Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2012 / Notices 41353 

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 previous NEPA review completed 

for TwinLinkTM cotton and our 

conclusion that the BCS extension 

request for a determination of 

nonregulated status of cotton event 

T303–3 encompasses the same scope of 

environmental analysis as TwinLinkTM

cotton, APHIS has reached a FONSI 

with regard to a determination of 

nonregulated status of cotton event 

T303–3. 

Based on APHIS’ analysis of field and 

laboratory data submitted by BCS, 

references provided in the extension 

request, peer-reviewed publications, 

information analyzed in the 

TwinLinkTM cotton EA, and the 

similarity of cotton event T303–3 to the 

antecedent organism, cotton event 

T304–40, APHIS has determined that 

cotton event T303–3 is unlikely to pose 

a plant pest risk. We have therefore 

reached a preliminary decision to 

approve the request to extend the 

determination of nonregulated status of 

cotton event T304–40 to cotton event 

T303–3, whereby cotton event T303–3 

would no longer be subject to our 

regulations governing the introduction 

of certain genetically engineered 

organisms. 

Paragraph (e) of § 340.6 provides that 

APHIS will publish a notice in the 

Federal Register announcing all 

preliminary decisions to extend 

determinations of nonregulated status 

for 30 days before the decisions become 

final and effective. In accordance with 

§ 340.6(e) of the regulations, we are 

publishing this notice to inform the 

public of our preliminary decision to 

extend the determination of 

nonregulated status of cotton event 

T304–40 to cotton event T303–3. 

APHIS will accept written comments 

on the FONSI regarding a determination 

of nonregulated status of event T303–3 

for a period of 30 days from the date of 

this notice. The extension request, 

FONSI, and preliminary determination 

for event T303–3, as well as the 

supporting documents, are available for 

public review as indicated under 

ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT above. 

After the comment period closes, 

APHIS will review all written comments 

received during the comment period 

and any other relevant information. All 

comments received regarding the FONSI 

will be available for public review. After 

reviewing and evaluating the comments 

on the FONSI, if APHIS determines that 

no substantive information has been 

received that would warrant APHIS 

altering its preliminary regulatory 

determination or FONSI, our 

preliminary regulatory determination 

will become final and effective upon 

notification of the public through an 

announcement on our Web site at 

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

biotechnology/pet_proc_imp.shtml. 

APHIS will also furnish a response to 

the petitioner regarding our final 

regulatory determination. No further 

Federal Register notice will be 

published announcing the final 

regulatory determination regarding 

cotton event T303–3. 

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 9th day of 

July 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17133 Filed 7–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0046] 

GENECTIVE SA; Availability of Petition 

for Determination of Nonregulated 

Status of Maize Genetically Engineered 

for Herbicide Tolerance 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) has received 

a petition from GENECTIVE SA seeking 

a determination of nonregulated status 

of maize designated as VCO-;1981–5, 

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. We are making 

the GENECTIVE SA petition available 

for review and comment to help us 

identify potential environmental and 

interrelated economic issues and 

impacts that APHIS may determine 

should be considered in our evaluation 

of the petition. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before September 

11, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0046- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0046, 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-2012-0046 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 Web site at http:// 

www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/ 

11_34201p.pdf. 

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: 

Background 

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. 

Paragraphs (b) and (c) of § 340.6 

describe the form that a petition for a 

determination of nonregulated status 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
41354 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2012 / Notices 

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

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

must take and the information that must 

be included in the petition. 

APHIS has received a petition (APHIS 

Petition Number 11–342–01p) from 

GENECTIVE SA of Chappes, France, 

seeking a determination of nonregulated 

status of maize (Zea mays L.) designated 

as event VCO-;1981–5, which has been 

genetically engineered for tolerance to 

the herbicide glyphosate, stating that 

this maize is unlikely to pose a plant 

pest risk and, therefore, should not be 

a regulated article under APHIS’ 

regulations in 7 CFR part 340. 

As described in the petition, maize 

event VCO-;1981–5 has been 

genetically engineered to contain the 

stably integrated epsps grg23ace5 gene 

expressing the EPSPS ACE5 protein, an 

improved EPSPS enzyme which confers 

tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate. 

The EPSPS ACE5 protein was derived 

from the bacteria Arthrobacter 

globiformis. Maize event VCO-;1981–5 

is currently regulated under 7 CFR part 

340. Interstate movements and field 

tests of maize event VCO-;1981–5 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 test. Field tests were 

also conducted in Europe and Canada. 

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 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 maize 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 

comment (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 part 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 9th day of 

July 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17130 Filed 7–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0020] 

Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition 

for Determination of Nonregulated 

Status of Soybean Genetically 

Engineered for Increased Yield 

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: We are advising the public 

that the Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service (APHIS) has received 

a petition from the Monsanto Company 

(Monsanto) seeking a determination of 

nonregulated status of soybean 

designated as MON 87712, which has 

been genetically engineered for 

increased yield. The petition has been 

submitted in accordance with our 

regulations concerning the introduction 

of certain genetically engineered 

organisms and products. We are making 

the Monsanto petition available for 

review and comment to help us identify 

potential environmental and 

interrelated economic issues and 

impacts that APHIS may determine 

should be considered in our evaluation 

of the petition. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before September 

11, 2012. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0020-

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0020, 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-2012-0020 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 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES