Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 104 / Friday, May 30, 2014 / Notices 31079 

1On March 6, 2012, APHIS published in the 

Federal Register (77 FR 13258–13260, Docket No. 

APHIS–2011–0129) a notice describing our public 

review process for soliciting public comments and 

information when considering petitions for 

determinations of nonregulated status for GE 

organisms. To view the notice, go to http://

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2011-0129. 

2To view the notice, the petition, and the 

comments we received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2012-0090. 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 23rd day of 

May 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–12549 Filed 5–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0090] 

Syngenta Seeds, Inc., and Bayer 

CropScience AG; Availability of Plant 

Pest Risk Assessment, Environmental 

Assessment, Preliminary Finding of No 

Significant Impact, and Preliminary 

Determination of Nonregulated Status 

of Soybean Genetically Engineered for 

Herbicide Resistance 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service has prepared a 

preliminary determination regarding a 

request from Syngenta Seeds, Inc., and 

Bayer CropScience AG seeking a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

soybean designated as SYHTOH2, 

which has been genetically engineered 

for resistance to the herbicide 

glufosinate and phydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase 

inhibiting herbicides such as 

isoxaflutole and mesotrione. We are also 

making available for public review our 

plant pest risk assessment, 

environmental assessment, and 

preliminary finding of no significant 

impact for the preliminary 

determination of nonregulated status. 

DATES: We will consider any 

information that we receive on or before 

June 30, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit any 

information by either of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0090. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your information to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0090, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents for this 

petition and any other information we 

receive on this docket may be viewed at 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0090 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. 

Supporting documents for this 

petition are also available on the APHIS 

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

biotechnology/petitions_table_

pending.shtml under APHIS Petition 

Number 12–215–01p. 

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: 

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 § 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. 

APHIS received a petition (APHIS 

Petition Number 12–215–01p) from 

Syngenta Seeds, Inc., (Syngenta) and 

Bayer CropScience AG (BCS) of 

Research Triangle Park, NC, seeking a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

soybean (Glycine max) designated as 

event SYHTOH2, which has been 

genetically engineered to withstand 

exposure to the herbicide glufosinate 

and p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate 

dioxygenase inhibiting herbicides such 

as isoxaflutole and mesotrione. The 

petition states 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. 

According to our process 1 for 

soliciting public input when 

considering petitions for determinations 

of nonregulated status of GE organisms, 

APHIS accepts written comments 

regarding a petition once APHIS deems 

it complete. In a notice 2 published in 

the Federal Register on February 27, 

2013, (78 FR 13305–13307, Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0090), APHIS announced 

the availability of the Syngenta/BCS 

petition for public comment. APHIS 

solicited comments on the petition for 

60 days ending on April 29, 2013, in 

order to help identify potential 

environmental and interrelated 

economic impacts that APHIS may 

determine should be considered in our 

evaluation of the petition. 

APHIS received 28 comments on the 

petition. Several of these comments 

included electronic attachments 

consisting of many identical or nearly 

identical letters, for a total of 584 

comments. Issues raised during the 

comment period include concerns 

regarding the development of herbicideresistant weeds, potential impacts on 

organic farmers, and health concerns. 

APHIS has evaluated the issues raised 

during the comment period and, where 

appropriate, has provided a discussion 

of these issues in our environmental 

assessment (EA). 

After public comments are received 

on a completed petition, APHIS 

evaluates those comments and then 

provides a second opportunity for 

public involvement in our 

decisionmaking process. According to 

our public input process (see footnote 

1), the second opportunity for public 

involvement follows one of two 

approaches, as described below. 

If APHIS decides, based on its review 

of the petition and its evaluation and 

analysis of comments received during 

the 60-day public comment period on 

the petition, that the petition involves a 

GE organism that raises no substantive 

new issues, APHIS will follow 

Approach 1 for public involvement. 

Under Approach 1, APHIS announces in 

the Federal Register the availability of 

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31080 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 104 / Friday, May 30, 2014 / Notices 

APHIS’ preliminary regulatory 

determination along with its EA, 

preliminary finding of no significant 

impact (FONSI), and its plant pest risk 

assessment (PPRA) for a 30-day public 

review period. APHIS will evaluate any 

information received related to the 

petition and its supporting documents 

during the 30-day public review period. 

For this petition, we are using Approach 

1. 

Alternatively, if APHIS decides, based 

on its review of the petition and its 

evaluation and analysis of comments 

received during the 60-day public 

comment period on the petition, that the 

petition involves a new crop-trait GE 

organism or raises substantive new 

issues, APHIS will follow Approach 2. 

Under Approach 2, APHIS first solicits 

written comments from the public on a 

draft EA and a PPRA for a 30-day 

comment period through the 

publication of a Federal Register notice. 

Then, after reviewing and evaluating the 

comments on the draft EA and the PPRA 

and other information, APHIS will 

revise the PPRA as necessary and 

prepare a final EA and, based on the 

final EA, a National Environmental 

Policy Act (NEPA) decision document 

(either a FONSI or a notice of intent to 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement). 

As part of our decisionmaking process 

regarding a GE organism’s regulatory 

status, APHIS prepares a PPRA to assess 

the plant pest risk of the article. APHIS 

also prepares the appropriate 

environmental documentation—either 

an EA or an environmental impact 

statement—in accordance with NEPA, 

to provide the Agency and the public 

with a review and analysis of any 

potential environmental impacts that 

may result if the petition request is 

approved. 

APHIS has prepared a PPRA and has 

concluded that soybean event 

SYHTOH2 is unlikely to pose a plant 

pest risk. In section 403 of the Plant 

Protection Act, ‘‘plant pest’’ is defined 

as any living stage of any of the 

following that can directly or indirectly 

injure, cause damage to, or cause 

disease in any plant or plant product: A 

protozoan, a nonhuman animal, a 

parasitic plant, a bacterium, a fungus, a 

virus or viroid, an infectious agent or 

other pathogen, or any article similar to 

or allied with any of the foregoing. 

APHIS has prepared an EA in which 

we present two alternatives based on 

our analysis of data submitted by 

Syngenta/BCS, a review of other 

scientific data, field tests conducted 

under APHIS oversight, and comments 

received on the petition. APHIS is 

considering the following alternatives: 

(1) Take no action, i.e., APHIS would 

not change the regulatory status of 

soybean event SYHTOH2 and it would 

continue to be a regulated article, or (2) 

make a determination of nonregulated 

status of soybean event SYHTOH2. 

APHIS’ preferred alternative is to make 

a determination of nonregulated status 

of soybean event SYHTOH2. 

The EA was prepared in accordance 

with (1) NEPA, as amended (42 U.S.C. 

4321 et seq.), (2) regulations of the 

Council on Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

USDA regulations implementing NEPA 

(7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). Based on our EA and other 

pertinent scientific data, APHIS has 

reached a preliminary FONSI with 

regard to the preferred alternative 

identified in the EA. 

Based on APHIS’ analysis of field and 

laboratory data submitted by Syngenta/ 

BCS, references provided in the 

petition, peer-reviewed publications, 

information analyzed in the EA, the 

PPRA, comments provided by the 

public on the petition, and discussion of 

issues in the EA, APHIS has determined 

that soybean event SYHTOH2 is 

unlikely to pose a plant pest risk. We 

have therefore reached a preliminary 

decision to make a determination of 

nonregulated status of soybean event 

SYHTOH2, whereby soybean event 

SYHTOH2 would no longer be subject 

to our regulations governing the 

introduction of certain GE organisms. 

We are making available for a 30-day 

review period APHIS’ preliminary 

regulatory determination of soybean 

event SYHTOH2, along with our PPRA, 

EA, and preliminary FONSI for the 

preliminary determination of 

nonregulated status. The PPRA, EA, 

preliminary FONSI, and our preliminary 

determination for soybean event 

SYHTOH2, as well as the Syngenta/BCS 

petition and the comments received on 

the petition, are available as indicated 

under ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above. Copies of 

these documents may also be obtained 

from the person listed under FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

After the 30-day review period closes, 

APHIS will review and evaluate any 

information received during the 30-day 

review period. If, after evaluating the 

information received, APHIS determines 

that we have not received substantive 

new information 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, APHIS will notify 

the public through an announcement on 

our Web site of our final regulatory 

determination. If, however, APHIS 

determines that we have received 

substantive new information 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, then APHIS will 

notify the public of our intent to 

conduct additional analysis and to 

prepare an amended EA, a new FONSI, 

and/or a revised PPRA, which would be 

made available for public review 

through the publication of a notice of 

availability in the Federal Register. 

APHIS will also notify the petitioner. 

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 23rd day of 

May 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–12554 Filed 5–29–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0067] 

J.R. Simplot Co.; Availability of Plant 

Pest Risk Assessment and 

Environmental Assessment for 

Determination of Nonregulated Status 

of Potato Genetically Engineered for 

Low Acrylamide Potential and 

Reduced Black Spot Bruise 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is making available 

for public comment our plant pest risk 

assessment and our draft environmental 

assessment regarding a request from the 

J.R. Simplot Company seeking a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

potatoes designated as InnateTM

potatoes (events E12, E24, F10, F37, J3, 

J55, J78, G11, H37, and H50), which 

have been genetically engineered for 

low acrylamide potential (acrylamide is 

a human neurotoxicant and potential 

carcinogen that may form in potatoes 

and other starchy foods under certain 

cooking conditions) and reduced black 

spot bruise. We are soliciting comments 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES