68322 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 214 / Friday, November 5, 2010 / Notices 

1The notice, as well as comments received and 

supporting and related materials, can be viewed at 

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS–2007–0044. 

events J101 and J163, which have been 

genetically engineered for tolerance to 

the herbicide glyphosate. The petition 

stated that this article should not be 

regulated by APHIS because it is 

unlikely to pose a plant pest risk. APHIS 

also announced in that notice the 

availability of a draft environmental 

assessment (EA) examining the potential 

environmental impacts of the proposed 

action in accordance with National 

Environmental Policy Act requirements 

for the proposed determination of 

nonregulated status. Following review 

of public comments and completion of 

the EA, we published another notice in 

the Federal Register on June 27, 2005 

(70 FR 36917–36919, Docket No. 04– 

085–3), advising the public of our 

determination, effective June 14, 2005, 

that the Monsanto/FGI alfalfa events 

J101 and J163 were no longer 

considered regulated articles under 

APHIS regulations in 7 CFR part 340. 

On February 13, 2007, the U.S. 

District Court for the Northern District 

of California issued a ruling in a lawsuit 

filed by the Center for Food Safety— 

along with several other nonprofit 

organizations and alfalfa growers— 

challenging our decision to deregulate 

alfalfa events J101 and J163 (referred to 

in the lawsuit as Roundup Ready® 

alfalfa, or ‘‘RRA’’), pursuant to the Plant 

Protection Act (PPA), as amended, and 

in compliance with the Administrative 

Procedure Act and the National 

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 

1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

seq.). Under the provisions of NEPA, 

agencies must examine the potential 

environmental impacts of proposed 

major Federal actions, and the District 

Court ruled that APHIS’ EA failed to 

consider certain environmental and 

interrelated economic impacts. As a 

result, the Court ruled that APHIS is 

required to prepare an environmental 

impact statement (EIS). 

On March 12, 2007, the Court vacated 

the deregulation determination, 

returning RRA to regulated status under 

7 CFR part 340, and issued an 

injunction which enjoined the Agency 

from taking any further action related to 

RRA until an EIS was completed by 

APHIS. Accordingly, APHIS published a 

notice 1 of intent to prepare an EIS in the 

Federal Register on January 7, 2008 (73 

FR 1198–1200, Docket No. APHIS– 

2007–0044) soliciting comments on the 

scope and nature of issues the Agency 

should consider in preparing the EIS. 

After reviewing the comments, we 

published (see footnote 1) a notice of 

availability of a draft EIS in the Federal 

Register on January 12, 2010 (75 FR 

1585–1586, Docket No. APHIS–2007– 

0044) soliciting comments on the draft 

EIS. 

Subsequently, on June 21, 2010, the 

U.S. Supreme Court reversed the 

decision of the lower court which had 

mandated an injunction of any further 

planting of RRA or any other regulatory 

action by APHIS related to RRA until 

completion of an EIS. The U.S. Supreme 

Court remanded the case back to the 9th 

Circuit Court of Appeals which further 

remanded the case back to the U.S. 

District Court for the Northern District 

of California. 

Following the U.S. Supreme Court 

decision, FGI submitted a supplemental 

request for ‘‘partial deregulation’’ or 

similar administrative action for RRA, 

along with an accompanying 

‘‘Environmental Report,’’ to allow the 

future planting, harvesting, and 

interstate movement of RRA crops 

under conditions designed to ensure 

any risks posed by the introduction of 

RRA into the environment are 

thoroughly mitigated. 

APHIS is evaluating this 

supplemental request and will be 

making a decision on it in the future. 

Meanwhile, the Agency is working to 

complete and publish the final EIS and 

record of decision for RRA. APHIS is 

notifying the public that its receipt of 

this supplemental request for ‘‘partial 

deregulation’’ and this notice to the 

public regarding it in no way indicates 

that the Agency agrees with the 

petitioners’ description, application, or 

implementation of a ‘‘partial 

deregulation.’’ Such matters and related 

issues are solely determined by APHIS 

pursuant to its PPA statutory authority 

and its biotechnology regulations in 7 

CFR part 340. 

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, November 1, 

2010. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27985 Filed 11–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request 

The Department of Commerce will 

submit to the Office of Management and 

Budget (OMB) for clearance the 

following proposal for collection of 

information under the provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 

Chapter 35). 

Agency: National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). 

Title: Alaska Crab Reports. 

OMB Control Number: 0648–0570. 

Form Number(s): NA. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

(renewal of an existing information 

collection). 

Number of Respondents: 16. 

Average Hours Per Response: Eligible 

crab community organization annual 

report, 40 hours; registered crab receiver 

ex-vessel volume and value report, 2 

hours. 

Burden Hours: 100. 

Needs and Uses: Fishery Management 

Plans (FMP) are developed under the 

authority of the Magnuson-Stevens 

Fishery Conservation and Management 

Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.) The FMP for 

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) 

Crab includes the Crab Rationalization 

(CR) Program, a limited access system 

that allocates BSAI Management Area 

Crab resources among harvesters, 

processors, and coastal communities. 

The intent of the CR Program Crab 

Reports is to monitor crab landings in 

the BSAI crab fisheries submitted to the 

National Marine Fisheries Service. 

Affected Public: Business or other forprofit organizations. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Required to 

obtain or retain benefits. 

OMB Desk Officer: 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Copies of the above information 

collection proposal can be obtained by 

calling or writing Diana Hynek, 

Departmental Paperwork Clearance 

Officer, (202) 482–0266, Department of 

Commerce, Room 6616, 14th and 

Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, 

DC 20230 (or via the Internet at 

dHynek@doc.gov). 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to 

OIRA_Submission@omb.eop.gov. 

Dated: November 2, 2010. 

Gwellnar Banks, 

Management Analyst, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2010–27984 Filed 11–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–22–P 

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