Granville

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National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), Granville County – Congressman Brad Miller is committed to ensuring that the Department of Homeland Security is responsive to both the citizens of Granville County and the local governments that could be affected by this proposed facility.

 
On January 11, 2008, Rep. Brad Miller (NC-13) and Rep. G.K. Butterfield (NC-1) sent a letter asking the National Laboratories Director at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to make available officials to answer questions for local elected leaders and the public about the community impact of the proposed National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF).

In the letter to Director James Johnson, Congressmen Miller and Butterfield wrote that citizens have asked and continue to ask local elected leaders about the possible hazards to the environment or public health that the operation of the facility might present. Miller and Butterfield asked DHS officials to visit Granville County, or at the very least, hold a conference call to answer questions.

To read a copy of the letter, go here.

As a result of this request and concerns expressed by others, DHS agreed to hold public meetings at all of the potential NBAF sites.  The Department of Homeland Security and Department of Agriculture held their public forum on the Butner site at South Granville High School in Creedmoor on February 21, 2008. Congressman Miller attended that public meeting to hear the concerns of residents about the proposed Department of Homeland Security facility in Butner. The state-owned Umstead Research Farm in Butner is one of five U.S. sites under consideration for the lab, which will likely replace the aging Plum Island Animal Research Center, located off the tip of Long Island Sound. Plum Island was managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture from 1950 to 2002 until authority was transferred to Homeland Security in an effort to streamline and improve daily operations of the facility.

 
Congressman Miller has expressed support for the lab in the past, but says he will listen closely to arguments both for and against the facility.  He will also support the opinions of local residents and governments about the laboratory. The Granville County commission, which initially supported the application to site the facility in Butner, and was part of the consortium that requested consideration for the Butner site, has now withdrawn its support until the Department of Homeland Security answers certain questions satisfactorily.

 
The Congressman has met repeatedly with both supporters and opponents and is currently awaiting the results of an Environmental Impact Statement which will show if Butner is an environmentally appropriate site.  The results of this study will be very important to determining local and federal support for the facility.  Wherever the facility is located, the much- needed research into animal diseases must be conducted with safeguards against any danger to public health. 

Granville County High School DESTINY Bus Visit – Congressman Miller joined 17 students from South Granville High School to participate in an exercise led by the DESTINY (Delivering Edge-Cutting Science Technology and Internet Across North Carolina for Years to Come). Destiny is a traveling science laboratory created by UNC-Chapel Hill which includes a team of educators to give pre-college students throughout North Carolina a hands-on look at jobs in science and other related fields. Congressman Miller and the students extracted DNA from a sample of possible matches for a mock crime.