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Leavenworth site submitted for bio-defense facility By Rachael Bossow, Times Staff Writer The Kansas City Area Development Council recently submitted a Leavenworth County site as a location for a national bio-defense facility, according to Lynn McClure with the Leavenworth County Development Corporation. “Kansas as a whole has an advantage,” McClure said. “We are aggressive in the bio-science arena.” The Heartland Bio-Agri Consortium was interested in recruiting a national bio-agricultural defense facility to the Kansas City area. A number of locations across the country were submitted to the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human Services. The Leavenworth County site was the only location submitted from the metro area. According to McClure, the LCDC has been involved with the project since January, but acted in a supporting role along with the Leavenworth County Port Authority, City of Leavenworth, Leavenworth County and Fort Leavenworth. “The consortium met with the KCADC about sites to be submitted for the project,” McClure said. “The fort has plans for growth and is resistant to giving up acreage. We went to the next best spot — near fort property — and that’s where LCDC became involved.” McClure said criteria for the bio-defense facility site calls for a secure location near the backbone of technological advances. When LCDC took on the project, McClure looked for available sites that met the criteria and submitted those sites to the HBAC. The consortium selected a site located north of Leavenworth at 155th Street and Coffin Road, west of the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks on Fort Leavenworth. But McClure warned that the location might not be what the government wants for a bio-defense facility. “We are in a pool with a lot of other sites, around 200 to 250. Who knows what they will decide?” McClure said. “At this point, it seems aggressive on our part.” McClure said the facility could be used for research and science for bio-agricultural defense. “It’s wrapped around keeping Americans safe,” McClure said. Bio-defense facilities already exist on a smaller scale, such as a facility at Kansas State University in Manhattan. Homeland Security, USDA and DHHS will review the submitted locations and cut the sites that will not suit the needs of the facility. McClure said the first cut can take two to three months, but speculates that a site will not be determined for at least a year. Even if the Leavenworth location is selected, it will be years before the facility is up and running. “We have been told there is a four or five year window between the announcement (of a location) and construction of the facility,” McClure said. “We moved fast up front, now we have to wait and see.” |
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