This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains documents other than rules or

proposed rules that are applicable to the

public. Notices of hearings and investigations,

committee meetings, agency decisions and

rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

petitions and applications and agency

statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

25660 

Vol. 80, No. 86 

Tuesday, May 5, 2015 

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=APHIS-2011- 

0129. 

2To view the notice, the petition, and the 

comments we received, go to http://www.

regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014- 

0076. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0076] 

J.R. Simplot Co.; Availability of 

Preliminary Plant Pest Risk 

Assessment and Draft Environmental 

Assessment for 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. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service is making available 

for public comment a preliminary plant 

pest risk assessment and draft 

environmental assessment for InnateTM

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. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before June 4, 

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 for this 

petition and any other information we 

receive on this docket may be viewed at 

http://www.regulations.gov/#!docket

Detail;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) 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 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: 

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: 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 14–093–01p) from the 

J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) of 

Boise, ID, seeking a determination of 

nonregulated status of potatoes 

(Solanum tuberosum) designated as 

InnateTM W8, which have been 

genetically engineered to express 

reduced acrylamide potential, low black 

spot bruise, late blight resistance, and 

lowered reducing sugars. Acrylamide is 

a human neurotoxicant and potential 

carcinogen that may form in potatoes 

and other starchy foods under certain 

cooking conditions. The petition states 

that these potatoes are 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 comment 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 November 10, 

2014 (79 FR 66689–66690, Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0076), APHIS announced 

the availability of the Simplot petition 

for public comment. APHIS solicited 

comments on the petition for 60 days 

ending on January 9, 2015, in order to 

help identify potential environmental 

and interrelated economic issues and 

impacts that APHIS may determine 

should be considered in our evaluation 

of the petition. APHIS received 130 

comments on the petition; one of these 

comments included electronic 

attachments consisting of a consolidated 

document of many identical or nearly 

identical letters, for a total of 22,673 

comments. Issues raised during the 

comment period include the 

contamination of conventional potato 

production, the potential for disruption 

of trade due to the presence of 

unwanted genetically engineered 

commodities in exports, the need for 

more research prior to approval of the 

petition, the potential for negative 

impacts to plant fitness and the 

environment, 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 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 86 / Tuesday, May 5, 2015 / Notices 25661 

decisionmaking process. According to 

our public review 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 

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. 

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 substantive new 

issues, APHIS will follow Approach 2. 

Under Approach 2, APHIS first solicits 

written comments from the public on a 

draft EA and 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 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). For this petition, we are 

using Approach 2. 

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 InnateTM 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, 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 also prepared a draft EA in 

which we present two alternatives based 

on our analysis of data submitted by 

Simplot, 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 InnateTM Potato 

designated as Russet Burbank event W8, 

or (2) make a determination of 

nonregulated status of InnateTM Potato 

designated as Russet Burbank event W8. 

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). 

In accordance with 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 on our draft EA and 

our PPRA regarding the petition for a 

determination of nonregulated status 

from interested or affected persons for a 

period of 30 days from the date of this 

notice. Copies of the draft EA and the 

PPRA, as well as the previously 

published petition, are available as 

indicated under ADDRESSES and FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above. 

After the comment period closes, 

APHIS will review all written comments 

received during the comment period 

and any other relevant information. 

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. Based on the final 

EA, APHIS will prepare a NEPA 

decision document (either a FONSI or a 

notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement). If a 

FONSI is reached, APHIS will furnish a 

response to the petitioner, either 

approving or denying the petition. 

APHIS will also 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. 

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 

April 2015. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2015–10450 Filed 5–4–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Bureau of the Census 

Federal Economic Statistics Advisory 

Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: Bureau of the Census, 

Department of Commerce. 

ACTION: Notice of Public Meeting. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of the Census 

(U.S. Census Bureau) is giving notice of 

a meeting of the Federal Economic 

Statistics Advisory Committee (FESAC). 

The Committee will advise the Directors 

of the Economics and Statistics 

Administration’s (ESA) two statistical 

agencies, the Bureau of Economic 

Analysis (BEA) and the Census Bureau, 

and the Commissioner of the U.S. 

Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor 

Statistics (BLS) on statistical 

methodology and other technical 

matters related to the collection, 

tabulation, and analysis of federal 

economic statistics. Last minute changes 

to the agenda are possible, which could 

prevent giving advance public notice of 

schedule adjustments. 

DATES: June 12, 2015. The meeting will 

begin at approximately 9:00 a.m. and 

adjourn at approximately 4:30 p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

the U.S. Census Bureau Conference 

Center, 4600 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, 

MD 20746. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

James R. Spletzer, Designated Federal 

Official, Department of Commerce, U.S. 

Census Bureau, Research and 

Methodology Directorate, Room 5K175, 

4600 Silver Hill Road, Washington, DC 

20233, telephone 301–763–4069, email: 

james.r.spletzer@census.gov. For TTY 

callers, please call the Federal Relay 

Service (FRS) at 1–800–877–8339 and 

give them the above listed number you 

would like to call. This service is free 

and confidential. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Members 

of the FESAC are appointed by the 

Secretary of Commerce. The Committee 


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