MCMJV

Home

NBAF Project Joint Venture Team Site

On September 18, 2009, 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 the joint venture team of McCarthy Mortenson as the construction firm to complete the preconstruction phase services and construction phase services required for successful completion of the project. McCarthy’s corporate headquarters office is located in St. Louis, MO and has a local office in Leawood, KS. 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 on their expertise in constructing biocontainment labs. The contract 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.

NBAF Mission and Research

NBAF will be a state-of-the-art biocontainment facility for the study of foreign animal, emerging and zoonotic (transmitted from animals to humans) diseases that threaten the U.S. animal agriculture and public health. NBAF will provide and strengthen our nation with critical capabilities to conduct research, develop vaccines and other countermeasures, and train veterinarians in preparedness and response against these diseases. For the past 50 years, the Plum Island Animal Disease Center (PIADC) has served our nation as the primary facility to conduct this research. However, PIADC is nearing the end of its life-cycle and needs to be replaced in order to meet U.S. research requirements and ensure the timely development of countermeasures in the event of an outbreak. NBAF meets that need and will serve as a replacement for the PIADC facility. Strategically, NBAF will boast of new and expanded capabilities, specifically, Biosafety Level (BSL) 4 containment for the study of high-consequence diseases affecting large livestock.

Specifically, NBAF will meet its mission by:

Providing enhanced research capabilities to diagnose foreign animal, emerging and zoonotic diseases in large livestock
Providing expanded vaccine and countermeasure development capabilities for large livestock
Replacing and expanding research currently done at the PIADC in New York, and continuing the partnership between the Department and the USDA Animal Research Service (ARS) and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS).

NBAF rests on a strategic partnership between DHS and USDA. These agencies set research priorities based on threats to animal agriculture, and conduct risk assessments, gap analysis and other necessary evaluations to protect our nation from threats to our animal agriculture and public health. Within the facility, DHS and USDA will continue the work of PIADC at NBAF to conduct research, diagnostics, vaccine development and testing, and training in preparedness and response for veterinary and animal agricultural specialists.

The following diseases would be studied at NBAF which would require BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratory capabilities:

Nipah Virus
Hendra Virus
African Swine Fever
Rift Valley Fever
Japanese Encephalitis Virus
Foot and Mouth Disease
Classical Swine Fever
Contagious Bovine Pleuropneumonia

Project Updates:

NBAF awards - $80M contract for construction of power plant
Project Team:
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Threats to U.S. Food and Animal Agriculture

The United States’ food and animal agriculture supply is a highly integrated, open, global, and complex infrastructure. Increased imports of agricultural products and growing numbers of international travelers to and from the United States have had positive effects, but have also opened our food and agricultural supply to possible foreign animal disease outbreaks. The recent global H1N1 outbreak and other regional foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks have demonstrated the vulnerabilities present when there is a lack of available vaccines, countermeasures, and other rapid response capabilities to curb an outbreak. The food and agriculture industry is a significant contributor to U.S. economic prosperity; therefore, the loss of a significant food market would have dire economic and potentially human health consequences.

Current and previous Administrations have affirmed these threats and the need to prepare and respond through Homeland Security Presidential Directive 9: Defense of United States Agriculture and Food (January 2004) and the National Security Strategy for Countering Biological Threats (November 2009). In addition, the Congressional report, The Clock Is Ticking, pointed to the likelihood of biological threats and advised the United States to “strengthen our resilience by developing the capability to produce vaccines and therapeutics rapidly and inexpensively.” To supply the needed capabilities, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) have the joint responsibility to protect our Nation’s animal agriculture and public health from these threats. The Department is leading these efforts through the construction of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) in Manhattan, Kansas.

Home

NBAF Project Joint Venture Team Site

NBAF Mission and Research

Project Updates:

Project Team:

Owner:

CMc:

A/E:

Threats to U.S. Food and Animal Agriculture