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
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 135 / Friday, July 13, 2012 / Notices 41355 

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

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

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_

20201p.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 

must take and the information that must 

be included in the petition. 

APHIS has received a petition (APHIS 

Petition Number 11–202–01p) from the 

Monsanto Company (Monsanto) of St. 

Louis, MO, seeking a determination of 

nonregulated status of soybean (Glycine 

max) designated as event MON 87712, 

which has been genetically engineered 

for increased yield, stating that this 

soybean 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, soybean 

event MON 87712 has been genetically 

engineered to increase yield through the 

insertion of the BBX32 gene from the 

plant Arabidopsis thaliana. This gene 

produces a protein that interacts with 

transcription factors to regulate the 

plant’s day/night processes, and 

increases availability of assimilates 

(products of plant metabolism from 

processes such as carbon and nitrogen 

fixation). Soybean event MON 87712 is 

currently regulated under 7 CFR part 

340. Interstate movements and field 

tests of soybean event MON 87712 have 

been conducted under permits issued or 

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. 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 soybean 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 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 9th day of 

July 2012. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2012–17164 Filed 7–12–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES