Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 27, 2011 / Notices 80869 

1To view the notices mentioned in this 

document, the petition, the draft EA, the PPRA, and 

the comments we received, go to http:// 

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2011-0023. 

• Due diligence procedures. 

Once we have made these contacts 

with each interested investor, USDA 

will hold one or more meetings, as 

necessary. It is expected that these 

meetings will occur over a one- to-two 

month period. 

USDA believes that, in order for this 

effort to be successful, each 

participating investor: 

• Should be a well-established 

investor, including, but not limited to, 

entities such as pension funds, 

commercial banking institutions, 

insurance investment funds, 

foundational endowments, or family 

offices; 

• Interested in investing in low risk, 

rural infrastructure as part of a larger 

portfolio; 

• Willing to commit funds for the 

long term (e.g., 20+ years); and 

• Interested in participating in a 

limited number of interviews and 

panels as we shape this initiative with 

USDA. 

Interested Entities 

If you are interested in the formation 

of, and participation in, this effort for 

increasing access to capital for 

community facility projects in rural 

America, please provide the following 

information to Doug O’Brien, as 

specified in the ADDRESSES section of 

this Notice, on or before January 26, 

2012: 

• Name of Institution, 

• Headquarters Mailing Address, 

• Contact Name and Title, 

• Contact Mailing Address, 

• Contact Telephone Number(s), and 

• Contact Email Address. 

Thomas J. Vilsack, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2011–33111 Filed 12–23–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2011–0023] 

Monsanto Co.; Determination of 

Nonregulated Status of Corn 

Genetically Engineered for Drought 

Tolerance 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public of 

our determination that a corn line 

developed by the Monsanto Co., 

designated as event MON 87460, which 

has been genetically engineered for 

drought tolerance, 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 in its petition 

for a determination of nonregulated 

status, our analysis of available 

scientific data, and comments received 

from the public in response to our 

previous notice announcing the 

availability of the petition for 

nonregulated status and its associated 

environmental assessment and plant 

pest risk assessment. This notice also 

announces the availability of our 

written determination and finding of no 

significant impact. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 27, 

2011. 

ADDRESSES: You may read the 

documents referenced in this notice and 

the 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) 690–2817 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 

previous notice and the comments we 

received on the Regulations.gov Web 

site at http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Evan Chestnut, Policy Analyst, 

Biotechnology Regulatory Services, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1236; (301) 734– 

0942, email: 

evan.a.chestnut@aphis.usda.gov. To 

obtain copies of the documents 

referenced in this notice, contact Ms. 

Cindy Eck at (301) 734–0667, email: 

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

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 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. 

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. 

APHIS received a petition (APHIS 

Petition Number 09–055–01p) from the 

Monsanto Company (Monsanto) of St. 

Louis, MO, seeking a determination of 

nonregulated status of corn (Zea mays 

L.) designated as event MON 87460, 

which has been genetically engineered 

for drought tolerance, stating that this 

corn is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk 

and, therefore, should not be a regulated 

article under APHIS’ regulations in 7 

CFR part 340. 

In a notice 1 published in the Federal 

Register on May 11, 2011 (76 FR 27303– 

27304, Docket No. APHIS–2011–0023), 

APHIS announced the availability of the 

Monsanto petition, a plant pest risk 

assessment (PPRA), and a draft 

environmental assessment (EA) for 

public comment. APHIS solicited 

comments on the petition, whether the 

subject corn is likely to pose a plant pest 

risk, the draft EA, and the PPRA for 60 

days ending on July 11, 2011. On July 

27, 2011, APHIS published in the 

Federal Register (76 FR 44891–44892, 

Docket No. APHIS–2011–0023) a notice 

announcing the extension of the public 

comment period for 30 days, ending on 

August 12, 2011. 

APHIS received 250 comments 

through the Regulations.gov Web site 

during the comment period, with 21 

commenters expressing support of the 

EA’s preferred alternative to make a 

determination of nonregulated status 

and the remaining 229 commenters 

expressing opposition. Three of the 

submitted comments opposing a 

determination of nonregulated status 

included electronic attachments that 

consisted either of: (1) A single letter 

signed by numerous people (6,335 

signatures), (2) many letters containing 

identical material (16,742 letters), or (3) 

a consolidated document of comments 

(22,500 comments). Many commenters 

generally expressed opposition to 

genetically engineered (GE) organisms 


sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
80870 Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 248 / Tuesday, December 27, 2011 / Notices 

1To view the June 2010 and August 2011 notices, 

the CIEDs, and the comments we received, go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2010-0032. 

or crops but did not provide any 

specific disagreement with APHIS’ 

analysis. Several commenters 

questioned the performance and 

drought-tolerant capabilities of corn 

event MON 87460. Other issues raised 

by commenters include concerns 

regarding the adequacy of the analysis 

in the EA, effects of GE crops on 

biodiversity and organic agriculture, 

increased use of glyphosate, health and 

environmental effects of GE crops, and 

marketing and trade implications. 

APHIS has addressed the issues raised 

during the comment period and has 

provided responses to the comments as 

an attachment to the finding of no 

significant impact. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

To provide the public with 

documentation of APHIS’ review and 

analysis of any potential environmental 

impacts associated with the 

determination of nonregulated status of 

Monsanto’s corn event MON 87460, an 

EA has been prepared. The EA was 

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). Based on our EA, the response to 

public comments, and other pertinent 

scientific data, APHIS has reached a 

finding of no significant impact with 

regard to the preferred alternative 

identified in the EA. 

Determination 

Based on APHIS’ analysis of field and 

laboratory data submitted by Monsanto, 

references provided in the petition, 

peer-reviewed publications, information 

analyzed in the EA, the PPRA, 

comments provided by the public, and 

information provided in APHIS’ 

response to those public comments, 

APHIS has determined that Monsanto’s 

corn event MON 87460 is unlikely to 

pose a plant pest risk and therefore is no 

longer subject to our regulations 

governing the introduction of certain GE 

organisms. 

Copies of the signed determination 

document, as well as copies of the 

petition, PPRA, EA, finding of no 

significant impact, and response to 

comments are available as indicated in 

the ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT sections of this 

notice. 

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 19th day of 

December 2011. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2011–33011 Filed 12–22–11; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2010–0032] 

Notice of Determination of Pest-Free 

Areas in Mendoza Province, Argentina 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that we are recognizing the Southern 

and Central Oases in the southern half 

of Mendoza Province in Argentina as 

pest-free areas for Mediterranean fruit 

fly and South American fruit fly. Based 

on our site visit to the area and our 

review of the documentation submitted 

by Argentina’s national plant protection 

organization, which we made available 

to the public for review and comment 

through previous notices, the 

Administrator has determined that these 

areas meet the criteria in our regulations 

for recognition as pest-free areas for 

Mediterranean fruit fly and South 

American fruit fly. 

DATES: Effective Date: December 27, 

2011. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Meredith C. Jones, Regulatory 

Coordination Specialist, Regulatory 

Coordination and Compliance, APHIS, 

4700 River Road Unit 156, Riverdale, 

MD 20737; (301) 734–7467. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

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 of the regulations 

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. 

One of the designated phytosanitary 

measures is that the fruits or vegetables 

are imported from a pest-free area in the 

country of origin that meets the 

requirements of § 319.56–5 for freedom 

from that pest and are accompanied by 

a phytosanitary certificate stating that 

the fruits or vegetables originated in a 

pest-free area in the country of origin. 

Under the regulations in § 319.56–5, 

APHIS requires that determinations of 

pest-free areas be made in accordance 

with the criteria for establishing 

freedom from pests found in 

International Standards for 

Phytosanitary Measures (ISPM) No. 4, 

‘‘Requirements For the Establishment of 

Pest Free Areas.’’ The international 

standard was established by the 

International Plant Protection 

Convention of the United Nations’ Food 

and Agriculture Organization and is 

incorporated by reference in our 

regulations in 7 CFR 300.5. In addition, 

APHIS must also approve the survey 

protocol used to determine and 

maintain pest-free status, as well as 

protocols for actions to be performed 

upon detection of a pest. Pest-free areas 

are subject to audit by APHIS to verify 

their status. 

In accordance with our process, we 

published a notice 1 in the Federal 

Register on June 25, 2010 (75 FR 36347– 

36348, Docket No. APHIS–2010–0032), 

in which we announced the availability, 

for review and comment, of a 

commodity import evaluation document 

(CIED) that evaluates the information 

presented by Argentina in support of its 

request to recognize additional areas as 

pest-free areas for Mediterranean fruit 

fly (Ceratitis capitata) in Argentina. We 

solicited comments on the notice for 60 

days ending on August 24, 2010. We 

received two comments by that date, 

one from a State agricultural official and 

the other from an official of Argentina’s 

national plant protection organization 

(NPPO). 

The first commenter acknowledged 

Argentina’s history of successful Medfly 

control efforts, but stated that APHIS 

should not relax its fruit fly-related 

restrictions until it can confirm that no 

other pest fruit flies—notably 

Anastrepha species fruit flies—are 

present in the area. The second 

commenter provided information to 

support a finding that the Mendoza 

Province is free of the South American 


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