SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS ? A group of Texas research facilities filed a notice in federal court Wednesday saying they will sue to block the Department of Homeland Security’s selection of a Kansas site for a new $450 million biodefense laboratory that will study animal diseases and potential bioterrorism threats.

The Texas Biological and Agro-Defense Consortium, the group of regional research institutions that tried to win the facility for San Antonio, filed a notice of its intent to sue in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, the venue for lawsuits against the U.S. government. The notice is mandatory before the actual lawsuit.

The lawsuit will seek to set aside the DHS decision and stop further work on the Manhattan, Kan., site selected in December.

The new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility laboratory, designed to replace the aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y., will research diseases including foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, Japanese encephalitis, Rift Valley fever and the Hendra and Nipah viruses.

The Texas consortium’s chairman, John Kerr, said the Kansas site was improperly chosen because DHS ignored the high risk of tornadoes in the region, pointing to a tornado with 200 mph winds that struck the site last year. Damage to the facility could cause the release of deadly airborne pathogens, Kerr said.

“The selection of Manhattan, Kan., was grossly irresponsible, the equivalent of playing Russian roulette with Mother Nature,” he said.

The other states with finalist sites included North Carolina, Georgia and Mississippi. Kerr said initial assessment scores by DHS gave San Antonio a slight edge over the Kansas site.

But he said the three-year selection process was tainted by politics from the beginning, with retired Navy Admiral Jay Cohen, the DHS undersecretary charged with choosing the site, giving the Kansas consortium special access because of previous relationships with those pushing the Kansas site.

Cohen visited the Kansas site six times, including two visits hosted by Kansas’ U.S. Sens. Sam Brownback and Pat Roberts, Kerr said. With the exception of a site visit in Mississippi hosted by U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, none of the other 16 sites initially under consideration were allowed more than a 20-minute visit, he said.

Roberts’ spokeswoman Sarah Little disputed the number of Cohen visits, saying only one occurred — though other DHS officials visited on other occasions.

Kerr said Kansas and Mississippi were given special treatment even though DHS had assured the various sites that selection would be based on merits.

“Just because you’re not elected to office doesn’t mean you’re not politically influenced,” said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff.

Texas elected officials are not a party to the lawsuit, but Wolff said he and others support the lawsuit. Some state money is being used to help fund the legal fight.

A message seeking comment from DHS officials was not immediately returned Wednesday, but Kansas officials were quick to defend the Manhattan site.

Roberts and Brownback issued a statement Tuesday before the court filing was made, saying the site was selected because of the region’s expertise and infrastructure. They called the lawsuit “frivolous.”

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, who awaits confirmation by the Senate as secretary of Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement Wednesday that the site selection process was fair and free of politics and that she fears the litigation will delay the lab’s mission to protection the nation’s food supply.

“Kansas played by the rules, and was chosen solely on its merits. Kansas is recognized around the globe for its animal health research expertise, state-of-the-art research and industry infrastructure, and deep agricultural heritage,” she said.

While there was concern in some communities about public safety, the new biodefense lab was highly sought-after by numerous communities because it’s expected to bring about 300 leading scientists — a likely draw to other bioscience researchers and companies.

The Texas consortium is made up of the Texas Research & Technology Foundation, Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, Brooks City Base, the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at San Antonio and the University of Texas at San Antonio.