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

43311

Vol. 62, No. 156

Wednesday, August 13, 1997

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection

Service

[Docket No. 97–052–1]

Monsanto Co. and Dekalb Genetics

Corp.; Receipt of Petition for

Determination of Nonregulated Status

for Genetically Engineered Corn

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 received a

petition from the Monsanto Company

and Dekalb Genetics Corporation

seeking a determination of nonregulated

status for a corn line designated as

GA21, which has been genetically

engineered for tolerance to the herbicide

glyphosate. The petition has been

submitted in accordance with our

regulations concerning the introduction

of certain genetically engineered

organisms and products. In accordance

with those regulations, we are soliciting

public comments on whether this corn

line presents a plant pest risk.

DATES: Written comments must be

received on or before October 14, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Please send an original and

three copies of your comments to

Docket No. 97–052–1, Regulatory

Analysis and Development, PPD,

APHIS, Suite 3C03, 4700 River Road

Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.

Please state that your comments refer to

Docket No. 97–052–1. A copy of the

petition and any comments received

may be inspected at USDA, room 1141,

South Building, 14th Street and

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC, between 8 a.m. and

4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday,

except holidays. Persons wishing access

to that room to inspect the petition or

comments are asked to call in advance

of visiting at (202) 690–2817 to facilitate

entry into the reading room.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Ray Dobert, Biotechnology Evaluation,

BSS, PPQ, APHIS, Suite 5B05, 4700

River Road Unit 146, Riverdale, MD

20737–1236; (301) 734–8365. To obtain

a copy of the petition, contact Ms. Kay

Peterson at (301) 734–4885; e-mail:

mkpeterson@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.’’

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

determination of nonregulated status

must take and the information that must

be included in the petition.

On April 9, 1997, APHIS received a

petition (APHIS Petition No. 97–099–

01p) from the Monsanto Company of St.

Louis, MO, and Dekalb Genetics

Corporation of Mystic, CT (Monsanto/

Dekalb), requesting a determination of

nonregulated status under 7 CFR part

340 for a glyphosate-tolerant corn line

designated as GA21. The Monsanto/

Dekalb petition states that the subject

corn line should not be regulated by

APHIS because it does not present a

plant pest risk.

As described in the petition, corn line

GA21 has been genetically engineered to

contain a modified corn 5-

enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate

synthase (EPSPS) protein, which, when

expressed in the plant, confers tolerance

to glyphosate, the active ingredient in

the herbicide Roundup. The modified

corn EPSPS gene was introduced into

the parental inbred (AT) corn line by the

particle acceleration method and its

expression is controlled in part by the

rice actin promoter and intron and the

NOS 3′ termination sequence derived

from the plant pathogen Agrobacterium

tumefaciens.

The Monsanto/Dekalb corn line GA21

is currently considered a regulated

article under the regulations in 7 CFR

part 340 because it contains a gene

sequence derived from a plant pathogen.

The subject corn line has been evaluated

in field trials conducted since 1994

under APHIS notifications. In the

process of reviewing the notifications

for field trials of this corn line, APHIS

determined that the vectors and other

elements were disarmed and that the

trials, which were conducted under

conditions of reproductive and physical

containment or isolation, would not

present a risk of plant pest introduction

or dissemination.

In the Federal Plant Pest Act, as

amended (7 U.S.C. 150aa et seq.), ‘‘plant

pest’’ is defined as ‘‘any living stage of:

Any insects, mites, nematodes, slugs,

snails, protozoa, or other invertebrate

animals, bacteria, fungi, other parasitic

plants or reproductive parts thereof,

viruses, or any organisms similar to or

allied with any of the foregoing, or any

infectious substances, which can

directly or indirectly injure or cause

disease or damage in any plants or parts

thereof, or any processed, manufactured

or other products of plants.’’ APHIS

views this definition very broadly. The

definition covers direct or indirect

injury, disease, or damage not just to

agricultural crops, but also to plants in

general, for example, native species, as

well as to organisms that may be

beneficial to plants, for example,

honeybees, rhizobia, etc.

The U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA) is responsible for the

regulation of pesticides under the

Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and

Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), as amended (7

U.S.C. 136 et seq.). FIFRA requires that

all pesticides, including herbicides, be

registered prior to distribution or sale,

unless exempt by EPA regulation. In

cases in which genetically modified

plants allow for a new or different use

pattern for the herbicide, EPA must

approve the new or different use.

Accordingly, Monsanto submitted to the

EPA an application to register

Roundup herbicide for use over-thetop on glyphosate-tolerant corn, and

EPA has approved a label for such use.
43312 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 156 / Wednesday, August 13, 1997 / Notices

When the use of the herbicide on the

genetically modified plant would result

in an increase in the residues of the

herbicide in a food or feed crop for

which the herbicide is currently

registered, or in new residues in a crop

for which the herbicide is not currently

registered, establishment of a new

tolerance or a revision of the existing

tolerance would be required. Residue

tolerances for pesticides are established

by the EPA under the Federal Food,

Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), as

amended (21 U.S.C. 301 et seq.), and the

Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

enforces tolerances set by the EPA

under the FFDCA.

The FDA published a statement of

policy on foods derived from new plant

varieties in the Federal Register on May

29, 1992 (57 FR 22984–23005). The FDA

statement of policy includes a

discussion of the FDA’s authority for

ensuring food safety under the FFDCA,

and provides guidance to industry on

the scientific considerations associated

with the development of foods derived

from new plant varieties, including

those plants developed through the

techniques of genetic engineering.

Monsanto has begun consultation with

the FDA on the subject corn line.

In accordance with § 340.6(d) of the

regulations, we are publishing this

notice to inform the public that APHIS

will accept written comments regarding

the Petition for Determination of

Nonregulated Status from any interested

person for a period of 60 days from the

date of this notice. The petition and any

comments received are available for

public review, and copies of the petition

may be ordered (see the ADDRESSES

section of this notice).

After the comment period closes,

APHIS will review the data submitted

by the petitioners, all written comments

received during the comment period,

and any other relevant information.

Based on the available information,

APHIS will furnish a response to the

petitioners, either approving the

petition in whole or in part, or denying

the petition. APHIS will then publish a

notice in the Federal Register

announcing the regulatory status of the

Monsanto/Dekalb corn line GA21 and

the availability of APHIS’ written

decision.

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150aa–150jj, 151–167,

and 1622n; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80,

and 371.2(c).

Done in Washington, DC, this 6th day of

August 1997.

Terry L. Medley,

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health

Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 97–21371 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Foreign Agricultural Service

Assessment of Fees for Dairy Import

Licenses

AGENCY: Foreign Agricultural Service,

USDA.

ACTION: Notice of the fee for dairy

import licenses for the 1998 quota year.

SUMMARY: This notice announces that

the fee to be charged for the 1998 tariffrate quota year for each license issued

to a person or firm by the Department

of Agriculture authorizing the

importation of certain dairy articles

which are subject to tariff-rate quotas set

forth in the Harmonized Tariff Schedule

of the United States (HTS) will be

$170.00 per license.

EFFECTIVE DATE: January 1, 1998.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard P. Warsack, Dairy Import Quota

Manager, Import Policies and Programs

Division, STOP 1021, U.S. Department

of Agriculture, 1400 Independence

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250–

1021 or telephone at (202) 720–9439.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

Import Licensing Regulation

promulgated by the Department of

Agriculture and codified at 7 CFR 6.20–

6.36 provides for the issuance of

licenses to import certain dairy articles

which are subject to tariff-rate quotas

(TRQs) set forth in the HTS. Those dairy

articles may only be entered into the

United States at the in-quota TRQ tariff

rates by or for the account of a person

or firm to whom such licenses have

been issued and only in accordance

with the terms and conditions of the

Regulation.

Licenses are issued on a calendar year

basis, and each license authorizes the

license holder to import a specified

quantity and type of dairy article from

a specified country of origin. The use of

licenses by the license holder to import

dairy articles is monitored by the Dairy

Import Quota Manager, Import

Licensing Group, Import Policies and

Programs Division, Foreign Agricultural

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

and the U.S. Customs Service.

The Regulation at 7 CFR 6.33(a)

provides that a fee will be charged for

each license issued to a person or firm

by the Licensing Authority in order to

reimburse the Department of

Agriculture for the costs of

administering the licensing system

under this Regulation.

The Regulation at 7 CFR 6.33(a) also

provides that the Licensing Authority

will announce the annual fee for each

license and that such fee will be set out

in a notice to be published in the

Federal Register. Accordingly, this

notice sets out the fee for the licenses to

be issued for the 1998 calendar year.

The total cost to the Department of

Agriculture of administering the

licensing system during 1997 has been

determined to be $442,538 and the

estimated number of licenses expected

to be issued is 2,601. Of the total cost,

$276,872 represent staff and supervisory

costs directly to administering the

licensing system during 1997; $50,320

represents the total computer costs to

monitor and issue import licenses

during 1997; and $115,346 represents

other miscellaneous costs, including

travel, postage, publications, forms, and

an ADP system contractor.

Accordingly, notice is hereby given

that the fee for each license issued to a

person or firm for the 1998 calendar

year, in accordance with 7 CFR 6.33,

will be $170.00 per license.

Issued at Washington, D.C. the 11th day of

August, 1997.

Richard P. Warsack,

Licensing Authority.

[FR Doc. 97–21335 Filed 8–12–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–10–M

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Forest Service

Range Standards and Guidelines to

Amend the Land and Resource

Management Plans of the Eldorado

and Tahoe National Forests

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice; intent to prepare

environmental impact statement.

SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service will

prepare an environmental impact

statement (EIS) for amendments to the

Forest Land and Resource Management

Plans (LRMP) for the Eldorado National

Forest and the Tahoe National Forest in

accordance with the requirements of 36

CFR 219.19. The amendments will

modify existing LRMP grazing standards

and guidelines for management with the

objective to maintain and improve

rangeland ecosystems on both Forests.

DATES: Comments concerning the

analysis should be received in writing

by September 29, 1997.