44926 Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 143 / Thursday, July 25, 2013 / Notices 

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=APHIS2012-0027. 

APHIS altering our preliminary 

regulatory determination or FONSI, 

substantially changing the proposed 

action identified in the EA, or 

substantially changing the analysis of 

impacts in the EA, APHIS will notify 

the public through an announcement on 

our Web site of our final regulatory 

determination. If, however, APHIS 

determines that we have received 

substantive new information that would 

warrant APHIS altering our preliminary 

regulatory determination or FONSI, 

substantially changing the proposed 

action identified in the EA, or 

substantially changing the analysis of 

impacts in the EA, then APHIS will 

notify the public of our intent to 

conduct additional analysis and to 

prepare an amended EA, a new FONSI, 

and/or a revised PPRA, which would be 

made available for public review 

through the publication of a notice of 

availability in the Federal Register. 

APHIS will also notify the petitioner. 

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 19th day of 

July 2013. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–17933 Filed 7–24–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2012–0027] 

Monsanto Co.; Availability of Plant 

Pest Risk Assessment, Environmental 

Assessment, Preliminary Finding of No 

Significant Impact, and Preliminary 

Determination of Nonregulated Status 

of Maize Genetically Engineered With 

Tissue-Selective Glyphosate 

Resistance Facilitating the Production 

of Hybrid Maize Seed 

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 prepared a 

preliminary determination regarding a 

request from the Monsanto Company 

seeking a determination of nonregulated 

status of maize designated as MON 

87427, which has been genetically 

engineered with tissue-selective 

resistance to glyphosate in order to 

facilitate the production of hybrid maize 

seed. We are also making available for 

public review our plant pest risk 

assessment, environmental assessment, 

and preliminary finding of no 

significant impact for the preliminary 

determination of nonregulated status. 

DATES: We will consider any 

information that we receive on or before 

August 26, 2013. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit any 

information by either of the following 

methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!documentDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0027. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Send your information to Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0027, Regulatory Analysis 

and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 

3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1238. 

Supporting documents for this 

petition and any other information we 

receive on this docket may be viewed at 

http://www.regulations.gov/ 

#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2012-0027 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. 

Supporting documents for this 

petition are also available on the APHIS 

Web site at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ 

biotechnology/ 

petitions_table_pending.shtml under 

APHIS Petition Number 10–281–01p. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. 

Rebecca Stankiewicz Gabel, Chief, 

Biotechnology Environmental Analysis 

Branch, Environmental Risk Analysis 

Programs, Biotechnology Regulatory 

Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 

147, Riverdale, MD 20737–1236; (301) 

851–3927, email: rebecca.l.stankiewiczgabel@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. 

APHIS received a petition (APHIS 

Petition Number 10–281–01p) from the 

Monsanto Company (Monsanto) of St. 

Louis, MO, seeking a determination of 

nonregulated status of maize (Zea mays 

L.) designated as event MON 87427, 

which has been genetically engineered 

for tissue-selective resistance to 

glyphosate in order to facilitate the 

production of hybrid maize seed. The 

petition stated 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. 

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 July 13, 2012, 

(77 FR 41359–41361, Docket No. 

APHIS–2012–0027), APHIS announced 

the availability of the Monsanto petition 

for public comment. APHIS solicited 

comments on the petition for 60 days 

ending on September 11, 2012, 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 82 comments on the 

petition: Several of these comments 

included electronic attachments 

consisting of a consolidated document 

of many identical or nearly identical 

letters, for a total of 23,698 comments. 

Issues raised during the comment 

period include effects of herbicide use, 

such as the development of herbicideresistant weeds and effects on non-target 

organisms, gene flow, effects on organic 

corn production, and health concerns. 


ehiers on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 78, No. 143 / Thursday, July 25, 2013 / Notices 44927 

APHIS has evaluated the issues raised 

during the comment period and, where 

appropriate, has provided a discussion 

of these issues in our 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 EA, 

preliminary finding of no significant 

impact (FONSI), and its 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. 

For this petition, we are using 

Approach 1. 

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 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 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). 

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 PPRA and has 

concluded that maize event MON 87427 

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 prepared an EA in which 

we present two alternatives based on 

our analysis of data submitted by 

Monsanto, 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 maize event MON 

87427 and it would continue to be a 

regulated article, or (2) make a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

maize event MON 87427. 

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 and other 

pertinent scientific data, APHIS has 

reached a preliminary FONSI with 

regard to the preferred alternative 

identified in the EA. 

Based on APHIS’ analysis of field and 

laboratory data submitted by Monsanto, 

references provided in the petition, 

peer-reviewed publications, information 

analyzed in the EA, the PPRA, 

comments provided by the public on the 

petition, and discussion of issues in the 

EA, APHIS has determined that maize 

event MON 87427 is unlikely to pose a 

plant pest risk. We have therefore 

reached a preliminary decision to make 

a determination of nonregulated status 

of maize event MON 87427, whereby 

maize event MON 87427 would no 

longer be subject to our regulations 

governing the introduction of certain GE 

organisms. 

We are making available for a 30-day 

review period APHIS’ preliminary 

regulatory determination of maize event 

MON 87427, along with our PPRA, EA, 

and preliminary FONSI for the 

preliminary determination of 

nonregulated status. The EA, 

preliminary FONSI, PPRA, and our 

preliminary determination for maize 

event MON 87427, as well as the 

Monsanto petition and the comments 

received on the petition, are available as 

indicated under ADDRESSES and FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above. 

Copies of these documents may also be 

obtained from the person listed under 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. 

After the 30-day review period closes, 

APHIS will review and evaluate any 

information received during the 30-day 

review period. If, after evaluating the 

information received, APHIS determines 

that we have not received substantive 

new information that would warrant 

APHIS altering our preliminary 

regulatory determination or FONSI, 

substantially changing the proposed 

action identified in the EA, or 

substantially changing the analysis of 

impacts in the EA, APHIS will notify 

the public through an announcement on 

our Web site of our final regulatory 

determination. If, however, APHIS 

determines that we have received 

substantive new information that would 

warrant APHIS altering our preliminary 

regulatory determination or FONSI, 

substantially changing the proposed 

action identified in the EA, or 

substantially changing the analysis of 

impacts in the EA, then APHIS will 

notify the public of our intent to 

conduct additional analysis and to 

prepare an amended EA, a new FONSI, 

and/or a revised PPRA, which would be 

made available for public review 

through the publication of a notice of 

availability in the Federal Register. 

APHIS will also notify the petitioner. 

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 19th day of 

July 2013. 

Kevin Shea, 

Administrator, Animal and Plant Health 

Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2013–17935 Filed 7–24–13; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

ARCTIC RESEARCH COMMISSION 

101st Commission Meeting 

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. 

Arctic Research Commission will hold 

its 101st meeting in Unalaska, Alaska, 

on August 26–27, 2013. The business 

sessions, open to the public, will 

convene at 8:30 a.m. 

The Agenda items include: 

(1) Call to order and approval of the 

agenda 

(2) Approval of the minutes from the 

100th meeting 


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