Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 12 / Tuesday, January 20, 2015 / Notices
[[Page 2674]] DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service [Docket No. APHIS-2014-0097] Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition for Determination of Nonregulated Status of Maize Genetically Engineered for Increased Ear Biomass AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
- The petition is also available on the APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/14_21301p.pdf.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) has received a petition from the Monsanto
Company (Monsanto) seeking a determination of nonregulated status of
maize designated as event MON 87403, which has been genetically
engineered for increased ear biomass. The petition has been submitted
in accordance with our regulations concerning the introduction of
certain genetically engineered organisms and products. We are making
the Monsanto petition available for review and comment to help us
identify potential environmental and interrelated economic issues and
impacts that APHIS may determine should be considered in our evaluation
of the petition.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before March
23, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0097.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2014-0097, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-
0097 or in our reading room, which is located in Room 1141 of the USDA
South Building, 14th Street and Independence Avenue SW., Washington,
DC. Normal reading room hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except holidays. To be sure someone is there to help you,
please call (202) 799-7039 before coming.
The petition is also available on the APHIS Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/14_21301p.pdf.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John Turner, Director,
Environmental Risk Analysis Programs, Biotechnology Regulatory
Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236;
(301) 851-3954, email: john.t.turner@aphis.usda.gov. To obtain copies
of the supporting documents for this petition, contact Ms. Cindy Eck at
(301) 851-3892, email: cynthia.a.eck@aphis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the authority of the plant pest
provisions of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the
regulations in 7 CFR part 340,
``Introduction of Organisms and Products
Altered or Produced Through Genetic Engineering Which Are Plant Pests
or Which There Is Reason to Believe Are Plant Pests,'' regulate, among
other things, the introduction (importation, interstate movement, or
release into the environment) of organisms and products altered or
produced through genetic engineering that are plant pests or that there
is reason to believe are plant pests. Such genetically engineered (GE)
organisms and products are considered ``regulated articles.''
The regulations in Sec. 340.6(a) provide that any person may
submit a petition to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
(APHIS) seeking a determination that an article should not be regulated
under 7 CFR part 340. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of Sec. 340.6 describe
the form that a petition for a determination of nonregulated status
must take and the information that must be included in the petition.
APHIS has received a petition (APHIS Petition Number 14-213-01p)
from the Monsanto Company (Monsanto) of St. Louis, MO, seeking a
determination of nonregulated status of maize (Zea mays) designated as
event MON 87403, which has been genetically engineered for increased
ear biomass. The petition states that information collected during
field trials and laboratory analyses indicates MON 87403 maize is
unlikely to pose a plant pest risk and, therefore, should not be a
regulated article under APHIS' regulations in 7 CFR part 340.
MON 87403 maize is currently regulated under 7 CFR part 340.
Interstate movements and field tests of MON 87403 maize have been
authorized by APHIS. Field tests conducted under APHIS oversight
allowed for evaluation in a natural agricultural setting while imposing
measures to minimize the risk of persistence in the environment after
completion of the tests. Data are gathered on multiple parameters and
used by the applicant to evaluate agronomic characteristics and product
performance. These and other data are used by
APHIS to determine if the
new variety poses a plant pest risk.
Paragraph (d) of Sec. 340.6 provides that APHIS will publish a
notice in the Federal Register providing 60 days for public comment for
petitions for a determination of nonregulated status. On March 6, 2012,
we published in the Federal Register (77 FR 13258-13260, Docket No.
APHIS-2011-0129) a notice \1\ describing our process for soliciting
public comment when considering petitions for determinations of
nonregulated status for GE organisms. In that notice we indicated that
APHIS would accept written comments regarding a petition once APHIS
deemed it complete.
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\1\
To view the notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0129.
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In accordance with Sec. 340.6(d) of the regulations and our
process for soliciting public input when considering petitions for
determinations of nonregulated status for GE organisms, we are
publishing this notice to inform the public that APHIS will accept
written comments regarding the petition for a determination of
nonregulated status from interested or affected persons for a period of
60 days from the date of this notice. The petition is available for
public review and comment, and copies are available as indicated under
ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above.
We are interested
in receiving comments regarding potential
[[Page 2675]]
environmental and interrelated economic issues and impacts that APHIS
may determine should be considered in our evaluation of the petition.
We are particularly interested in receiving comments regarding
biological, cultural, or ecological issues, and we encourage the
submission of scientific data, studies, or research to support your
comments. We also request that, when possible, commenters provide
relevant information regarding specific localities or regions as maize
growth, crop management, and crop utilization may vary considerably by
geographic region.
After the comment period closes, APHIS will review all written
comments received during the comment period and any other relevant
information. Any substantive issues identified by APHIS based on our
review of the petition and our evaluation and analysis of comments will
be considered in the development of our decisionmaking documents.
As part of our decisionmaking process regarding a GE organism's
regulatory status, APHIS prepares a plant pest risk assessment to
assess its plant pest risk and the appropriate environmental
documentation--either an environmental assessment (EA) or an
environmental impact statement (EIS)--in accordance with the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to provide the Agency with a review
and analysis of any potential environmental impacts associated with the
petition request. For petitions for which APHIS prepares an EA, APHIS
will follow our published process for soliciting public involvement
(see footnote 1) and publish a separate notice in the Federal Register
announcing the availability of APHIS' EA and plant pest risk
assessment.
Should APHIS determine that an EIS is necessary, APHIS will
complete the NEPA EIS process in accordance with Council on
Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508) and APHIS'
NEPA implementing regulations (7 CFR part 372).
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7
CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
Done in Washington, DC, this 14th day of January 2015.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-00722 Filed 1-16-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
From Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 12 (Tuesday, January 20, 2015):
H/T Prof Parrott.
From Federal Register, Volume 80 Issue 12 (Tuesday, January 20, 2015):
H/T Prof Parrott.
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