Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 66689 

nonregulated status of GE organisms. 

Issues raised during the comment 

period included concerns regarding the 

potential transfer of genes from GE to 

non-GE potatoes and potential health 

and environmental impacts. APHIS has 

addressed the issues raised during the 

comment period and has provided 

responses to comments as an attachment 

to the FONSI. 

APHIS received additional 

information from Simplot on the 

molecular characterization of one of the 

events, J3, after publication of the 

petition, PPRA, and draft EA. The new 

information indicates rearranged 

repeated sequences of the inserted 

genetic material at the right border. 

APHIS has reviewed the revised 

structure and concluded the revision 

does not change the analyses or 

conclusions in either the PPRA or the 

EA because there are no new sequences 

present that were not previously 

described, no new insertion site(s), and 

no expected change in functionality. 

The updated characterization of J3 has 

been appended to the petition as 

Appendix 11. 

National Environmental Policy Act 

After reviewing and evaluating the 

comments received during the comment 

period on the draft EA and PPRA and 

other information, APHIS has prepared 

a final EA. The EA has been prepared 

to provide the public with 

documentation of APHIS’ review and 

analysis of any potential environmental 

impacts associated with the 

determination of nonregulated status of 

Simplot’s InnateTM potatoes. The 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) 

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 

FONSI with regard to the preferred 

alternative identified in the EA (to make 

a determination of nonregulated status 

of InnateTM potatoes). 

Determination 

Based on APHIS’ analysis of field and 

laboratory data submitted by Simplot, 

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 Simplot’s 

InnateTM potatoes are unlikely to pose a 

plant pest risk and therefore are no 

longer subject to our regulations 

governing the introduction of certain GE 

organisms. 

Copies of the signed determination 

document, PPRA, final EA, FONSI, and 

response to comments, as well as the 

previously published petition and 

supporting documents, 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 3rd day of 

November 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26593 Filed 11–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0076] 

J.R. Simplot Co.; Availability of 

Petition for Determination of 

Nonregulated Status of Potato 

Genetically Engineered for Late Blight 

Resistance, Low Acrylamide Potential, 

Reduced Black Spot Bruising, and 

Lowered Reducing Sugars 

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 J.R. Simplot Company 

seeking a determination of nonregulated 

status for InnateTM Potato designated as 

Russet Burbank event W8, which has 

been genetically engineered for late 

blight resistance, low acrylamide 

potential, reduced black spot bruising, 

and lowered reducing sugars. The 

petition has been submitted in 

accordance with our regulations 

concerning the introduction of certain 

genetically engineered organisms and 

products. We are making the J.R. 

Simplot Company petition available for 

review and comment to help us identify 

potential environmental and 

interrelated economic issues and 

impacts that the Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service may 

determine should be considered in our 

evaluation of the petition. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before January 9, 

2015. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0076. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0076, 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/

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0076 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) 7997039 

before coming. 

The petition is also available on the 

APHIS Web site at: http://

www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/

petitions_table_pending.shtml under 

APHIS petition number 14–093–01p. 

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. 


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66690 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 217 / Monday, November 10, 2014 / Notices 

1To view the notice, go to http://

www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2011-0129. 

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 has received a petition (APHIS 

Petition Number 14–093–01p) from the 

J.R. Simplot Company seeking a 

determination of nonregulated status for 

InnateTM Potato designated as Russet 

Burbank event W8, which has been 

genetically engineered for late blight 

resistance, low acrylamide potential, 

reduced black spot bruising, and 

lowered reducing sugars. The J.R. 

Simplot petition states that information 

collected during field trials and 

laboratory analyses indicates that 

InnateTM Potato is not likely to be a 

plant pest and therefore should not be 

a regulated article under APHIS’ 

regulations in 7 CFR part 340. 

InnateTM Potato is currently regulated 

under 7 CFR part 340. Interstate 

movements and field tests of InnateTM

Potato have been conducted under 

notifications acknowledged by APHIS. 

Field tests conducted under APHIS 

oversight allowed for evaluation in a 

natural agricultural setting while 

imposing measures to minimize the risk 

of persistence in the environment after 

completion of the tests. Data are 

gathered on multiple parameters and 

used by the applicant to evaluate 

agronomic characteristics and product 

performance. These and other data are 

used by APHIS to determine if the new 

variety poses a plant pest risk. 

Paragraph (d) of § 340.6 provides that 

APHIS will publish a notice in the 

Federal Register providing 60 days for 

public comment for petitions for a 

determination of nonregulated status. 

On March 6, 2012, we published in the 

Federal Register (77 FR 13258–13260, 

Docket No. APHIS–2011–0129) a 

notice 1 describing our process for 

soliciting public comment when 

considering petitions for determinations 

of nonregulated status for GE organisms. 

In that notice we indicated that APHIS 

would accept written comments 

regarding a petition once APHIS 

deemed it complete. 

In accordance with § 340.6(d) of the 

regulations and 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 regarding the petition 

for a determination of nonregulated 

status from interested or affected 

persons for a period of 60 days from the 

date of this notice. The petition is 

available for public review and 

comment, and copies are available as 

indicated under ADDRESSES and FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above. 

We are interested in receiving 

comments regarding potential 

environmental and interrelated 

economic issues and impacts that 

APHIS may determine should be 

considered in our evaluation of the 

petition. We are particularly interested 

in receiving comments regarding 

biological, cultural, or ecological issues, 

and we encourage the submission of 

scientific data, studies, or research to 

support your comments. We also 

request that, when possible, 

commenters provide relevant 

information regarding specific localities 

or regions as potato growth, crop 

management, and crop utilization may 

vary considerably by geographic region. 

After the comment period closes, 

APHIS will review all written comments 

received during the comment period 

and any other relevant information. Any 

substantive issues identified by APHIS 

based on our review of the petition and 

our evaluation and analysis of 

comments will be considered in the 

development of our decisionmaking 

documents. 

As part of our decisionmaking process 

regarding a GE organism’s regulatory 

status, APHIS prepares a plant pest risk 

assessment to assess its plant pest risk 

and the appropriate environmental 

documentation—either an 

environmental assessment (EA) or an 

environmental impact statement (EIS)— 

in accordance with the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), to 

provide the Agency with a review and 

analysis of any potential environmental 

impacts associated with the petition 

request. For petitions for which APHIS 

prepares an EA, APHIS will follow our 

published process for soliciting public 

involvement (see footnote 1) and 

publish a separate notice in the Federal 

Register announcing the availability of 

APHIS’ EA and plant pest risk 

assessment. Should APHIS determine 

that an EIS is necessary, APHIS will 

complete the NEPA EIS process in 

accordance with Council on 

Environmental Quality regulations (40 

CFR parts 1500–1508) and APHIS’ 

NEPA implementing regulations (7 CFR 

part 372). 

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 3rd day of 

November 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–26598 Filed 11–7–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Information Collection Activity; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the 

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites 

comments on this information 

collection for which RUS intends to 

request approval from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by January 9, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michele L. Brooks, Director, Program 

Development and Regulatory Analysis, 

Rural Utilities Service, USDA, 1400 

Independence Avenue SW., STOP 1522, 

Room 5162—South Building, 

Washington, DC 20250–1522. 

Telephone: (202) 690–1078. Fax: (202) 

720–8435 or email Michele.Brooks@

wdc.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

regulation (5 CFR part 1320) 

implementing provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 

L. 104–13) requires that interested 

members of the public and affected 

agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an 

information collection that RUS is 

submitting to OMB for extension. 

Comments are invited on: (a) 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; (b) the accuracy of 

the Agency’s estimate of the burden of 

the collection including the validity of 

the methodology and assumptions used; 

(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (d) ways to minimize the 

burden of the collection of information 

on those who are to respond, including 

through the use of appropriate 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or 


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