[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 217 (Monday, November 10, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66689-66690]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26598]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2014-0076]
J.R. Simplot Co.; Availability of Petition for Determination of
Nonregulated Status of Potato Genetically Engineered for Late Blight
Resistance, Low Acrylamide Potential, Reduced Black Spot Bruising, and
Lowered Reducing Sugars
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 has received a petition from the J.R. Simplot
Company seeking a determination of nonregulated status for Innate\TM\
Potato designated as Russet Burbank event W8, which has been
genetically engineered for late blight resistance, low acrylamide
potential, reduced black spot bruising, and lowered reducing sugars.
The petition has been submitted in accordance with our regulations
concerning the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms
and products. We are making the J.R. Simplot Company petition available
for review and comment to help us identify potential environmental and
interrelated economic issues and impacts that the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service may determine should be considered in our
evaluation of the petition.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
January 9, 2015.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0076.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2014-0076, 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-
0076 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) 7997039 before coming.
The petition is also available on the APHIS Web site at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/petitions_table_pending.shtml under
APHIS petition number 14-093-01p.
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: [email protected]. To obtain copies
of the petition, contact Ms. Cindy Eck at (301) 851-3892, email:
[email protected].
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.
[[Page 66690]]
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 14-093-01p)
from the J.R. Simplot Company seeking a determination of nonregulated
status for Innate\TM\ Potato designated as Russet Burbank event W8,
which has been genetically engineered for late blight resistance, low
acrylamide potential, reduced black spot bruising, and lowered reducing
sugars. The J.R. Simplot petition states that information collected
during field trials and laboratory analyses indicates that Innate\TM\
Potato is not likely to be a plant pest and therefore should not be a
regulated article under APHIS' regulations in 7 CFR part 340.
Innate\TM\ Potato is currently regulated under 7 CFR part 340.
Interstate movements and field tests of Innate\TM\ Potato have been
conducted under 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 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 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 potato 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 3rd day of November 2014.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2014-26598 Filed 11-7-14; 8:45 am]
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