15542 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 43 / Monday, March 4, 2024 / Notices 

DATES: The General Conference 

Committee meeting will be held on 

August 27, 2024, from 1:30 p.m. to 6 

p.m. The General Session of the 

Biennial Conference will begin on 

August 28, 2024, at 7:30 a.m. and end 

no later than August 30, 2024, at 2:30 

p.m. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting and conference 

will be held at the Omni Providence 

Hotel, One West Exchange Street, 

Providence, RI. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Elena Behnke, Senior Coordinator, 

National Poultry Improvement Plan, VS, 

APHIS, USDA, 1506 Klondike Road, 

Suite 301, Conyers, GA 30094; (770) 

922–3496. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

General Conference Committee (the 

Committee) of the National Poultry 

Improvement Plan (NPIP), representing 

cooperating State agencies and poultry 

industry members, serves an essential 

function by acting as liaison between 

the poultry industry and the Department 

in matters pertaining to poultry health. 

Topics for discussion at the upcoming 

meeting include: 

1. New diagnostic tests seeking NPIP 

approval. 

2. Salmonella update. 

3. National Veterinary Services 

Laboratories avian influenza and 

Newcastle disease virus update. 

4. Mycoplasma update. 

The meeting will be open to the 

public; however, public participation in 

discussions during the sessions will 

only be allowed if time permits. Written 

statements may be filed at the meeting 

or filed with the Committee before or 

after the meeting by sending them to the 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. Please refer to 

Docket No. APHIS–2024–0008 when 

submitting your statements. 

Reasonable Accommodations 

If needed, please request reasonable 

accommodations no later than July 29, 

2024, by contacting the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. Requests made after that date 

may be considered, but it may not be 

possible to fulfill them. 

This notice of meeting is given 

pursuant to section 10 of the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. 10). 

U.S. Department of Agriculture 

(USDA) programs are prohibited from 

discriminating based on race, color, 

national origin, religion, sex, gender 

identity (including gender expression), 

sexual orientation, disability, age, 

marital status, family/parental status, 

income derived from a public assistance 

program, political beliefs, or reprisal or 

retaliation for prior civil rights activity, 

in any program or activity conducted or 

funded by USDA (not all bases apply to 

all programs). Remedies and complaint 

filing deadlines vary by program or 

incident. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means of communication for 

program information (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, American Sign 

Language, etc.) should contact the 

responsible Agency or USDA’s TARGET 

Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and 

TTY) or contact USDA through the 

Federal Relay Service at (800) 877–8339. 

Additionally, program information may 

be made available in languages other 

than English. 

Equal opportunity practices in 

accordance with USDA’s policies will 

be followed in all appointments to the 

Committee. To ensure that the 

recommendations of the Committee 

have taken in account the needs of the 

diverse groups served by USDA, 

membership shall include to the extent 

possible, individuals with demonstrated 

ability to represent minorities, women 

and person with disabilities. USDA is 

an equal opportunity provider, 

employer, and lender. 

Dated: February 27, 2024. 

Egypt Simon, 

Acting USDA Committee Management 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04515 Filed 3–1–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2020–0113] 

Bayer U.S.-Crop Science: Availability 

of a Petition for a Determination of 

Nonregulated Status for LepidopteranProtected Maize 

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 Bayer U.S.-Crop Science 

seeking a determination of nonregulated 

status for maize (corn) event MON 

95379 that has been developed using 

genetic engineering to produce two 

insecticidal proteins to protect against 

feeding damage caused by target 

lepidopteran pests. We are making the 

petition available for review and 

comment to help us identify potential 

issues and impacts that we may 

determine should be considered in our 

evaluation of the petition. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before May 3, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov and enter 

APHIS–2020–0113 in the Search field. 

Select the Documents tab, then select 

the Comment button in the list of 

documents. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2020–0113, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

The petition and any comments we 

receive on this docket may be viewed at 

www.regulations.gov by entering 

APHIS–2020–0113 in the Search field, 

or in our reading room, which is located 

in Room 1620 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: https://www.aphis.

usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/biotechnology/ 

regulatory-processes/petitions/petitionstatus/petitions-table. Search for APHIS 

petition 20–205–01p. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. 

Subray Hegde, Biotechnology 

Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River 

Road, Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737– 

1238; (301) 851–3901; email: subray.

hegde@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, ‘‘Movement of Organisms Modified 

or Produced Through Genetic 

Engineering,’’ regulate, among other 

things, the importation, interstate 

movement, or release into the 

environment of organisms modified or 

produced through genetic engineering 

that are plant pests or pose a plausible 

plant pest risk. 

The petition for nonregulated status 

described in this notice is being 

evaluated under the version of the 

regulations effective at the time that it 

was received. The Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

issued a final rule, published in the 

Federal Register on May 18, 2020 (85 

FR 29790–29838, Docket No. APHIS– 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 43 / Monday, March 4, 2024 / Notices 15543 

1To view the final rule, go to 

www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS–2018–0034 

in the Search field. 

2On 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 organisms 

developed using genetic engineering. To view the 

notice, go to www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS– 

2011–0129 in the Search field. 

2018–0034),1 revising 7 CFR part 340; 

however, the final rule was 

implemented in phases. The new 

Regulatory Status Review (RSR) process, 

which replaces the petition for 

determination of nonregulated status 

process, became effective on April 5, 

2021, for corn, soybean, cotton, potato, 

tomato, and alfalfa. The RSR process 

was effective for all crops as of October 

1, 2021. However, ‘‘[u]ntil RSR is 

available for a particular crop . . . 

APHIS will continue to receive petitions 

for determination of nonregulated status 

for the crop in accordance with the 

[legacy] regulations at 7 CFR 340.6.’’ (85 

FR 29815). This petition for a 

determination of nonregulated status is 

being evaluated in accordance with the 

regulations at 7 CFR 340.6 (2020) as it 

was originally received by APHIS on 

July 23, 2020. 

Bayer U.S.-Crop Science (Bayer) has 

submitted a petition (APHIS Petition 

Number 20–205–01p) to APHIS seeking 

a determination of nonregulated status 

of maize (corn) designated as MON 

95379, which has been developed using 

genetic engineering for resistance to 

feeding damage caused by target 

lepidopteran pests, including fall 

armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), 

sugarcane borer (Diatraea saccharalis), 

and corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea). 

We are making the Bayer petition 

available for public comment and 

requesting public input regarding 

potential issues and impacts that APHIS 

should be considering in our evaluation 

of the petition. The Bayer petition states 

that information collected during field 

trials and laboratory analyses indicates 

that MON 95379 corn is unlikely to pose 

a plant pest risk and therefore should 

not be regulated under APHIS’ 

regulations in 7 CFR part 340. 

As described in the Bayer petition, 

MON 95379 corn was developed to 

produce two insecticidal proteins, 

Cry1B.868 and Cry1Da_7, which protect 

against feeding damage caused by 

targeted lepidopteran insect pests. 

Cry1B.868 is a chimeric protein 

comprised of domains I and II from 

Cry1Be (Bacillus thuringiensis, Bt), 

domain III from Cry1Ca (Bt subsp. 

aizawai) and C-terminal protoxin 

domain from Cry1Ab (Bt subsp. 

kurstaki). Cry1Da_7 is a modified 

Cry1Da protein derived from Bt subsp. 

aizawai. 

MON 95379 corn was developed to 

provide growers in South America an 

additional tool for controlling target 

lepidopteran corn pests, including fall 

armyworm resistant to current Bt 

technologies. MON 95379 corn will be 

combined through traditional breeding 

with other deregulated traits to provide 

protection against both above-ground 

and below-ground corn pests, as well as 

herbicide tolerance. These nextgeneration, combined-trait corn 

products will offer broader grower 

choice, improved production efficiency, 

increased pest control durability, and 

enhanced grower profit potential. MON 

95379 corn will not be commercialized 

in the United States but is intended to 

only be cultivated in small-scale 

breeding, testing, and seed increase 

nurseries to develop seed of products 

that will be sold in other countries, 

primarily in South America. 

Field tests conducted under APHIS 

oversight allowed for evaluation of 

MON 95379 corn in a natural 

agricultural setting while imposing 

measures to minimize the likelihood 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. 

On March 6, 2012, we published in 

the Federal Register (77 FR 13258– 

13260, Docket No.APHIS–2011–0129) a 

notice 2 describing our process for 

soliciting public comment when 

considering petitions for determinations 

of nonregulated status for organisms 

developed using genetic engineering. In 

that notice, we indicated that APHIS 

would accept written comments 

regarding a petition once APHIS 

deemed it complete. 

In accordance with our process for 

soliciting public input when 

considering petitions for determinations 

of nonregulated status for organisms 

developed using genetic engineering, 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 from the individual 

listed under the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section of this 

notice. 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. 

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 decision-making 

documents. As part of our decisionmaking process regarding the regulatory 

status of an organism developed using 

genetic engineering, 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 2) 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 26th day of 

February 2024. 

Michael Watson, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2024–04395 Filed 3–1–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


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