National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility

The proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) will research high-consequence biological threats involving zoonotic (i.e., transmitted from animals to humans) and foreign animal diseases. It will allow basic research; diagnostic development, testing and validation; advanced countermeasure development; and training for high-consequence livestock diseases.

The new and unique government biocontainment infrastructure would:

• integrate those aspects of public and animal health research that have been determined to be central to national security;
• assess and research evolving bioterrorism threats over the next five decades; and
• enable the Departments of Homeland Security and Agriculture to fulfill their related homeland defense research, development, testing, and evaluation (RDT&E) responsibilities.

The Homeland Security Act of 2002, recognizing that protecting U.S. agriculture is a critical element of homeland security, transferred the current research facility (Plum Island Animal Disease Center [PIADC]) from the Department of Agriculture to the Department of Homeland Security.

Preconstruction Phase Services Contract Awarded

On September 18, the Department of Homeland Security announced the award of a contract for the preconstruction phase services of the proposed National Bio and Agro Defense Facility (NBAF).  This contract will allow the future construction manager to participate during the current design phase as a member of the project core team to perform design and constructability reviews. 

The Department selected McCarthy/Mortenson, Joint Venture as the construction firm to complete the preconstruction phase services and construction phase services required for successful completion of the project.  McCarthy’s headquarters office is located in St. Louis, MO.  Mortenson has local offices in Manhattan, KS and is the largest general contractor in that area.  McCarthy/Mortenson was awarded the contract through a competitive process based upon their expertise in constructing biocontainment labs.  The contract awarded to McCarthy/Mortenson includes phased options to award future construction tasks to the firm for the duration of the NBAF development process as part of the Construction Manager as Constructor (CMc) acquisition approach successfully used on DHS’s National BioDefense Analysis & Countermeasures Center (NBACC) project.

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Complete Department Response to the GAO Draft Report

In May 2009, the Government Accountability Office released a draft report, “Biological Research: Observations on DHS’s Analyses Concerning Whether FMD Research Can Be Done as Safely on the Mainland as on Plum Island.” 

The Department's response to the GAO draft report (PDF, 30 pages - 346 KB ) includes input provided by their subject matter experts and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Facility

• Why Build a New Facility? No facility currently meets the requirements identified in Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9.
• Facility Research & Staffing describes diseases that would potentially be studied at the NBAF and staffing plans.
• Facility Design & Construction describes biocontainment and safety features of the proposed NBAF.

Read more about the scope of research to be conducted in the NBAF, the proposed NBAF and biosafety levels, and definition of terms used in the NBAF discussion.

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Environmental Impact Statement

• Environmental Impact Statement (final and draft) and supporting documents analyze the potential environmental impacts of the proposed NBAF at the proposed six site alternatives.
• Sites Evaluated in the Environmental Impact Statement describes the NBAF's site selection process and the six site alternatives.
• Public Involvement explains how to access information and the schedule of public meetings.
• Public Reading Rooms shows where NBAF documents and related material are stored for public access.
• National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Process shows how the evaluation process works. 

Read more about the scope of research to be conducted in the NBAF, the proposed NBAF and biosafety levels, and definition of terms used in the NBAF discussion.

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