30688 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2018 / Notices 

Additional U.S. Note 5, Chapter 17 in 

the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule 

(HTS) authorize the Secretary to 

establish the in-quota tariff-rate quota 

(TRQ) amounts (expressed in terms of 

raw value) for imports of raw cane sugar 

and certain sugars, syrups, and molasses 

that may be entered under the 

subheadings of the HTS subject to the 

lower tier of duties during each fiscal 

year. The Office of the U.S. Trade 

Representative (USTR) is responsible for 

the allocation of these quantities among 

supplying countries and areas. 

Section 359(k) of the Agricultural 

Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, 

requires that at the beginning of the 

quota year the Secretary of Agriculture 

establish the TRQs for raw cane sugar 

and refined sugars at the minimum 

levels necessary to comply with 

obligations under international trade 

agreements, with the exception of 

specialty sugar. 

The Secretary’s authority under 

paragraph (a)(i) of the Additional U.S. 

Note 5, Chapter 17 in the U.S. 

Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) and 

Section 359(k) of the Agricultural 

Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, 

has been delegated to the Under 

Secretary for Trade and Foreign 

Agricultural Affairs (7 CFR 2.26). 

Notice is hereby given that I have 

determined, in accordance with 

paragraph (a)(i) of the Additional U.S. 

Note 5, Chapter 17 in the HTS and 

section 359(k) of the 1938 Act, that an 

aggregate quantity of up to 1,117,195 

MTRV of raw cane sugar may be entered 

or withdrawn from warehouse for 

consumption during FY 2019. This is 

the minimum amount to which the 

United States is committed under the 

WTO Uruguay Round Agreements. I 

have further determined that an 

aggregate quantity of 192,000 MTRV of 

sugars, syrups, and molasses may be 

entered or withdrawn from warehouse 

for consumption during FY 2019. This 

quantity includes the minimum amount 

to which the United States is committed 

under the WTO Uruguay Round 

Agreements, 22,000 MTRV, of which 

20,344 MTRV is established for any 

sugars, syrups and molasses, and 1,656 

MTRV is reserved for specialty sugar. 

An additional amount of 170,000 MTRV 

is added to the specialty sugar TRQ for 

a total of 171,656 MTRV. 

Because the specialty sugar TRQ is 

first-come, first-served, tranches are 

needed to allow for orderly marketing 

throughout the year. The FY 2019 

specialty sugar TRQ will be opened in 

five tranches. The first tranche, totaling 

1,656 MTRV, will open October 1, 2018. 

All specialty sugars are eligible for entry 

under this tranche. The second tranche 

will open on October 10, 2018, and be 

equal to 50,000 MTRV. The third 

tranche of 50,000 MTRV will open on 

January 23, 2019. The fourth tranche of 

35,000 MTRV will open on April 17, 

2019. The fifth tranche will open on 

July 17, 2019, and be equal to 35,000 

MTRV. The second, third, fourth, and 

fifth tranches will be reserved for 

organic sugar and other specialty sugars 

not currently produced commercially in 

the United States or reasonably 

available from domestic sources. 

* Conversion factor: 1 metric ton = 

1.10231125 short tons. 

Dated: June 25, 2018. 

Jason Hafemeister, 

Acting Under Secretary, Trade and Foreign 

Agricultural Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14018 Filed 6–28–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–10–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2018–0034] 

Notice of Intent To Prepare an 

Environmental Impact Statement; 

Movement and Outdoor Use of Certain 

Genetically Engineered Organisms 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

programmatic environmental impact 

statement. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) plans to 

prepare a programmatic environmental 

impact statement (EIS) in connection 

with potential changes to the 

regulations regarding the importation, 

interstate movement, and environmental 

release of certain genetically engineered 

organisms. This notice identifies 

potential issues to be evaluated in the 

EIS and requests public comments to 

define the scope of the alternatives and 

environmental impacts and issues for 

APHIS to consider. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before July 30, 

2018. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

Detail;D=APHIS-2018-0034. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2018–0034, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Any comments we receive may be 

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

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2018-0034 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. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. 

Joanne Serrels, Biotechnologist, 

Biotechnology Regulatory Services, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 147, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238; (301) 851– 

3867. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

The Plant Protection Act (PPA) 

authorizes the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) to protect 

plant health in the United States. Under 

that authority, APHIS currently 

regulates the introduction (movement 

into the United States or interstate, or 

release into the environment) of 

genetically engineered (GE) organisms 

that may present a plant pest risk 

through its 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.’’ These 

regulations are intended to protect 

against plant pest risks to plant health 

by providing for the safe importation, 

interstate movement, or release into the 

environment of certain GE organisms. 

APHIS’ regulation of certain GE 

organisms to protect plant health is 

aligned with the Federal Coordinated 

Framework for the Regulation of 

Biotechnology (henceforth referred to as 

the Coordinated Framework), the 

comprehensive Federal regulatory 

policy for ensuring the safety of 

biotechnology research and products in 

the United States. The Coordinated 

Framework describes how Federal 

agencies will use their regulatory 

authorities under existing Federal 

statutes to ensure public health and 

environmental safety while maintaining 

regulatory flexibility to avoid impeding 

the growth of the biotechnology 

industry. The Coordinated Framework 

sets forth a science- and risk-based 

approach for the oversight of activities 

that introduce biotechnology products 

into the environment and describes the 

roles and responsibilities for the three 

major Federal agencies involved in 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 126 / Friday, June 29, 2018 / Notices 30689 

regulating biotechnology products: 

APHIS, the Environmental Protection 

Agency, and the Food and Drug 

Administration. This document 

addresses only proposed changes to the 

APHIS regulations and is not intended 

to circumscribe, restrict, or otherwise 

preclude future actions taken by other 

Federal agencies under their respective 

authorities. 

During the past 30 years, there have 

been major advances in the science of 

biotechnology, and new issues have 

been brought to APHIS’ attention by a 

range of stakeholders. Over this period, 

APHIS has also gained considerable 

experience in assessing the plant health 

risks of GE organisms. Accordingly, 

APHIS is considering amending the 

regulations pertaining to movement and 

outdoor use of certain GE organisms to 

address the advances in biotechnology 

and APHIS’ understanding of the issues 

raised by stakeholders. The proposed 

revisions would allow APHIS to more 

effectively protect plant health under 

the PPA by focusing APHIS’ regulations 

in 7 CFR part 340 on risks that may be 

posed by certain GE organisms rather 

than on the methods used to produce 

the products and would also make the 

regulatory processes more transparent 

while removing unnecessary regulatory 

burdens. 

Under the provisions of the National 

Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.), Federal agencies must examine 

the potential environmental impacts of 

proposed Federal actions and 

alternatives. We are planning to prepare 

a programmatic environmental impact 

statement (EIS) in connection with the 

proposed revisions to APHIS’ 

biotechnology regulations that are being 

considered. Aspects of the human 

environment that may be affected by the 

proposed regulatory changes and that 

we have preliminarily identified for 

evaluation in the EIS will include 

potential impacts on: 

• U.S. agriculture and forestry 

production (e.g., conventional, 

biotechnology-based, and organic); 

• Current and future uses of certain 

GE organisms in agriculture and 

forestry; 

• Agronomic practices employed in 

GE crop production that may have 

environmental consequences or effects 

(e.g., tillage, crop rotation, weed and 

pest control, and agronomic inputs); 

• Aspects of the physical 

environment, including soil quality, 

water resources, and air quality, with 

consideration given to the effects of 

dynamic climate conditions; 

• Aspects of the biological 

environment, such as animal and plant 

communities, the development of weed, 

pathogen, and insect resistance to 

pesticides, the potential gene flow from 

certain GE organisms to sexually 

compatible species, the weediness of GE 

crop plants, and biodiversity; 

• Consumer health and agricultural 

worker safety; and 

• Animal feed safety, availability, 

quality, and animal health. 

We will also examine socioeconomic 

considerations, such as the potential 

impacts of crop plants that are GE 

organisms on the domestic economic 

environment, international trade, and 

coexistence among all forms of U.S. 

agriculture—conventional, 

biotechnology-based, and organic—and 

on market demand for food, feed, fiber, 

and fuel. 

The EIS will be prepared in 

accordance with: (1) NEPA, (2) 

regulations of the Council on 

Environmental Quality for 

implementing the procedural provisions 

of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), (3) 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR 

part 1b), and (4) APHIS’ NEPA 

Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 

372). 

This notice identifies the potential 

issues that will be evaluated in the EIS, 

and requests public comment to help 

APHIS further define the issues and 

alternatives that should be considered 

and to help APHIS identify additional 

impacts, both positive and negative, to 

the human environment that should be 

examined in the EIS. Public input will 

also be helpful in developing our 

proposed regulations. All comments 

received during the comment period 

will be carefully considered. A notice 

will be published in the Federal 

Register to announce the availability of 

the draft EIS when it is issued and to 

invite the public to provide comments. 

Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of 

June 2018. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–14019 Filed 6–28–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS 

Notice of Public Meeting of the 

Tennessee Advisory Committee 

AGENCY: U.S. Commission on Civil 

Rights. 

ACTION: Notice of meeting. 

SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given, 

pursuant to the provisions of the rules 

and regulations of the U.S. Commission 

on Civil Rights (Commission) and the 

Federal Advisory Committee Act that 

the Tennessee Advisory Committee will 

hold a meeting on Wednesday, August 

8, 2018 to work on post-report planning 

for the Civil Asset Forfeiture report and 

discuss potential future work on legal 

financial obligations and civil rights 

issues. 

DATES: The meeting will be held on 

Wednesday August 8, 2018 12:30 p.m. 

EST. Public Call Information: The 

meeting will be by teleconference. Tollfree call-in number: 888–334–3032, 

conference ID: 5510752. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff 

Hinton, DFO, at jhinton@usccr.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Members 

of the public can listen to the 

discussion. This meeting is available to 

the public through the following tollfree call-in number: 888–334–3032, 

conference ID: 5510752. Any interested 

member of the public may call this 

number and listen to the meeting. 

Callers can expect to incur charges for 

calls they initiate over wireless lines, 

and the Commission will not refund any 

incurred charges. Callers will incur no 

charge for calls they initiate over landline connections to the toll-free 

telephone number. Persons with hearing 

impairments may also follow the 

proceedings by first calling the Federal 

Relay Service at 1–800–977–8339 and 

providing the Service with the 

conference call number and conference 

ID number. 

Written comments may be mailed to 

the Regional Program Unit Office, U.S. 

Commission on Civil Rights, 230 S. 

Dearborn, Suite 2120, Chicago, IL 

60604. They may also be faxed to the 

Commission at (312) 353–8324 or may 

be emailed to the Regional Director, Jeff 

Hinton at jhinton@usccr.gov. Records of 

the meeting will be available via 

www.facadatabase.gov under the 

Commission on Civil Rights, Tennessee 

Advisory Committee link. Persons 

interested in the work of this Committee 

are directed to the Commission’s 

website, http://www.usccr.gov, or may 

contact the Southern Regional Office at 

the above email or street address. 

Agenda: 

Welcome and Call to Order 

Diane DiIanni, Tennessee SAC 

Chairman 

Jeff Hinton, Regional Director 

Regional Update—Jeff Hinton 

New Business: Diane DiIanni, 

Tennessee SAC Chairman/Staff/ 

Advisory Committee Public 

Participation 

Adjournment 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES