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Bingham facility again scaled down

Posted on January 6, 2011January 6, 2011 by Staff

By Kirk Ross
Staff Writer
UNC officials have informed state environmental officials that they have revised plans for the university’s Bingham facility, downsizing the number of programs housed there and completely replacing a wastewater system that is not in compliance with state guidelines.
According to a letter sent in late December to the state’s Division of Water Quality, the facility will be used only for small-animal research and house only caged rodents, and there will be no building expansion at the site.
Associate Vice Chancellor for Research Bob Lowman said the change is the result of a shift in strategy for large-animal research by the UNC School of Medicine, which is studying an array of options for research programs, including the Francis Owen Blood Lab, which has a facility near University Lake in Carrboro.
In addition to rodent housing, Lowman said, the Bingham facility will continue to play a critical role both as a place to quarantine and evaluate animals before they are added to research colonies on campus and as flex space for researchers.
Lowman said he expects the last dog to be moved out of Bingham when work on the wastewater system is completed in May 2012.
The university is seeking permission to upgrade a secondary wastewater system that’s already in use. It also seeks to decommission the site’s main wastewater system and the wastewater treatment facility that had been the focus of concern from county and state environmental officials as well as the facility’s neighbors. The facility was fined last year by the Division of Water for repeated violations related to its wastewater system.
The Bingham facility had been slated for a major expansion under a $14.5-million federal stimulus grant for two new research buildings. Last year, medical school Dean Bill Roper informed the National Institutes of Health that the university had changed its plans and would relinquish the grant.
Lowman said the latest change happened fairly quickly and was the result of budget realities.
The changes will be discussed at a meeting Monday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. A site for the meeting had not been determined at press time, but will be posted on The Citizen website when it becomes available.
The Bingham facility’s website is unc.edu/community/bingham.html

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