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,

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rulings, delegations of authority, filing of

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statements of organization and functions are

examples of documents appearing in this

section.

Notices Federal Register

14258 

Vol. 72, No. 58 

Tuesday, March 27, 2007 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0177] 

Notice of Request for Extension of 

Approval of an Information Collection; 

District of Columbia Plant Health 

Certificate 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Extension of approval of an 

information collection; comment 

request. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this 

notice announces the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service’s intention to 

request an extension of approval of an 

information collection associated with 

regulations for the interstate movement 

of plants and plant products from the 

District of Columbia. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before May 29, 

2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, select 

‘‘Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service’’ from the agency drop-down 

menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

Docket ID column, select APHIS–2006– 

0177 to submit or view public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available 

electronically. Information on using 

Regulations.gov, including instructions 

for accessing documents, submitting 

comments, and viewing the docket after 

the close of the comment period, is 

available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’ 

link. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send four copies of your 

comment (an original and three copies) 

to Docket No. APHIS–2006–0177, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2007–0177. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on this 

docket 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. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

information on an information 

collection associated with the 

regulations for the interstate movement 

of plants and plant products from the 

District of Columbia, contact Mr. 

Jonathan Jones, Program Manager, 

Emergency and Domestic Programs, 

PPQ, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 160, 

Riverdale, MD 20737; (301) 734–5038. 

For copies of more detailed information 

on the information collection, contact 

Mrs. Celeste Sickles, APHIS’ 

Information Collection Coordinator, at 

(301) 734–7477. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Title: District of Columbia Plant 

Health Certificate. 

OMB Number: 0579–0166. 

Type of Request: Extension of 

approval of an information collection. 

Abstract: Under the Plant Protection 

Act (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) is responsible for facilitating 

the interstate movement of agricultural 

products and commodities in ways that 

will reduce the risk of disseminating 

plant pests and noxious weeds. 

The regulations in 7 CFR part 302, 

‘‘District of Columbia; Movement of 

Plants and Plant Products,’’ set out 

procedures for the inspection and 

certification of plants and plant 

products moving interstate from the 

District of Columbia. The regulations 

provide that, whenever inspection and 

documentation of plants or plant 

products are required by Federal or 

State laws or regulations prior to the 

interstate movement of those plants or 

plant products, APHIS will provide 

those services. APHIS, rather than the 

District of Columbia, provides those 

services because the District of 

Columbia, unlike most States, has no 

official plant protection service. The 

form APHIS uses to certify the plant 

pest status of plants or plant products to 

be moved interstate from the District of 

Columbia is the District of Columbia 

Plant Health Certificate (PPQ Form 571). 

We are asking the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) to 

approve our use of this form for an 

additional 3 years. 

The purpose of this notice is to solicit 

comments from the public (as well as 

affected agencies) concerning our 

information collection. These comments 

will help us: 

(1) Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the Agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

(2) Evaluate the accuracy of our 

estimate of the burden of the proposed 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; 

(3) Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

(4) Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, through use, as 

appropriate, of automated, electronic, 

mechanical, and other collection 

technologies; e.g., permitting electronic 

submission of responses. 

Estimate of burden: The public 

reporting burden for this collection of 

information is estimated to average 0.2 

hours per response. 

Respondents: Shippers and growers of 

plants and plant materials. 

Estimated annual number of 

respondents: 2. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses per respondent: 50. 

Estimated annual number of 

responses: 100. 

Estimated total annual burden on 

respondents: 20 hours. (Due to 

averaging, the total annual burden hours 

may not equal the product of the annual 

number of responses multiplied by the 

reporting burden per response.) 

All responses to this notice will be 

summarized and included in the request 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 58 / Tuesday, March 27, 2007 / Notices 14259 

for OMB approval. All comments will 

also become a matter of public record. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of 

March 2007. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–5571 Filed 3–26–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2006–0038] 

Availability of an Environmental 

Assessment for a Field Release of 

Tobacco Genetically Engineered To 

Produce Antibodies 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that we have prepared an environmental 

assessment for a proposed field release 

involving a transgenic tobacco line that 

has been genetically engineered to 

produce an antimicrobial antibody that 

binds to a bacterium (Streptococcus 

mutans) associated with tooth decay in 

humans. The purpose of this field 

release is to generate plant biomass from 

which the antibody will be extracted 

after harvest. The environmental 

assessment is available to the public for 

review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

received on or before April 26, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov, select 

‘‘Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service’’ from the agency drop-down 

menu, then click ‘‘Submit.’’ In the 

Docket ID column, select APHIS–2006–

0038 to submit or view public 

comments and to view supporting and 

related materials available 

electronically. Information on using 

Regulations.gov, including instruction 

for accessing documents, submitting 

comments, and viewing the docket after 

the close of the comment period, is 

available through the site’s ‘‘User Tips’’

link. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send four copies of your 

comment (an original and three copies) 

to Docket No. APHIS–2006–0038, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS–

2006–0038. 

Reading Room: You may read the 

environmental assessment and any 

comments we receive on this docket 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. The environmental assessment 

is available on the Internet at http:// 

aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/ 

05_35401r_ea.pdf. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Margaret Jones, Biotechnology 

Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737–

1236; (301) 734–4880. To obtain copies 

of the environmental assessment, 

contact Ms. Cynthia Eck at (301) 734–

0667; e-mail: 

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 organisms and 

products are considered ‘‘regulated 

articles.’’ A permit must be obtained or 

a notification acknowledged before a 

regulated article may be introduced. The 

regulations set forth the permit 

application requirements and the 

notification procedures for the 

importation, interstate movement, or 

release in the environment of a 

regulated article. 

On December 21, 2005, the Animal 

and Plant Health Inspection Service 

(APHIS) received a permit application 

(APHIS No. 05–354–01r) from Planet 

Biotechnology, Inc., of Hayward, CA, for 

a field trial using a line of transgenic 

tobacco. Permit application 05–354–01r 

describes a transgenic tobacco line 

(Nicotiana tabacum L.), designated as 

H8–105, that produces a chimeric 

antimicrobial antibody (trade name 

CaroRxTM) that binds to the bacterium 

Streptococcus mutans, which is 

associated with tooth decay in humans. 

Expression of the gene sequence is 

controlled by the cauliflower mosaic 

virus (CaMV) promoter and terminated 

by NOS from Agrobacterium 

tumefaciens and utilizes the selectable 

marker NPTII from Escherichia coli. 

Constructs were inserted into the 

recipient organisms via a disarmed 

Agrobacterium tumefaciens vector 

system. The antibodies generated from 

this planting will be extracted after 

harvest. 

The subject tobacco is considered a 

regulated article under the regulations 

in 7 CFR part 340 because it has been 

genetically engineered using the 

recombinant DNA technique using a 

vector derived from Agrobacterium 

tumefaciens. 

To provide the public with 

documentation of APHIS’ review and 

analysis of any potential environmental 

impacts and plant pest risks associated 

with the proposed release of these 

transgenic tobacco plants, an 

environmental assessment (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). 

The EA may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room. (Instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room 

are provided under the heading 

ADDRESSES at the beginning of this 

notice.) In addition, copies may be 

obtained by calling or writing to the 

individuals listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

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 21st day of 

March 2007. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E7–5570 Filed 3–26–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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