NCC NBAF
Site selection process used by the NC Consortium
The site selection criteria for the NBAF (research capabilities; technical & labor workforce; infrastructure, and community acceptance) indicated to us that the highest potential for a NC NBAF site existed in our state's research corridor, which runs from Charlotte in the southwestern Piedmont, north to the Triad area of Winston-Salem/Greensboro, and east to the Research Triangle area of Raleigh, Chapel Hill, and Durham. The NC Department of Commerce was tasked by Governor Easley in early February 2006 to canvass counties and municipalities along the Charlotte-RTP corridor for interest in the NBAF project.
Based on the NBAF site selection criteria, several sites across the state were identified and the one location providing the best combination of characteristics was highlighted in the Expression of Interest (proposal that was submitted by the March 31st deadline).
The proposed site for the NBAF exceeds the listed requirements.
Summary
The two submitted parcels on the Umstead Research Farm in southwest Granville County offer an excellent combination of characteristics and environment to assure the NBAF can contribute maximally to the nation's needs for public/animal health R&D. They offer existing collaborations, critical mass, and infrastructure in the Triangle area with a large, state-owned, contiguous, and diverse virgin space suitable for construction, operation, protection, and maintenance of the specialized facilities and activities of the NBAF's threefold mission.
Details
The entire Umstead Research Farm (URF) covers 4,035 acres of forest and cropland in Granville and Durham counties. It is owned by the state, and is managed by the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA) Research Stations Division.
The two parcels we are proposing, both in the Granville county section of the URF, are large enough (104 and 178 acres) to easily allow a 30+ acre facility footprint to be placed away from environmentally sensitive areas. Soil types and water tables are compatible with large scale construction of biosecure facilities. The size of the site and flexibility it allows for physical security provisions, the fact that it is already state government owned and protected, and the site's proximity to major research universities, the Research Triangle's private sector, our animal agriculture resources, and state/federal government institutions offers opportunities for communications, mission synergies, linkages, collaborations, and operational efficiencies that make it highly attractive. Further, it is surrounded by state and federal land, including National Guard properties, adding to its ability to be secured and controlled.
The site is some 160 miles from the coast, and in the worst recent NC hurricanes (Fran, Sept 1996; Floyd, Sept 1999) suffered no major flooding. Seismic faults in NC are inactive; the likelihood of a Richter scale 4.75+ earthquake in the next 50 years is under 0.5%, as low as predictions go.
The site is well served by local resources. Because of existing government presence in the area, public safety for the nearby town of Butner and its local area is operated and managed by the NC Dept of Crime Control & Public Safety (NC CCPS). As a result, police, fire, and overall security are under state control. Therefore, training standards, equipment, procedures and capabilities meet state requirements and are supervised by CCPS, the State's Homeland Security Agency. The CCPS presence provides an enhanced security environment for the proposed facility.
There are three full service hospitals within 15 miles of the URF. The Raleigh-Durham International airport is 23 miles away, and Duke University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and North Carolina State University are 17, 30, and 33 miles (respectively) from the site. Additionally, the Eastern Regional Offices of USDA/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, North Carolina Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, are less than 35 miles away in Raleigh.