Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 140 / Friday, July 20, 2012 / Notices 42693 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0047] 

Monsanto Company and KWS SAAT 

AG; Determination of Nonregulated 

Status of Sugar Beet Genetically 

Engineered for Tolerance to the 

Herbicide Glyphosate 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our determination that sugar beet 

genetically engineered for tolerance to 

the herbicide glyphosate, designated as 

H7-1, is no longer considered a 

regulated article under our regulations 

governing the introduction of certain 

genetically engineered organisms. Our 

determination is based on our 

evaluation of data submitted by the 

Monsanto Company and KWS SAAT 

AG in its petition for a determination of 

nonregulated status, our analysis of 

publically available scientific data, and 

comments received from the public on 

the petition for nonregulated status and 

its associated environmental impact 

statement and plant pest risk 

assessment. This notice also announces 

the availability of our written 

determination and record of decision. 

DATES: Effective Date: July 20, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may read the 

documents referenced in this notice and 

any comments we received in our 

reading room. The reading room 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. Those documents are also 

available on the Internet at http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/ 

not_reg.html and are posted with the 

comments we received on the 

Regulations.gov Web site at http:// 

www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0047. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Rebecca L. Stankiewicz Gabel, Senior 

Environmental Protection Specialist, 

Environmental Risk Analysis Programs, 

BRS, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238; (301) 851– 

3927. To obtain copies of the documents 

referenced in this notice, contact Ms. 

Cindy Eck at (301) 851–3892, email: 

cynthia.a.eck@aphis.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 APHIS seeking a determination that 

an article should not be regulated under 

7 CFR part 340. Paragraphs (b) and (c) 

of § 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. 

On October 19, 2004, APHIS 

published a notice in the Federal 

Register (69 FR 61466–61467, Docket 

No. 04–075–1) announcing receipt of a 

petition from the Monsanto Company 

(Monsanto) and KWS SAAT AG (KWS) 

requesting a determination of 

nonregulated status under 7 CFR part 

340 of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris ssp. 

vulgaris) designated as event H7-1, 

which has been genetically engineered 

for tolerance to the herbicide 

glyphosate. The petition stated that this 

article should not be regulated by 

APHIS because it does not present a 

plant pest risk. APHIS also announced 

in that notice the availability of a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) for the 

proposed determination of nonregulated 

status. 

Following review of public comments 

and completion of the EA, we published 

another notice in the Federal Register 

on March 17, 2005 (70 FR 13007–13008, 

Docket No. 04–075–2), advising the 

public of our determination, effective 

March 4, 2005, that the Monsanto/KWS 

sugar beet event H7-1 was no longer 

considered a regulated article under 

APHIS regulations in 7 CFR part 340. 

On September 21, 2009, the U.S. 

District Court for the Northern District 

of California issued a ruling in a lawsuit 

challenging APHIS’ determination of 

nonregulated status of sugar beet event 

H7-1, finding that APHIS should have 

completed an environmental impact 

statement (EIS) prior to making a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

sugar beet event H7-1. On May 28, 2010 

(75 FR 29969–29972, Docket No. 

APHIS–2010–0047), we subsequently 

published a notice of intent to prepare 

an EIS and proposed scope of study. 

National Environmental Policy Act and 

Record of Decision 

To provide the public with 

documentation of APHIS’ review and 

analysis of the potential environmental 

impacts of sugar beet event H7-1 and 

interrelated socioeconomic impacts 

associated with a determination of 

nonregulated status of sugar beet event 

H7-1, an EIS has been prepared in 

accordance with: (1) The National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(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). 

A notice of availability regarding the 

draft EIS was published by the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 

in the Federal Register on October 14, 

2011 (76 FR 63922, Docket No. ER– 

FRL–8999–5), and a notice of 

availability regarding the final EIS was 

published by EPA in the Federal 

Register on June 8, 2012 (77 FR 34041– 

34042, Docket No. ER–FRL–9003–4). 

The NEPA implementing regulations in 

40 CFR 1506.10 require a minimum 30- 

day waiting period between the time the 

notice of availability of a final EIS is 

published and the time an agency makes 

a decision on an action covered by the 

EIS. APHIS has reviewed the final EIS 

and evaluated the comments received 

during the 30-day waiting period and 

has concluded that it has fully and 

appropriately analyzed the issues 

covered by the final EIS and those 

comments. Based on our final EIS, the 

response to public comments, and other 

pertinent scientific data, APHIS has 

prepared a record of decision for the 

final EIS. 

Determination of Nonregulated Status 

Based on APHIS’ analysis of field and 

laboratory data submitted by Monsanto/ 

KWS, references provided in the 

petition, peer-reviewed publications, 

information analyzed in the EIS, the 

plant pest risk assessment, comments 

provided by the public, and APHIS’ 

evaluation of and response to those 

comments, APHIS has determined that 

sugar beet event H7-1 is unlikely to pose 

a plant pest risk and, in fact, is not a 

plant pest. Accordingly, the petition 

requesting a determination of 

nonregulated status is approved, and 

sugar beet event H7-1 is no longer 

subject to our regulations governing the 

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42694 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 140 / Friday, July 20, 2012 / Notices 

introduction of certain genetically 

engineered organisms and to the plant 

pest provisions of the Plant Protection 

Act. 

Copies of the determination of 

nonregulated status document and the 

record of decision, as well as copies of 

the final plant pest risk assessment and 

final EIS upon which the determination 

and record of decision were based, are 

available as indicated in the ADDRESSES

and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

sections of this notice. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 18th day of 

July 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17819 Filed 7–19–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Helena National Forest, Montana, 

Telegraph Vegetation Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Corrected NOI. 

SUMMARY: On November 12, 2009, a 

Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an 

environmental impact statement called 

the Telegraph Vegetation Project was 

published in the 74 FR 58239. This NOI 

is hereby corrected due to a change in 

the proposed action (FSH 1909.15 

Chapter 20, 22.2). 

New to the proposed action is the 

addition of approximately 449 acres of 

slashing generally small diameter trees 

followed by prescribed burning within 

the Jericho Mountain Inventoried 

Roadless Area. 

The Helena National Forest will still 

prepare an environmental impact 

statement for the Telegraph Vegetation 

Project to manage vegetation actions in 

the Little Blackfoot drainage west of the 

Continental Divide. The purpose and 

need for action remains the same as in 

the original NOI, which is to be 

responsive to the mountain pine beetle 

outbreak in this area by recovering 

economic value of dead and dying trees, 

promoting desirable regeneration, 

reducing fuels and the risk of wildfire, 

and maintaining diverse wildlife 

habitats. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

August 20, 2012. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected Feb 2013 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected July 2013. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Scott Johnson, Helena National Forest, 

2880 Skyway Dr., Helena, MT 59602. 

Comments may also be sent via email to 

comments-northern-helena@fs.fed.us, or 

via facsimile to 406–449–5436. Please 

indicate ‘‘Telegraph Scoping’’ on the 

subject line. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such a way that they are useful to the 

Agency’s preparation of the EIS. 

Therefore, comments should be 

provided prior to the close of the 

comment period and should clearly 

articulate the reviewer’s concerns and 

contentions. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Scott Johnson at 406–495–3795. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose and Need for Action 

Wide-scale tree mortality has 

occurred throughout the project area 

due to the mountain pine beetle. 

Treatment is needed to ensure diverse 

and sustainable forest stands and to 

lessen the risks of wildfire which could 

threaten wildland urban interface areas. 

The project focuses on reducing 

hazardous fuels, establishing healthy 

regeneration, and recovering the 

economic value of dead trees. In 

addition, aspen and whitebark pine can 

be promoted with treatment. The project 

also seeks to maintain or improve 

watershed values. 

Proposed Action 

Approximately 6,666 acres are 

proposed for treatment. Roughly 1,750 

acres are young stands that established 

after past harvest and are in need of 

thinning to ensure they reach viable 

maturity. The remaining acres are 

primarily mature stands of lodgepole 

pine with some Douglas-fir, Engelmann 

spruce, and subalpine fir with high 

mountain pine beetle mortality. These 

acres would be treated using a 

combination of improvement cuts, 

regeneration harvests, thinning, and 

prescribed fire. Post treatment activities 

would include approximately 4,064 

acres of underburning, site prep, 

broadcast burning, jackpot burning, and 

hand piling/burning. Approximately 

449 acres of slashing generally small 

diameter trees followed by prescribed 

burning would occur within the Jericho 

Mountain Inventoried Roadless Area. 

Up to 8 miles of temporary road 

construction and approximately 78 

miles of road reconstruction/ 

maintenance would be necessary to 

implement the proposed action. 

A site specific forest plan amendment 

may be needed related to forest plan 

standards for hiding cover, open road 

densities during hunting season, and 

thermal cover. 

Responsible Official 

Helena National Forest Supervisor. 

Nature of Decision To Be Made 

The decisions to be made include: 

Whether to implement the proposed 

action or an alternative to the proposed 

action, what monitoring requirements 

would be appropriate to evaluate the 

implementation of this project, and 

whether a forest plan amendment would 

be necessary as a result of the decision 

for this project. 

Scoping Process 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. In July 2012, a 

scoping package will be mailed, an open 

house will be scheduled, and Web site 

information will be posted. The 

comments received from the initial 

scoping period in November 2009 will 

still be considered when analyzing 

issues and developing alternatives. They 

will be retained in the project record. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such manner that they are useful to the 

agency’s preparation of the 

environmental impact statement. 

Therefore, comments should be 

provided prior to the close of the 

comment period and should clearly 

articulate the reviewer’s concerns and 

contentions. The submission of timely 

and specific comments can affect a 

reviewer’s ability to participate in 

subsequent administrative appeal or 

judicial review. 

Comments received in response to 

this solicitation, including names, 

addresses, email addresses, and phone 

numbers of those who comment, will be 

part of the public record and will be 

available for inspection. Comments 

submitted anonymously will be 

accepted and considered; however, 

anonymous comments will not provide 

the Agency with the ability to provide 

the respondent with subsequent 

environmental documents. 

Dated: July 13, 2012. 

Kevin T. Riordan, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17759 Filed 7–19–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–P 

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