta area is fit for a federal facility that is all about protecting our agricultural economy," he said.

"It would be impossible to beat the area. We have a tremendous research program aimed at animal health and infectious disease. We hope that homeland security will stick to its commitment to make this decision based on the qualifications of the sites as based by expert reviews."

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