A focused environmental impact report on five new buildings proposed for the California National Primate Research Center is now available for public review and comment. Public comments will be accepted through March 7.

The new buildings would allow the center to enhance its facilities for research, especially on infectious diseases and stem cells, and consolidate research activities into modern facilities. The new facilities would not increase the number of monkeys housed at the center or provide additional animal housing. The facilities would add about 20 employees to the center.

The buildings would provide additional laboratory and office space for growing areas of research, including virology, immunology, and stem cells. The buildings include a 10,000-square-foot building for research in virology and immunology, including 1,100 square feet for a biosafety level 3 (BSL3) laboratory.

The others would be modular buildings of about 1,500 square feet each, including two laboratory and two office buildings. The modular buildings would be used for studies on stem cells as well as for general biomedical research. All the buildings would be located on the grounds of the California National Primate Research Center, to the west of the main campus.

An initial study by UC Davis' Office of Resource Management and Planning, published in October 2006, found that any anticipated environmental impacts of the proposed project were covered by the environmental impact report for the campus's Long-Range Development Plan, published in 2003. However, an additional focused environmental impact report was prepared to address impacts in more detail.

This latest report finds that the pro-ject-specific impacts would be less than significant, and no project-specific mitigation measures beyond those already set out in the campuswide environmental impact report are required.

A public meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 22 at the University Club on campus to receive comments as part of the formal public record.

Copies of the draft focused EIR, the initial study and of the LRDP report, are available from: the UC Davis Office of Resource Management and Planning; the Reserves Desk, Shields Library, on the UC Davis campus; the Yolo County Public Library in Davis; the Vacaville Public Library; and online at www.ormp.ucdavis.edu/environreview.

New security officers add protection layer

The UC Davis Police Department has recruited three protective service officers, or PSOs, for the California National Primate Research Center at the western edge of the campus.

The officers began providing security and checking IDs at the gate in early January. Another three such security officers are being recruited, and they will be equipped with a vehicle to patrol the 300-acre site around the clock.

The protective service officers are part of an ongoing process to improve security at the center, said Lt. Nader Oweis of the Police Department. Other security upgrades in recent years include new fences, lighting, cameras and alarms, and a training manual and video on safety for researchers. The security measures were financed jointly by a grant from the National Institutes of Health and by UC Davis.

"It's an ongoing strategy the university is undertaking to make sure that researchers are safe, animals are safe and the value of research is maintained," Oweis said.

The PSOs are trained by the Police Department in crime prevention, access control, customer service and tactical communications, and may get some further external training in due course, Oweis said.

The UC Davis primate center is one of eight national primate research centers sponsored by the National Center for Research Resources, a division of the NIH, to provide specialized research resources for studies into health problems including AIDS, autism, asthma, Alzheimer's disease, aging and developmental biology.

— Andy Fell