I’ll comment more on this later, but for now, Associated Press reported about an hour ago that the U.S. federal government has recommended a site in Manhattan, Kansas for a new $450 million laboratory — the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility — to study biological threats like anthrax and foot-and-mouth disease.
The Department of Homeland Security’s choice of Manhattan, Kan., beat out intense competition from other sites in Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas.
A formal announcement won’t be made until later this week, when the agency releases an environmental impact statement.
The new lab would replace an aging 24-acre research complex on Plum Island, about four miles off the eastern shore of Long Island, N.Y.
The lab is expected to generate about 1,500 construction jobs and a permanent payroll of $25 million to $30 million for more than 300 employees once the project is completed by 2015.