San Diego

An environmental backlash is threatening to delay the Scripps Research Institute's plans to build a huge research and biotechnology complex near Palm Beach in Florida.

Scripps Florida is to be built on a 780-hectare site near a wildlife refuge. But criticism from environmental groups has made some local politicians change their minds about the site. State and county officials plan to invest $770 million in Scripps Florida (see Nature 426, 4; 200310.1038/426004b).

Palm Beach County last month asked Scripps, based in La Jolla, California, to consider two other sites, both of which are less environmentally sensitive. But the sites are smaller, at less than 350 hectares, and might curtail the institute's industrial growth.

Scripps' board will meet privately on 13 September to consider its options. Although it could agree to one of the new sites, under the present contract signed by the county, it can demand permits for the original property by next January. Palm Beach County council will meet on 14 September to consider its response to Scripps' decision.

If Scripps' board pushes for the original site, it faces an environmental fight in the courts, which critics of the project say could hold it up for years.

It is also possible that such a course would embolden local opposition to plans laid by Palm Beach County officials, who say they intend to spend $400 million on Scripps Florida. State governor Jeb Bush, the president's brother, has championed Florida's $370-million state contribution to the project.

Already, several environmental groups, including the Florida Wildlife Federation and the National Audubon Society, are challenging the original site's water permits, which could delay the process several months. Called Mecca Farms, the site is next to the J. W. Corbett Wildlife Refuge, in a region crossed by waterways that feed the Everglades.

Chemist Richard Lerner, president of Scripps and mastermind of the Florida project, says that he won't make a site recommendation to his board. “There are pros and cons to every side,” he says. Scripps Florida is already hiring scientists who are setting up labs in temporary facilities in Palm Beach County. “The scientists don't care much about which site is selected,” Lerner says.