[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 135 (Friday, July 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41356-41357]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17129]
[[Page 41356]]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2012-0047]
Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition for Determination of
Nonregulated Status of Soybean Genetically Engineered for Herbicide
Tolerance
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
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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
soybean designated as MON 87708, which has been genetically engineered
for tolerance to the herbicide dicamba. 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
September 11, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0047-0001.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2012-0047, 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-2012-
0047 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/10_18801p.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 petition, contact Ms. Cindy Eck at (301) 851-3892, email:
cynthia.a.eck@aphis.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
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 10-188-01p)
from the Monsanto Company (Monsanto) of St. Louis, MO, seeking a
determination of nonregulated status of soybean (Glycine max)
designated as event MON 87708, which has been genetically engineered
for tolerance to the herbicide dicamba, stating that this soybean is
unlikely to pose a plant pest risk and, therefore, should not be a
regulated article under APHIS' regulations in 7 CFR part 340.
As described in the petition, soybean event MON 87708 has been
genetically engineered to contain a gene from the bacteria
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia that expresses a monooxygenase enzyme that
rapidly demethylates dicamba rendering it inactive, thereby conferring
tolerance to the herbicide dicamba. Soybean event MON 87708 is
currently regulated under 7 CFR part 340. Interstate movements and
field tests of soybean event MON 87708 have been conducted under
permits issued or notifications acknowledged 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
test. 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 copies are available as indicated under ADDRESSES
and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above. We are interested in
receiving comments regarding potential 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 soybean growth, crop management, and
crop utilization may vary considerably by geographic region.
After the comment period closes, APHIS will review all written
comments
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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 comment (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 part 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 9th day of July 2012.
Kevin Shea,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2012-17129 Filed 7-12-12; 8:45 am]
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