September 1, 2006
Community Unit School District 200
Contact: Denie Young at 630/682-2015

Homeland Security Addresses Safety of BP Naperville Campus

The director of DuPage County’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management said in a letter to District 200 this week that the BP Naperville Campus poses no greater risk to neighboring properties than any other site the district might select for a new school.

“Based on current federal guidance and intelligence data, the BP site has not been identified as being an ‘at risk’ facility for a terrorist incident,” Thomas O. Mefford, Director, wrote in a letter the District received Thursday. “As such, the area surrounding the BP site is at no higher risk than any other site within the County or District 200.”

Mr. Mefferd went on to write that BP has had no significant chemical releases and each year complies with all of the requirements of the Illinois Chemical Safety Act.

The District requested Homeland Security’s opinion after one opponent of the District’s plan to relocate Hubble to a site near BP’s Naperville complex charged that the facility is a terrorist risk that poses imminent danger to the surrounding area.

“We are grateful, but not surprised, to have confirmation from Homeland Security that the proposed school site is in no greater danger of suffering a terrorist incident than any other property we might select,” Superintendent Gary T. Catalani said Friday. “This is another piece of the due diligence we are seeking before making a commitment to purchase the Herrick Road site.

Environmental studies of the property have been conducted by the owner, McNaughton Builders, and District 200. When the written reports are completed, they will be released publicly, likely in the next several weeks.

The Board of Education in May authorized staff to begin negotiations for the purchase of an 18-acre site west of Herrick Road between Warrenville and Galusha Roads in Warrenville. While no agreement on price has been reached, discussions are continuing. The Board plans to relocate the Hubble Middle School, now housed at Roosevelt Road and Main Street, Wheaton, to the southwest part of the District to place a middle school closer to most of the students it serves. Estimates also show that building a new school is less expensive than renovating the existing building to the same standard as other District 200 schools.