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

37459 

Vol. 83, No. 148 

Wednesday, August 1, 2018 

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=APHIS2011-0129. 

2To view the notice, the petition, and the 

comments we received, go to http://

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2017-0097. 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2017–0097] 

Texas A&M AgriLife Research; 

Availability of a Draft Plant Pest Risk 

Assessment and Draft Environmental 

Assessment for Cotton Genetically 

Engineered for Ultra-low Gossypol 

Levels in the Cottonseed 

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 draft plant pest 

risk assessment (PPRA) and draft 

environmental assessment (EA) for 

cotton designated as event TAM66274, 

which has been genetically engineered 

for ultra-low gossypol levels in the 

cottonseed. We are making the draft 

PPRA and draft EA available for public 

review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before August 31, 

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-2017-0097. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2017–0097, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents and any 

comments we receive on this docket 

may be viewed at http://

www.regulations.gov/#!docket

Detail;D=APHIS-2017-0097 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. 

The petition is also available on the 

APHIS website at: http://

www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/ 

petitions_table_pending.shtml under 

APHIS petition 17–292–01p. 

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 17–292–01p) from 

Texas A&M AgriLife Research of College 

Station, TX (Texas A&M), seeking a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) designated 

as event TAM66274, which has been 

genetically engineered for ultra-low 

gossypol levels in the cottonseed. The 

Texas A&M petition states that 

information collected during field trials 

and laboratory analyses indicates that 

TAM66274 cotton is not likely to be a 

plant pest 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 December 5, 

2017 (82 FR 57426–57427, Docket No. 

APHIS–2017–0097), APHIS announced 

the availability of the Texas A&M 

petition for public comment. APHIS 

solicited comments on the petition for 

60 days ending on February 5, 2018, 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 47 comments 

on the petition. Of those, 44 were 

supportive, two opposed, and one was 

not related to the petition. APHIS has 

evaluated the issues raised during the 

comment period and, where 

appropriate, has provided a discussion 

of these issues in our draft 

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 

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 draft EA, 

preliminary finding of no significant 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
37460 Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 148 / Wednesday, August 1, 2018 / Notices 

impact (FONSI), and its draft 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 draft 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 draft 

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 draft PPRA and 

has concluded that cotton designated as 

event TAM66274, which has been 

genetically engineered for ultra-low 

gossypol levels in the cottonseed, 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 

Texas A&M, 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 cotton designated as 

event TAM66274, or (2) make a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

cotton designated as event TAM66274. 

The draft 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) U.S. Department 

of Agriculture 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 draft 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 draft PPRA, as well as the 

previously published petition, are 

available as indicated under ADDRESSES

and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT

above. 

After the 30-day comment period 

closes, APHIS will review and evaluate 

any information received during the 

comment period and any other relevant 

information. After reviewing and 

evaluating the comments on the draft 

EA and the draft 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 26th day of 

July 2018. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2018–16389 Filed 7–31–18; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Idaho (Boise, Caribou-Targhee, 

Salmon-Challis, and Sawtooth National 

Forests and Curlew National 

Grassland); Nevada (HumboldtToiyabe National Forest); Utah (Ashley, 

Dixie, Fishlake, Manti-La Sal, and 

Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National 

Forests); Wyoming (Bridger-Teton 

National Forest); and Wyoming/ 

Colorado (Medicine Bow-Routt 

National Forest and Thunder Basin 

National Grassland); Amendments to 

Land Management Plans for Greater 

Sage-Grouse Conservation 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice to extend the public 

scoping period for supplemental notice 

of intent to prepare an environmental 

impact statement; notice of updated 

information concerning the Forest 

Service greater sage-grouse land and 

resource management plan 

amendments; correction. 

SUMMARY: The USDA Forest Service is 

issuing this notice to advise the public 

of a 14-day extension to the public 

scoping period on the supplemental 

notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement for the 

amendments to land management plans 

for greater sage-grouse conservation. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 

August 15, 2018. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Sage-grouse Amendment Comment, 

USDA Forest Service Intermountain 

Region, Federal Building, 324 25th 

Street, Ogden, UT 84401. 

Comments may also be sent via email 

to, comments-intermtn-regional-office@

fs.fed.us, or via facsimile to 801–625– 

5277. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John 

Shivik at 801–625–5667 or email 

johnashivik@fs.fed.us. Individuals who 

use telecommunication devices for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1– 

800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 

p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through 

Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

original corrected notice of intent for 

public comment on the greater sagegrouse plan amendments was published 

in the Federal Register on July 2, 2018 

(83 FR 30909). The original notice of 

intent provided a 30 day comment 

period, which may be insufficient for 

comment preparation from all interested 

parties. As such, the comment period 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES