Tagged: NBAF

A new report says NBAF -- the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility -- could create 1300 jobs during the construction phase alone.

Before 9/11,"agroterrorism" was not a familiar term to many.

But in the post-9/11 era, the possibility of a deliberate attack on our food supply is something government, law enforcement and private industry have been studying carefully.

Dr. Peter Chalk of the Rand Corporation, a political scientist and expert on international terrorism, has written extensively on the issue of agroterrorism.

He says there's never been an intentional attack on our plant or livestock production, but we ignore the possibilities at our own risk.

The dirt’s far from settled at the construction site of the new home for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility— or NBAF — in Manhattan, Kan.

The Kansas House voted unanimously last night to strip the troubled Kansas Bioscience Authority of bonding authority for the National Bio and Agro Defense Facility, or NBAF.

The vote gives the state Department of Administration charge over issuing $150 million dollars in bonds.

In a separate move, a provision added to a Senate bill requires the State Finance Department to approve any NBAF bonds.

The interim CEO of the troubled Kansas Bioscience Authority says the KBA will cooperate completely with the Governor's office in it's request for an independent audit. The Kan. legislature has been holding hearings in recent weeks.

The President's budget, which was made public yesterday, pegs $150 million for the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. That's the Level 4 laboratory designed to test highly contagious pathogens and foreign animal diseases operated by the Department of Homeland Security. DHS awarded the $650 million project to K-State a couple of years ago.

Officials told reporters in a teleconference yesterday they were happy with the budget proposal.