13260 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2012 / Notices 

would warrant APHIS altering its 

preliminary regulatory determination or 

FONSI, substantially changing the 

proposed action identified in the EA, or 

substantially changing the analysis of 

impacts in the EA, our preliminary 

regulatory determination will become 

final and effective upon notification of 

the public through an announcement on 

our Web site. APHIS will also furnish a 

response to the petitioner regarding our 

final regulatory determination. No 

further Federal Register notice will be 

published announcing the final 

regulatory determination. 

Should APHIS determine that we 

have received substantive new 

information within 30 days of 

publication of the Federal Register 

notice that would warrant APHIS 

altering our preliminary regulatory 

determination or FONSI, substantially 

changing the proposed action identified 

in the EA, or substantially changing the 

analysis of impacts in the EA, our 

preliminary determination will not 

become effective. In this case, APHIS 

intends to notify the public through an 

announcement on our Web site of our 

intent to conduct additional analysis. 

APHIS will also inform the petitioner of 

our intent. 

Based on the information APHIS 

received and our further analysis, the 

Agency will prepare an amended EA, a 

new FONSI, and/or a revised PPRA, as 

necessary. APHIS will then publish a 

notice in the Federal Register 

announcing the availability of these 

documents for public review and 

APHIS’ preliminary regulatory 

determination. After reviewing and 

evaluating any additional information 

received within 30 days of publication 

of this Federal Register notice, our 

preliminary regulatory determination 

will become final and effective upon 

notification of the public through an 

announcement on our Web site. APHIS 

will also furnish a response to the 

petitioner regarding our final regulatory 

determination. No further Federal 

Register notice will be published 

announcing the final regulatory 

determination. 

Approach 2 

A second approach for public 

participation will be used when APHIS 

determines that the petition for a 

determination of nonregulated status is 

for a GE organism that raises substantive 

new issues. This could include petitions 

involving a recipient organism that has 

not previously been determined by 

APHIS to have nonregulated status or 

when APHIS determines that gene 

modifications raise substantive 

biological, cultural, or ecological issues 

not previously analyzed by APHIS. 

Substantive issues would be identified 

by APHIS based on our review of the 

petition and our evaluation and analysis 

of comments received from the public 

during the 60-day comment period on 

the petition. 

Under this approach, APHIS will 

solicit written comments on a draft EA 

and PPRA for 30 days through the 

publication of a Federal Register notice. 

The draft EA and PPRA will be made 

available as indicated in the Federal 

Register notice. Upon completion of the 

30-day comment period, APHIS will 

review and evaluate all written 

comments received during the comment 

period and any other relevant 

information. After reviewing and 

evaluating the comments on the draft 

EA and PPRA and other information, 

APHIS will revise the PPRA as 

necessary and prepare a final EA. Based 

on the final EA, APHIS will prepare a 

NEPA decision document—either a 

FONSI or NOI to prepare an EIS. If a 

FONSI is reached, APHIS will furnish a 

response to the petitioner, either 

approving or denying the petition. 

APHIS will publish a notice in the 

Federal Register announcing the 

regulatory status of the GE organism and 

the availability of APHIS’ final EA, 

PPRA, FONSI, and our regulatory 

determination. 

These changes to the public 

participation process are effective 

March 6, 2012. All petitions for 

determinations of nonregulated status 

for GE organisms received by APHIS on 

or after this date will be handled using 

the new process for handling petitions 

described in this notice. For petitions 

received before this date and currently 

under consideration by APHIS, our 

ability to transition to the new process 

will depend upon the current status of 

the petition. For those petitions where 

APHIS has not completed a draft EA 

and PPRA, APHIS will follow the new 

process, i.e., the complete petition will 

be published for a 60-day comment 

period followed by later public 

involvement regarding the EA and 

PPRA. For those petitions where APHIS 

has completed or is nearing completion 

of a draft EA and PPRA, APHIS will 

follow our previous process, i.e., the 

petition, draft EA, and PPRA will be 

made available in a single Federal 

Register notice for a 60-day comment 

period. APHIS will notify petitioners 

which process their petition will follow 

and will make this information available 

at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

biotechnology/pet_proc_imp.shtml. 

These public participation process 

changes are consistent with (1) 7 CFR 

part 340, (2) the National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) of 1969, as amended 

(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), (3) regulations 

of the Council on Environmental 

Quality for implementing the 

procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 

parts 1500–1508), (4) USDA regulations 

implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), 

and (5) APHIS’ NEPA Implementing 

Procedures (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 29th day of 

February 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5364 Filed 3–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0005] 

Notice of Availability of a Pest Risk 

Analysis for the Importation of Litchi, 

Longan, and Rambutan From the 

Philippines Into the Continental United 

States 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of availability and 

request for comments. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that we have prepared a pest risk 

analysis that evaluates the risks 

associated with the importation into the 

continental United States of fresh litchi, 

longan, and rambutan fruit from the 

Philippines. Based on that analysis, we 

believe that the application of one or 

more designated phytosanitary 

measures will be sufficient to mitigate 

the risks of introducing or disseminating 

plant pests or noxious weeds via the 

importation of fresh fruit of litchi, 

longan, and rambutan from the 

Philippines. We are making the pest risk 

analysis available to the public for 

review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before May 7, 

2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0005- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0005, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 44 / Tuesday, March 6, 2012 / Notices 13261 

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-2012-0005 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) 690–2817 

before coming. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Claudia Ferguson, Regulatory Policy 

Coordinator, Regulations, Permits, and 

Manuals, PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road 

Unit 133, Riverdale, MD 20737–1231; 

(301) 851–2352. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

Under the regulations in ‘‘Subpart— 

Fruits and Vegetables’’ (7 CFR 319.56– 

1 through 319.56–54, referred to below 

as the regulations), the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

of the U.S. Department of Agriculture 

prohibits or restricts the importation of 

fruits and vegetables into the United 

States from certain parts of the world to 

prevent plant pests from being 

introduced into and spread within the 

United States. 

Section 319.56–4 contains a 

performance-based process for 

approving the importation of 

commodities that, based on the findings 

of a pest risk analysis, can be safely 

imported subject to one or more of the 

designated phytosanitary measures 

listed in paragraph (b) of that section. 

APHIS received a request from the 

Government of the Philippines to allow 

the importation of fresh fruit of litchi 

(Litchi chinensis), longan (Dimocarpus 

longan), and rambutan (Nephelium 

lappaceum) from the Philippines into 

the continental United States. Currently, 

fresh fruits of litchi, longan, and 

rambutan are not authorized for entry 

from the Philippines. We have 

completed a pest risk analysis for the 

purpose of evaluating the pest risks 

associated with the importation of fresh 

fruit of litchi, longan, and rambutan into 

the continental United States. The 

analysis consists of a pest list 

identifying pests of quarantine 

significance that are present in the 

Philippines and could follow the 

pathway of importation into the United 

States and a risk management document 

identifying phytosanitary measures that 

could be applied to the commodities to 

mitigate the pest risk. 

We have concluded that fresh fruit of 

litchi, longan, and rambutan can be 

safely imported into the continental 

United States from the Philippines 

using one or more of the five designated 

phytosanitary measures listed in 

§ 319.56–4(b). The requirements for 

shipments of fresh fruit of litchi, longan, 

and rambutan from the Philippines 

would be as follows: 

• The fresh fruit of litchi, longan, and 

rambutan may be imported into the 

continental United States in commercial 

consignments only; 

• The fresh fruit of litchi, longan, and 

rambutan must be irradiated in 

accordance with 7 CFR part 305 with a 

minimum absorbed dose of 400 Gy; 

• If the irradiation treatment is 

applied outside the United States, each 

consignment of fresh fruit of litchi, 

longan, and rambutan must be jointly 

inspected by APHIS and the national 

plant protection organization (NPPO) of 

the Philippines and accompanied by a 

phytosanitary certificate attesting that 

the fruit received the required 

irradiation treatment. In the case of 

fresh rambutan fruit, the phytosanitary 

certificate must also include an 

additional declaration stating that the 

consignment was inspected and found 

free of the powdery mildew Oidium 

nephelii; 

• If irradiation is applied upon arrival 

in the United States, each consignment 

of fresh fruit of litchi, longan, and 

rambutan must be inspected by the 

NPPO of the Philippines prior to 

departure. In the case of fresh rambutan 

fruit, the phytosanitary certificate must 

also include an additional declaration 

stating that the consignment was 

inspected and found free of the powdery 

mildew Oidium nephelii; and 

• The fresh fruit of litchi, longan, and 

rambutan are subject to inspection upon 

arrival at the U.S. port of entry. 

Therefore, in accordance with 

§ 319.56–4(c), we are announcing the 

availability of our pest risk analysis for 

public review and comment. The pest 

risk analysis may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room (see ADDRESSES above for 

a link to Regulations.gov and 

information on the location and hours of 

the reading room). You may request 

paper copies of the pest risk analysis by 

calling or writing to the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Please refer to the subject of 

the pest risk analysis you wish to review 

when requesting copies. 

After reviewing any comments we 

receive, we will announce our decision 

regarding the import status of fresh fruit 

of litchi, longan, and rambutan from the 

Philippines in a subsequent notice. If 

the overall conclusions of the analysis 

and the Administrator’s determination 

of risk remain unchanged following our 

consideration of the comments, then we 

will authorize the importation of fresh 

fruit of litchi, longan, and rambutan 

from the Phillipines into the continental 

United States subject to the 

requirements specified in the risk 

management document. 

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 450, 7701–7772, and 

7781–7786; 21 U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 

2.22, 2.80, and 371.3. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 29th day of 

February 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–5365 Filed 3–5–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Request for Applications: The 

Community Forest and Open Space 

Conservation Program 

AGENCY: Forest Service. 

ACTION: Notice; Correction. 

SUMMARY: The Department of 

Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service, 

State and Private Forestry, Cooperative 

Forestry staff, published a document in 

the Federal Register of February 15, 

2011, concerning requests for 

applications for the Community Forest 

and Open Space Conservation Program 

(Community Forest Program or CFP). 

The document contained incorrect 

funding information in section 2 

(Award). 

ADDRESSES: All local governments’ and 

qualified nonprofit organizations’ 

applications must be submitted to the 

State Forester of the State where the 

property is located. All Indian tribal 

applications must be submitted to the 

equivalent official of the Indian tribe. 

The Forest Service encourages 

applicants to contact and work with 

their State Forester or equivalent official 

of the Indian tribe when developing 

their proposal. The State Forester’s 

contact information may be found at 

http://www.fs.fed.us/spf/coop/ 

programs/loa/cfp.shtml. 

All applicants must also send an 

email to communityforest@fs.fed.us to 

confirm an application has been 

submitted for funding consideration. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

questions regarding the grant 

application or administrative 

regulations, contact Kathryn Conant, 

Program Manager, 202–401–4072, 


pmangrum on DSK3VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES