Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 12, 2010 / Notices 26709 

1To view the notice, the environmental 

assessment, and the comments we received, go to 

(http://www.regulations.gov/search/Regs/ 

home.html#docketDetail?R=APHIS-2008-0059) 

biotech_ea_permits.html) and are posted 

with the previous notice and the 

comments we received on the 

Regulations.gov Web site at (http:// 

www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/ 

component/main?main=DocketDetail 

&d=APHIS-2008-0059). 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

obtain copies of the EA, FONSI, and 

response to comments, contact Ms. 

Cynthia Eck at (301) 734-0667; e-mail: 

cynthia.a.eck@aphis.usda.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 organisms and 

products are considered ‘‘regulated 

articles.’’ A permit must be obtained or 

a notification acknowledged before a 

regulated article may be introduced. The 

regulations set forth the permit 

application requirements and the 

notification procedures for the 

importation, interstate movement, or 

release in the environment of a 

regulated article. 

On January 11, 2008, the Animal and 

Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) 

received a permit application (APHIS 

No. 08-011-106rm) from ArborGen, LLC, 

in Summerville, SC, for a controlled 

field release of genetically engineered 

Eucalyptus hybrids in 19 locations. On 

January 14, 2008, APHIS received a 

second permit application (APHIS No. 

08-014-101rm) from ArborGen for 

another controlled release of genetically 

engineered Eucalyptus hybrids in 10 

additional locations. Under these 

permits, trees allowed to be planted on 

28 sites under previously approved 

permits (APHIS Nos. 06-325-111r, 08- 

039-102rm, and 08-151-101r) would be 

allowed to flower on 27 of the 28 sites. 

The original request was to plant 29 

sites and allow 28 to flower, however, 

one location was removed from permit 

application 08-014-101rm, which 

reduced the number to 28 sites, with 27 

allowed to flower. If granted, the 

permits would be issued for 3 years. To 

continue the field tests beyond this 3- 

year period, the applicant will be 

required to submit a renewal for an 

additional 3 years. 

Permit applications 08-11-106rm and 

08-014-101rm describe Eucalyptus trees 

derived from a hybrid of Eucalyptus 

grandis X Eucalyptus urophylla. The 

purpose of this release is to continue 

research on the efficacy of genetic 

constructs intended to confer cold 

tolerance, alter lignin biosynthesis and 

alter fertility. In addition, the trees have 

been engineered with the kanamycin 

resistance selectable marker gene (nptII). 

These DNA sequences were introduced 

into Eucalyptus trees using disarmed 

Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The subject 

Eucalyptus trees are considered 

regulated articles under the regulations 

in 7 CFR part 340 because they were 

created using donor sequences from 

plant pests. 

In a notice1 published in the Federal 

Register on June 3, 2009 (74 FR 26648- 

26649, Docket No. APHIS-2008-0059), 

APHIS announced the availability of an 

environmental assessment (EA) for 

public review and comment for a 

proposed controlled field release of a 

genetically engineered clone of a 

Eucalyptus hybrid. Comments on the 

EA were required to be received on or 

before July 6, 2009. Commenters noted 

that one of the documents cited in the 

EA, a U.S. Forest Service assessment of 

hydrological impacts from Eucalyptus, 

was not available for review. 

Subsequently, APHIS published a notice 

in the Federal Register on January 19, 

2010 (75 FR 2845, Docket No. APHIS2008-0059) announcing the availability 

of an amended EA, which included the 

U.S. Forest Service document, and 

reopened the comment period for the 

environmental assessment an additional 

30 days. APHIS also accepted comments 

received in the interim between the two 

Federal Register notices. There were 45 

respondents that supported issuance of 

the permit; and 12,462 respondents who 

were opposed. Further information 

regarding the nature of the comments 

received, as well as APHIS’ response to 

those comments are contained in the 

response to comments document (see 

ADDRESSES above). 

Pursuant to the regulations 

promulgated under the Plant Protection 

Act, APHIS has determined that this 

field release is unlikely to pose a risk of 

introducing or disseminating a plant 

pest. Additionally, based upon analysis 

described in the EA, APHIS has 

determined that the action proposed in 

Alternative B of the EA – issue the 

permit with supplemental permit 

conditions – is unlikely to have a 

significant impact on the quality of the 

human environment. The EA, finding of 

no significant impact (FONSI), and 

response to comments documents are 

available as indicated in the ADDRESSES

sections of this notice. Copies may also 

be obtained from the person listed 

under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT section of this notice. 

To provide the public with 

documentation of APHIS’ review and 

analysis of any potential environmental 

impacts and plant pest risks associated 

with the proposed release of these 

Eucalyptus trees, an EA and FONSI 

have been prepared. The EA and FONSI 

were prepared in accordance with (1) 

The National Environmental Policy Act 

of 1969 (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). 

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 10th day 

of May 2010. 

Kevin Shea 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11437 Filed 5–11–10; 9:22 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–S 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Natural Resources Conservation 

Service 

Clarke County Water Supply Project, 

Clarke County, IA 

AGENCY: Natural Resources 

Conservation Service. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare a 

revised Environmental Impact 

Statement. 

SUMMARY: Pursuant to section 102(2)(C) 

of the National Environmental Policy 

Act of 1969; the Council on 

Environmental Quality Guidelines (40 

CFR part 1500); and the Natural 

Resources Conservation Service 

Guidelines (7 CFR part 650); the Natural 

Resources Conservation Service, U.S. 

Department of Agriculture gives notice 

that a revised environmental impact 

statement is being prepared for the 

Clarke County Water Supply Project, 

Clarke County, Iowa. 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES

26710 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 91 / Wednesday, May 12, 2010 / Notices 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard Sims, State Conservationist, or 

Marty Adkins, Assistant State 

Conservationist for Planning, 210 

Walnut Street, Room 693, Des Moines, 

IA 50309–2180, telephone: 515–284– 

4769. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A Notice 

of Intent (NOI) to prepare the first 

Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) 

was published in the Federal Register 

on April 19, 2006. A combined draft 

Watershed Plan and Environmental 

Impact Statement (EIS) was completed 

in February 2009 and reviewed with 

local citizens on February 26, 2009, at 

the Clarke County Fairgrounds. The 

draft Plan and EIS was posted in the 

Federal Register on March 6, 2009, for 

public and interagency review. 

Comments were received until April 20, 

2009. 

During the consideration of public 

and interagency comments by NRCS 

information related to water supply 

demand requirements for permitting by 

the State was discovered. This 

information effectively lowered the 

water supply project target from 3.2 mgd 

to 2.2 mgd. This lowered target made 

the consideration of site 3.5 (in addition 

to site 4B) possible and required to meet 

Federal water resource planning 

requirements. An additional potential 

site (Site 5) was also identified for 

evaluation. 

As a result of these findings, Richard 

Sims, NRCS State Conservationist, has 

determined that the preparation and 

review of a revised combined watershed 

plan and environmental impact 

statement (EIS) is needed for this 

project. The Army Corp of Engineers, 

United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 

Environmental Protection Agency and 

Iowa Department of Natural Resources 

have been formally requested to be 

cooperating agencies. Formal responses 

to these requests are pending. 

This project involves the development 

of a plan for agricultural water 

management (rural water supply), 

public recreation, public fish and 

wildlife, and watershed protection near 

Osceola in southern Iowa. The Clarke 

County Water Supply project area is 

18,360 acres. It is located northwest of 

Osceola from the headwaters of the 

Squaw Creek Watershed to the 

confluence of the South Squaw Creek 

Watershed. 

An open house informational meeting 

was held in Osceola on December 1, 

2004, to initiate the planning process 

and obtain public input. State and 

federal agencies, private organizations, 

and local individuals were invited to a 

scoping meeting on March 15, 2006. The 

public input received from these 

meetings and at meetings of the Clarke 

County Reservoir Commission was 

considered as the first draft 

Environmental Impact Statement was 

developed. The same scoping meeting 

information will be used for the revised 

combined watershed plan and 

environmental impact statement (EIS). 

The periodic meetings of the 

Commission as well as individual 

member sponsor meetings are open to 

the public and have provided 

opportunity for citizen input. 

The revised draft EIS will evaluate 

three potential multiple-purpose 

structures that provide for rural water 

supply and water based recreational 

opportunities. Additionally, sediment 

basins that reduce agricultural 

pollutants to the lake will be evaluated. 

The Clarke County Water Supply 

Watershed Project Revised Draft EIS 

will be developed and published in the 

Federal Register with a target date of 

June 1, 2010. A 45-day comment period 

will be available for the public to 

provide comments. A 30-day comment 

period will be available following 

publication of the final EIS. A meeting 

will be held in the Osceola area near the 

date of the revised draft EIS publication 

to inform the public about the revised 

draft watershed plan-EIS and to obtain 

comments. A notice will be published 

in the Federal Register with a specific 

date, time, and location of this meeting. 

The revised draft watershed plan-EIS 

will be prepared and circulated for 

review by agencies and the public and 

a notice of the availability of the Draft 

EIS published in the Federal Register. 

The Natural Resources Conservation 

Service invites participation and 

consultation of public agencies, any 

affected Indian tribe, and individuals 

who have special expertise, legal 

jurisdiction, or interest in providing 

data for consideration in preparing the 

revised draft EIS. Comments and other 

input received will be considered in 

plan development. Further information 

on the proposed action may be obtained 

from Marty Adkins, Assistant State 

Conservationist for Planning, at the 

above address or telephone number. 

This Federal Register Notice will also 

be available at the Iowa NRCS Web site 

at http://www.ia.nrcs.usda.gov. A map 

of the Clarke County Water Supply 

proposed study sites will also be posted. 

Dated: May 4, 2010. 

Richard Sims, 

State Conservationist. 

[FR Doc. 2010–11227 Filed 5–11–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–16–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Farm Service Agency 

Dairy Industry Advisory Committee; 

Public Meeting 

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of public meeting. 

SUMMARY: As required by the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act, as amended, 

the Farm Service Agency (FSA) 

announces the second public meeting of 

the Dairy Industry Advisory Committee 

(Dairy Committee) for two days to 

discuss farm milk price volatility and 

dairy farmer profitability, review 

current dairy programs of the U.S. 

Department of Agriculture (USDA) and 

Federal dairy policy, hear proposals 

from the dairy industry, and hear public 

comments. The Dairy Committee is 

responsible for making 

recommendations to the Secretary on 

these issues. Instructions regarding 

registering for and attending the 

meetings are in the SUPPLEMENTARY

INFORMATION section of this notice. 

DATES: Public meeting: The public 

meeting will be on June 3 and 4, 2010. 

The first meeting, on June 3, 2010, will 

begin at 8:30 a.m. and end by 4:30 p.m. 

The second meeting, on June 4, 2010, 

will begin at 8:30 a.m. and end by 4:30 

p.m. 

Registration: You must register by 

June 1, 2010, to attend the public 

meeting and to provide oral comments 

to the Dairy Committee during the 

public meetings. 

Comments: Written comments are due 

by June 4, 2010. 

ADDRESSES: We invite you to participate 

in the meeting. The meeting is open to 

the public. The meeting will be held in 

room 104–A of the Jamie L. Whitten 

Building at 12th Street, SW., and 

Jefferson Drive, Washington, DC 20250. 

We also invite you to submit 

comments. You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods: 

• Online: Go to http:// 

www.fsa.usda.gov/DIAC. Follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments, or 

• Orally at the meeting; please also 

provide a written copy of your 

comments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Solomon Whitfield, Designated Federal 

Official; phone: (202) 720–9886; e-mail: 

solomon.whitfield@wdc.usda.gov. 

Persons with disabilities who require 

alternative means for communication 

(Braille, large print, audio tape, etc.) 

should contact the USDA Target Center 

at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). 

WReier-Aviles on DSKGBLS3C1PROD with NOTICES