[FONT="]Texas group to sue feds for putting biolab in Kan.[/FONT]
[FONT="]4/22/2009 3:31:00 PM[/FONT]
[FONT="]Associated Press/AP Online[/FONT]
[FONT="]By MICHELLE ROBERTS [/FONT]
[FONT="]SAN ANTONIO - A group of Texas research facilities announced Wednesday that it plans to sue the Department of Homeland Security over its selection of a Kansas site for a planned $450 million biodefense laboratory, claiming political connections led federal officials to overlook the site's tornado risk. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Texas Biological and Agro-Defense Consortium, a group of regional research institutions that tried to win the facility for San Antonio, filed a notice of its intent to sue in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the venue for lawsuits against the U.S. government. The notice is mandatory before an actual lawsuit, which was expected to be filed Thursday. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Texas consortium's chairman, John Kerr, called the selection of the Manhattan, Kan., site "grossly irresponsible, the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with Mother Nature." [/FONT]
[FONT="]He said the site was improperly chosen because DHS ignored the high risk of tornadoes in the region, pointing to a tornado with 200 mph winds that struck the site last year. Kerr said damage to the facility could cause the release of deadly airborne pathogens - an allegation disputed by Kansas officials. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The planned lawsuit would seek to set aside the DHS decision and stop further work on the Kansas site, which was selected in December. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility laboratory, designed to replace the aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y., will research diseases including foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever and the Hendra and Nipah viruses. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kerr said initial assessment scores by DHS gave San Antonio a slight edge over the Kansas site, but that the three-year selection process was tainted by politics from the beginning. He said retired Navy Admiral Jay Cohen, the DHS undersecretary charged with choosing the site, gave the Kansas consortium special access because of previous relationships with those pushing the Kansas site. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cohen visited the Kansas site multiple times, including two visits hosted by Kansas' U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, Kerr said. With the exception of a site visit in Mississippi hosted by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, none of the other 16 sites initially under consideration were allowed more than a 20-minute visit, he said. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts' spokeswoman Sarah Little disputed the number of Cohen visits, saying only one occurred - though other DHS officials visited on other occasions. [/FONT]
[FONT="]DHS spokesman Matt Chandler said he was limited in what he could say because of the litigation but described the selection process as "transparent" and the site visits as fair and open. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Chad Bettes, a spokesman for the Kansas Bioscience Authority, said tornadoes are not a significant concern because modern-day labs include containment structures and safety measures that would ensure public safety in the event of a tornado. [/FONT]
[FONT="]"The threat is not in this lab," he said. "It's in not having the lab close to the resources to get the best outcome." [/FONT]
[FONT="]While there was concern in some communities about public safety, the new biodefense lab was highly sought after because it's expected to bring about 300 leading scientists - a likely draw to other bioscience researchers and companies. Other states with finalist sites included North Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. None of the others have sued over the selection. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kansas officials were quick to defend the Manhattan site. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts and Brownback issued a statement Tuesday before the court filing was made, saying the site was selected because of the region's expertise and infrastructure. They called the lawsuit "frivolous." [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who awaits confirmation by the Senate as secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement Wednesday that the site selection process was fair and free of politics and that she fears the litigation will delay the lab's mission to protection the nation's food supply. [/FONT]
[FONT="]"Kansas played by the rules, and was chosen solely on its merits. Kansas is recognized around the globe for its animal health research expertise, state-of-the-art research and industry infrastructure, and deep agricultural heritage," she said. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Texas consortium is made up of the Texas Research & Technology Foundation, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, Brooks City Base, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Texas elected officials are not a party to the planned lawsuit, but some state money is being used to help fund the legal fight. [/FONT]
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[FONT="]4/22/2009 3:31:00 PM[/FONT]
[FONT="]Associated Press/AP Online[/FONT]
[FONT="]By MICHELLE ROBERTS [/FONT]
[FONT="]SAN ANTONIO - A group of Texas research facilities announced Wednesday that it plans to sue the Department of Homeland Security over its selection of a Kansas site for a planned $450 million biodefense laboratory, claiming political connections led federal officials to overlook the site's tornado risk. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Texas Biological and Agro-Defense Consortium, a group of regional research institutions that tried to win the facility for San Antonio, filed a notice of its intent to sue in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the venue for lawsuits against the U.S. government. The notice is mandatory before an actual lawsuit, which was expected to be filed Thursday. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Texas consortium's chairman, John Kerr, called the selection of the Manhattan, Kan., site "grossly irresponsible, the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with Mother Nature." [/FONT]
[FONT="]He said the site was improperly chosen because DHS ignored the high risk of tornadoes in the region, pointing to a tornado with 200 mph winds that struck the site last year. Kerr said damage to the facility could cause the release of deadly airborne pathogens - an allegation disputed by Kansas officials. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The planned lawsuit would seek to set aside the DHS decision and stop further work on the Kansas site, which was selected in December. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility laboratory, designed to replace the aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y., will research diseases including foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever and the Hendra and Nipah viruses. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kerr said initial assessment scores by DHS gave San Antonio a slight edge over the Kansas site, but that the three-year selection process was tainted by politics from the beginning. He said retired Navy Admiral Jay Cohen, the DHS undersecretary charged with choosing the site, gave the Kansas consortium special access because of previous relationships with those pushing the Kansas site. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Cohen visited the Kansas site multiple times, including two visits hosted by Kansas' U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, Kerr said. With the exception of a site visit in Mississippi hosted by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, none of the other 16 sites initially under consideration were allowed more than a 20-minute visit, he said. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts' spokeswoman Sarah Little disputed the number of Cohen visits, saying only one occurred - though other DHS officials visited on other occasions. [/FONT]
[FONT="]DHS spokesman Matt Chandler said he was limited in what he could say because of the litigation but described the selection process as "transparent" and the site visits as fair and open. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Chad Bettes, a spokesman for the Kansas Bioscience Authority, said tornadoes are not a significant concern because modern-day labs include containment structures and safety measures that would ensure public safety in the event of a tornado. [/FONT]
[FONT="]"The threat is not in this lab," he said. "It's in not having the lab close to the resources to get the best outcome." [/FONT]
[FONT="]While there was concern in some communities about public safety, the new biodefense lab was highly sought after because it's expected to bring about 300 leading scientists - a likely draw to other bioscience researchers and companies. Other states with finalist sites included North Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. None of the others have sued over the selection. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kansas officials were quick to defend the Manhattan site. [/FONT]
[FONT="]Roberts and Brownback issued a statement Tuesday before the court filing was made, saying the site was selected because of the region's expertise and infrastructure. They called the lawsuit "frivolous." [/FONT]
[FONT="]Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who awaits confirmation by the Senate as secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement Wednesday that the site selection process was fair and free of politics and that she fears the litigation will delay the lab's mission to protection the nation's food supply. [/FONT]
[FONT="]"Kansas played by the rules, and was chosen solely on its merits. Kansas is recognized around the globe for its animal health research expertise, state-of-the-art research and industry infrastructure, and deep agricultural heritage," she said. [/FONT]
[FONT="]The Texas consortium is made up of the Texas Research & Technology Foundation, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, Brooks City Base, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Texas elected officials are not a party to the planned lawsuit, but some state money is being used to help fund the legal fight. [/FONT]
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