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

13035 

Vol. 79, No. 45 

Friday, March 7, 2014 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2014–0007] 

Monsanto Co.; Availability of Petition 

for Determination of Nonregulated 

Status of Maize Genetically Engineered 

For Protection Against Corn Rootworm 

and Resistance to Glyphosate 

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 Monsanto Company 

seeking a determination of nonregulated 

status of maize designated as event 

MON 87411, which has been genetically 

engineered for protection against corn 

rootworm and resistance 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 Monsanto 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 May 6, 

2014. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/

# !documentDetail;D=APHIS-2014-0007- 

0001. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your comment to Docket No. 

APHIS–2014–0007, 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-2014-0007 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/biotechnology/

petitions_table_pending.shtml under 

APHIS petition number 13–290–01p. 

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: 

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 

must take and the information that must 

be included in the petition. 

APHIS has received a petition (APHIS 

Petition Number 13–290–01p) from the 

Monsanto Company (Monsanto) of St. 

Louis, MO, seeking a determination of 

nonregulated status of maize (Zea mays) 

designated as event MON 87411, which 

has been genetically engineered for 

protection against corn rootworm and 

resistance to the herbicide glyphosate. 

The Monsanto petition states that 

information collected during field trials 

and laboratory analyses indicates that 

MON 87411 maize is not likely to be a 

plant pest and therefore should not be 

a regulated article under APHIS’ 

regulations in 7 CFR Part 340. 

As described in the petition, 

Monsanto developed MON 87411 maize 

by adding a suppression cassette that 

expresses an inverted repeat sequence 

designed to match the sequence of corn 

rootworm. The expression of the 

suppression cassette results in the 

formation of a double-stranded RNA 

(dsRNA) transcript containing the Snf7 

gene. Upon consumption, the plantproduced dsRNA in MON 87411 results 

in corn rootworm mortality. MON 87411 

maize also contains a cry3Bb1 gene that 

produces a modified Bacillus 

thuringiensis (subsp. kumamotoensis) 

Cry3Bb1 protein to protect against corn 

rootworm larval feeding. In addition, 

MON 87411 maize contains the cp4 

epsps gene from Agrobacterium sp. 

strain CP4 that confers resistance to the 

herbicide glyphosate. MON 87411 maize 

is currently regulated under 7 CFR Part 

340. Interstate movements and field 

tests of MON 87411 maize 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 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES

13036 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 45 / Friday, March 7, 2014 / Notices 

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

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

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 corn 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 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 28th day of 

February 2014. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2014–04968 Filed 3–6–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Humboldt County Resource Advisory 

Committee Meeting 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of meetings. 

SUMMARY: The Humboldt County 

Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) 

will meet in Eureka, California. The 

committee is authorized under the 

Secure Rural Schools and Community 

Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110– 

343) (the Act) and operates in 

compliance with the Federal Advisory 

Committee Act. The purpose of the 

committee is to improve collaborative 

relationships and to provide advice and 

recommendations to the Forest Service 

concerning projects and funding 

consistent with the title II of the Act. 

The meeting is open to the public. The 

purpose of the meetings are to provide 

updates regarding status of Secure Rural 

Schools Title II program and funding, 

discuss funding strategies and review 

and recommend potential projects 

eligible for funding. 

DATES: The meetings will start at 5:30 

p.m. and be held on the following dates: 

• April 9, 2014. 

• April 15, 2014. 

All RAC meetings are subject to 

cancellation. For status of meeting prior 

to attendance, please contact the person 

listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at 

Six Rivers National Forest Office, 1330 

Bayshore Way, Eureka, California. 

Written comments may be submitted 

as described under SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION. All comments, including 

names and addresses when provided, 

are placed in the record and are 

available for public inspection and 

copying. The public may inspect 

comments received at Six Rivers 

National Forest Office. Please call ahead 

to facilitate entry into the building. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Lynn Wright, RAC Coordinator, by 

phone at 707–441–3562 or via email at 

hwright02@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 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m., 

Eastern Standard Time, Monday 

through Friday. Please make requests in 

advance for sign language interpreting, 

assistive listening devices or other 

reasonable accomodation for access to 

the facility or procedings by contacting 

the person listed above. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Additional RAC information, including 

the meeting agenda and the meeting 

summary/minutes can be found at the 

following Web site: http://

www.fs.usda.gov/srnf. The agenda will 

include time for people to make oral 

statements of three minutes or less. 

Individuals wishing to make an oral 

statement should request in writing to 

be scheduled on the agenda 5 days prior 

to the meeting. Anyone who would like 

to bring related matters to the attention 

of the committee may file written 

statements with the committee staff 

before or after the meeting. Written 

comments and requests for time for oral 

comments must be sent to Lynn Wright, 

RAC Coordinator, 1330 Bayshore Way, 

Eureka, California 95501; or by email at 

hwright02@fs.fed.us; or via facsimile at 

707–445–8677. 

Meeting Accommodations: If you are 

a person requiring reasonable 

accommodation, please make requests 

in advance for sign language 

interpreting, assistive listening devices 

or other reasonable accommodation for 

access to the facility or proceedings by 

contacting the person listed in the 

section titled FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. All reasonable 

accommodation requests are managed 

on a case by case basis. 

Dated: February 28, 2014. 

Tyrone Kelley, 

Forest Supervisor. 

[FR Doc. 2014–04969 Filed 3–6–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3411–15–P 

mstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES