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

26648 

Vol. 74, No. 105 

Wednesday, June 3, 2009 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Animal and Plant Health Inspection 

Service 

[Docket No. APHIS–2008–0059] 

ArborGen, LLC; Availability of an 

Environmental Assessment for 

Controlled Release of a Genetically 

Engineered Eucalyptus Hybrid 

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 an 

environmental assessment for a 

proposed controlled field release of a 

genetically engineered clone of a 

Eucalyptus hybrid. The purpose of this 

release is to continue research on the 

effectiveness of gene constructs which 

are intended to confer cold tolerance; to 

test the efficacy of a gene introduced to 

alter lignin biosynthesis; and to test the 

efficacy of a gene designed to alter 

fertility. We are making the 

environmental assessment available to 

the public for review and comment. 

DATES: We will consider all comments 

that we receive on or before July 6, 

2009. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by either of the following methods: 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to 

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

component/ 

main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS– 

2008–0059 to submit or view comments 

and to view supporting and related 

materials available electronically. 

• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: 

Please send two copies of your comment 

to Docket No. APHIS–2008–0059, 

Regulatory Analysis and Development, 

PPD, APHIS, Station 3A–03.8, 4700 

River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 

20737–1238. Please state that your 

comment refers to Docket No. APHIS– 

2008–0059. 

Reading Room: You may read any 

comments that we receive on this 

docket in our reading room. The reading 

room 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) 690–2817 before 

coming. 

Other Information: Additional 

information about APHIS and its 

programs is available on the Internet at 

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Biotechnology Regulatory Services, 

APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147, 

Riverdale, MD 20737–1236; (301) 734– 

7324. To obtain copies of the 

environmental assessment, 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 for a total of 29 

sites, trees planted under previously 

approved permits (APHIS Nos. 06–325– 

111r, 08–039–102rm, and 08–151–101r) 

would be allowed to flower. 

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 the field tests 

is to assess the effectiveness of gene 

constructs which are intended to confer 

cold tolerance; to test the efficacy of a 

gene introduced to alter lignin 

biosynthesis; and to test the efficacy of 

a gene designed to 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. 

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 under permit 

of these transgenic Eucalyptus trees, 

APHIS has prepared an environmental 

assessment (EA). The EA was 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). 

The EA may be viewed on the 

Regulations.gov Web site or in our 

reading room. (Instructions for accessing 

Regulations.gov and information on the 

location and hours of the reading room 

are provided under the heading 

ADDRESSES at the beginning of this 

notice.) In addition, copies may be 

obtained by calling or writing to the 

individual listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 


PWALKER on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 105 / Wednesday, June 3, 2009 / Notices 26649 

Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of 

May 2009. 

Kevin Shea, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. E9–12928 Filed 6–2–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Forest Service 

Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln 

County, MT; Flower Creek Project 

AGENCY: Forest Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice of intent to prepare an 

environmental impact statement. 

SUMMARY: The Forest Service will 

prepare an Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) to disclose the 

environmental effects of fuel and 

vegetation management through 

commercial timber harvest, 

precommercial thinning and fuel 

grinding; road storage; temporary road 

construction; and trail construction. The 

project is located in the Flower Creek 

Watershed on the Libby Ranger District, 

Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln 

County, Montana, and south of Libby, 

Montana. 

DATES: Comments concerning the scope 

of the analysis must be received by 45 

days from the date of publication in the 

Federal Register. The draft 

environmental impact statement is 

expected December 2009 and the final 

environmental impact statement is 

expected March 2010. 

ADDRESSES: Send written comments to 

Malcolm R. Edwards, District Ranger, 

Libby Ranger District, 12557 Hwy 37, 

Libby, MT 59923. Comments may also 

be sent via e-mail to commentsnorthern-kootenai-libby@fs.fed.us. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such a way that they are useful to the 

Agency’s preparation of the EIS. 

Therefore, comments should be 

provided prior to the close of the 

comment period and should clearly 

articulate the reviewer’s concerns and 

contentions. The submission of timely 

and specific comments can affect a 

reviewer’s ability to participate in 

subsequent administrative review or 

judicial review. 

Comments received in response to 

this solicitation, including names and 

addresses of those who comment, will 

be part of the public record for this 

proposed action. Comments submitted 

anonymously will be accepted and 

considered; however, anonymous 

comments will not provide the 

respondent with standing to participate 

in subsequent administrative review or 

judicial review. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Denise Beck, Team Leader, Libby 

Ranger District, 12557 Hwy 37, Libby, 

MT 59923; phone: (406) 293–7773. 

Individuals who use 

telecommunication devices for the deaf 

(TDD) may call the Federal Information 

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339 

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern 

Time, Monday through Friday. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

project area is approximately 3 air miles 

south of Libby, Montana, within all or 

portions of T30N, R31W, Sections 3, 4, 

5, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29 and 

30; T30N, R32W, Sections 3, 14, 15, 20, 

21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32, 

33, 34, 35 and 36 PMM, Lincoln County, 

Montana. The area contains the Flower 

Creek Watershed. 

Purpose and Need for Action 

The purpose and need for this project 

is to: (1) Trend vegetation in the Flower 

Creek Watershed towards conditions 

that are resilient to fire thereby reducing 

the risk of stand replacing wildfire and 

associated post-fire effects to the 

municipal watershed. 

Proposed Action 

To meet this purpose and need this 

project proposes: 

(1) Vegetation treatments, including 

commercial timber harvest and 

associated fuel reduction, fuel reduction 

in stands that are not economically 

viable for commercial harvest, precommercial thinning, yarding tops to 

the landing in commercial harvest units, 

grinding landing piles and spot fuel 

grinding or mastication with and 

without associated timber harvest. 

Vegetation treatments total 990 acres of 

treated area. 

(2) Access management includes road 

storage and construction of temporary 

road. Approximately 1.81 miles of road 

storage is proposed. Approximately 1 

mile of temporary road construction to 

access treatment units is proposed. 

(3) Construction of a non-system trail 

tread to form a walking loop in the 

project area for a total of 0.23 miles. 

Possible Alternatives 

The Forest Service will consider a 

range of alternatives. One of these will 

be the ‘‘no action’’ alternative in which 

none of the proposed activities will be 

implemented. Additional alternatives 

will examine varying levels and 

locations for the proposed activities to 

achieve the proposal’s purposes, as well 

as to respond to the issues and other 

resource values. 

Responsible Official 

Forest Supervisor of the Kootenai 

National Forest, 31374 U.S. Highway 2 

West, Libby, MT 59923. As the 

Responsible Official, I will decide if the 

proposed project will be implemented. 

I will document the decision and 

reasons for the decision in the Record of 

Decision. I have delegated the 

responsibility for preparing the DEIS 

and FEIS to Malcolm R. Edwards, 

District Ranger, Libby Ranger District. 

Scoping Process 

This notice of intent initiates the 

scoping process, which guides the 

development of the environmental 

impact statement. A public meeting will 

be held June 16 in Libby, Montana 

followed by a public field trip on June 

18. 

It is important that reviewers provide 

their comments at such times and in 

such manner that they are useful to the 

agency’s preparation of the 

environmental impact statement. 

Therefore, comments should be 

provided prior to the close of the 

comment period and should clearly 

articulate the reviewer’s concerns and 

contentions. The submission of timely 

and specific comments can affect a 

reviewer’s ability to participate in 

subsequent administrative appeal or 

judicial review. 

Dated: May 21, 2009. 

Paul Bradford, 

Forest Supervisor, Kootenai National Forest. 

[FR Doc. E9–12724 Filed 6–2–09; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–11–M 

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: Gulf of Mexico Electronic 

Logbook. 

Form Number(s): None. 

OMB Approval Number: 0648–0543. 

Type of Request: Regular submission. 

Burden Hours: 300. 

Number of Respondents: 500. 

Average Hours per Response: 30 

minutes for the initial installation and 1 

minute × 6 for the removal/ 

reinstallation of the electronic logbook 

(ELB). 


PWALKER on PROD1PC71 with NOTICES