February 22, 2006 — A half-century ago, Oak Ridge, Tenn., was composed mainly of rural farmland.

There was little industry. There were no high-paying jobs.

That all changed with the construction of the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

In the past 30 years, hundreds of satellite companies have sprung up around the lab, bolstering the economy of east Tennessee.

The same scenario, economists believe, could unfold here in southern Kentucky, if the proposed National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility is located in Pulaski County.

Monday in Frankfort, Congressman Hal Rogers and several political and educational leaders from Kentucky and Tennessee announced they are joining forces in an attempt to draw a $450 million national research laboratory that would be located in eastern Pulaski County.

The laboratory would, in essence, make Pulaski County the world’s center for animal disease control.

“Looking at the big picture, this lab would assure that Kentucky could compete in the global economy in the 21st Century,” said Greg Jones, the executive director of Southern and Eastern Kentucky Economic Development (SKED). “For years, Kentucky has wanted to be able to attract jobs for the 21st Century. This would allow us to do that, because some of the top scientists and researchers in the world would work and live right here in Somerset.”

Jones said a study is underway to draw correlations between Oak Ridge and Somerset. He theorizes that Somerset could reap the same benefits from the new lab that Oak Ridge has experienced since the 1950s.

“We could have the same per capita income that Oak Ridge has in 25-30 years,” Jones said. “Oak Ridge has some of the most prestigious schools, and some high-paying jobs at facilities that have been built there to be close to the national lab.”

Dr. Paul Coomes, a professor of economics at the University of Louisville, did an economic impact study on the proposed national lab in Pulaski County. He reported that we would feel the effects from the construction phase on.

In the construction phase alone, Coomes said the five-year project would result in regional economic impacts of 8,850 job years, $262 million in new payrolls and $27 million in state and local government tax revenues.

Once the lab is operational, the facility is expected to directly support 410 jobs with an annual local payroll of $30.5 million.

“This payroll leads directly to new county occupational taxes of $300,000 annually, plus about $1.5 million in new Kentucky state income tax receipts each year,” Coomes said in his report.

The estimated total (direct and spin-off) impacts over 30 years, including the construction phase, are as follows: 25,600 job years, $1.3 billion in payrolls and $135 million in state and local government tax revenues.

But, as Jones points out, raw numbers linked directly to the facility cannot truly gauge how the community will be impacted.

“Starting with the construction phase, every business in the region will feel a positive impact,” Jones said. “Motels, restaurants, gas stations, grocery stores ... this will impact every facet of our local economy.

“And once the lab is up and running, we’ll have hundreds of professors and scientists visiting the facility each year,” Jones said. “Just the traffic in and out of Somerset for that purpose alone will sustain our commercial air service.

“The impact this facility would have for our region is mind-boggling.”