Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 207 / Friday, October 27, 2017 / Notices 49783 

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

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 17–138–01p) from 

Bayer CropScience LP of Research 

Triangle Park, NC (Bayer), seeking a 

determination of nonregulated status of 

cotton (Gossypium spp.) designated as 

event GHB811, which has been 

genetically engineered for dual 

resistance to the herbicides glyphosate 

and isoxaflutole. The Bayer petition 

states that information collected during 

field trials and laboratory analyses 

indicates that GHB811 cotton is not 

likely to be a plant pest and therefore 

should not be a regulated article under 

APHIS’ regulations in 7 CFR part 340. 

As described in the petition, GHB811 

cotton was developed through 

agrobacterium-mediated transformation 

using the vector pTSIH09 containing 

hppdPfW336–1Pa and 2mepsps 

expression cassettes. The regulatory 

sequences used in this construct are 

derived from common plants or plant 

pathogens that are routinely used in 

plant biotechnology and have a history 

of safe use. GHB811 cotton is currently 

regulated under 7 CFR part 340. 

Interstate movements and field tests of 

GHB811 cotton 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 tests. 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 

comment, 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. 

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 23rd day of 

October 2017. 

Michael C. Gregoire, 

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant 

Health Inspection Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23401 Filed 10–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3410–34–P 

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

Rural Utilities Service 

Information Collection Activity; 

Comment Request 

AGENCY: Rural Utilities Service, USDA. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended), the 

Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites 

comments on the following information 

collection for which RUS intends to 

request approval from the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

DATES: Comments on this notice must be 

received by December 26, 2017. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Thomas P. Dickson, Acting Director, 

Program Development and Regulatory 

Analysis, Rural Utilities Service, 1400 

Independence Ave. SW., STOP 1522, 

Room 5164, South Building, 

Washington, DC 20250– 

1522.Telephone: (202) 690–4492. Fax: 

(202) 720–8435 or email 

Thomas.Dickson@wdc.usda.gov 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 

regulation (5 CFR part 1320) 

implementing provisions of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES
49784 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 207 / Friday, October 27, 2017 / Notices 

L. 104–13) requires that interested 

members of the public and affected 

agencies have an opportunity to 

comment on information collection and 

recordkeeping activities (see 5 CFR 

1320.8(d)). This notice identifies an 

information collection that RUS is 

submitting to OMB for revision. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the proposed collection of information 

is necessary for the proper performance 

of the functions of the Agency, 

including whether the information will 

have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of 

the Agency’s estimate of the burden of 

the collection of information including 

the validity of the methodology and 

assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of appropriate automated, electronic, 

mechanical or other technological 

collection techniques or other forms of 

information technology. Comments may 

be sent to: Thomas P. Dickson, Acting 

Director, Program Development and 

Regulatory Analysis, Rural Utilities 

Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 

STOP 1522, 1400 Independence Ave. 

SW., Washington, DC 20250–1522. 

Telephone: (202) 690–1078, Fax: (202) 

720–8435 or email: Thomas.Dickson@

wdc.usda.gov. 

Title: Water and Waste Loan and 

Grant Program. 

OMB Control Number: 0572–0121. 

Type of Request: Revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Abstract: USDA Rural Development, 

through the Rural Utilities Service, is 

authorized by Section 306 of the 

Consolidated Farm and Rural 

Development Act (7 U.S.C. 1926) to 

make loans to public agencies, nonprofit 

corporations, and Indian Tribes to fund 

water and waste disposal projects 

serving the most financially needy rural 

communities through the Water and 

Waste Disposal loan and grant program. 

Financial assistance should result in 

reasonable user costs for rural residents, 

rural businesses, and other rural users. 

The program is limited to rural areas 

and small towns with a population of 

10,000 or less. The Water and Waste 

Loan and Grant Program is administered 

through 7 CFR part 1780. The items 

covered by this collection include forms 

and related documentation to support a 

loan application. 

Estimate of Burden: Public reporting 

burden for this collection of information 

is estimated to average 2.5 hours per 

response. 

Respondents: Not-for-profit 

institutions; State, Local or Tribal 

Government. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

789. 

Estimated Number of Responses per 

Respondent: 1. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden on 

Respondents: 44,323 hours. 

Copies of this information collection 

can be obtained from MaryPat Daskal, 

Program Development and Regulatory 

Analysis, at (202) 720–7853, Fax: (202) 

720–8435 or email: MaryPat.Daskal@

wdc.usda.gov. All responses to this 

notice will be summarized and included 

in the request for OMB approval. All 

comments will also become a matter of 

public record. 

Dated: October 18, 2017. 

Christopher A. McLean, 

Acting Administrator, Rural Utilities Service. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23359 Filed 10–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Submission for OMB Review; 

Comment Request; Complaint of 

Employment Discrimination Based on 

Sexual Orientation Against the 

Department of Commerce 

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: Office of the Secretary, Office 

of Civil Rights, Commerce. 

Title: Complaint of Employment 

Discrimination Based on Sexual 

Orientation against the Department of 

Commerce. 

OMB Control Number: 0690–0024. 

Form Number(s): CD–545. 

Type of Request: Regular submission 

(extension of a currently approved 

information collection). 

Burden Hours: 10. 

Number of Respondents: 20. 

Average Hours per Response: 30 

minutes. 

Needs and Use: Pursuant to Executive 

Order 11478 and Department of 

Commerce Administrative Order (DAO) 

215–11, an employee or applicant for 

employment with the Department of 

Commerce who alleges that he or she 

has been subjected to discriminatory 

treatment based on sexual orientation by 

the Department of Commerce or one of 

its sub-agencies, must submit a signed 

statement that is sufficiently precise to 

identify the actions or practices that 

form the basis of the complaint. 

Through use of this standardized form, 

the Office of Civil Rights proposes to 

collect the information required by the 

Executive Order and DAO in a uniform 

manner that will increase the efficiency 

of complaint processing and trend 

analyses of complaint activity. 

The DOC received no comments in 

response to the 60-day notice published 

in the Federal Register on April 14, 

2017 (82 FR 17968). 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

households. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Respondent’s Obligation: Voluntary. 

This information collection request 

may be viewed at www.reginfo.gov. 

Follow the instructions to view 

Department of Commerce collections 

currently under review by OMB. 

Written comments and 

recommendations for the proposed 

information collection should be sent 

within 30 days of publication of this 

notice to OIRA Submission@

omb.emp.gov or faxed to (202) 395– 

5806. 

Sheleen Dumas, 

Departmental PRA Lead, Office of the Chief 

Information Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2017–23442 Filed 10–26–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3510–BP–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

Office of the Secretary 

Office of Civil Rights; Submission for 

OMB Review; Comment Request; 

Complaint of Employment 

Discrimination Against the Department 

of Commerce 

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: Office of the Secretary, Office 

of Civil Rights, Commerce. 

Title: Complaint of Employment 

Discrimination against the Department 

of Commerce. 

OMB Control Number: 0690–0015. 

Form Number(s): CD–498, 498–A. 

Type of Request: Regular (extension of 

a currently approved information 

collection). 

Number of Respondents: 700. 

Average Hours per Response: 350. 

Burden Hours: 30 minutes. 

Estimated Total Annual Cost to 

Public: $0. 

Needs and Uses: This request is for an 

extension of a currently approved 


asabaliauskas on DSKBBXCHB2PROD with NOTICES