13038 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Notices

obtained through Certain Techniques of

Genetic Modification/Genetic

Engineering will be described,

discussed, and attendees will have the

opportunity to pose questions and offer

comments. At the April 11th public

meeting, the agenda items pertaining to

Labelling of Foods obtained through

Certain Techniques of Genetic

Modification/Genetic Engineering will

be described, discussed, and attendees

will have the opportunity to pose

questions and offer comments. Written

comments should state that they relate

to activities of the 29th CCFL.

Additional Public Notification

Public awareness of all segments of

rulemaking and policy development is

important. Consequently, in an effort to

better ensure that minorities, women,

and persons with disabilities are aware

of this notice, FSIS will announce it and

provide copies of this Federal Register

publication in the FSIS Constituent

Update. FSIS provides a weekly FSIS

Constituent Update, which is

communicated via fax to over 300

organizations and individuals. In

addition, the update is available on-line

through the FSIS web page located at

http://www.fsis.usda.gov. The update is

used to provide information regarding

FSIS policies, procedures, regulations,

Federal Register notices, FSIS public

meetings, recalls, and any other types of

information that could affect or would

be of interest to our constituents/

stakeholders. The constituent fax list

consists of industry, trade, and farm

groups, consumer interest groups, allied

health professionals, scientific

professionals, and other individuals that

have requested to be included. Through

these various channels, FSIS is able to

provide information to a much broader,

more diverse audience. For more

information and to be added to the

constituent fax list, fax your request to

the Congressional and Public Affairs

Office, at (202) 720–5704.

Done at Washington, DC on February 6,

2001.

F. Edward Scarbrough,

U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.

[FR Doc. 01–5036 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Food Safety and Inspection Service

[Docket No. 01–004N]

Codex Alimentarius Commission: 2nd

Session, Ad Hoc Intergovernmental

Task Force on Foods Derived From

Biotechnology

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary

for Food Safety, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting and

request for comments.

SUMMARY: The Office of the Under

Secretary for Food Safety, U.S.

Department of Agriculture (USDA), and

the Food and Drug Administration

(FDA), U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring

two public meetings, on Tuesday,

February 13, and on Wednesday, March

7, 2001. The purpose of these meetings

is to provide information and receive

public comments on draft United States’

positions and agenda items that will be

discussed at the 2nd Session of the Ad

Hoc Intergovernmental Task Force on

Foods Derived From Biotechnology,

which will be held in Chiba, Japan,

March 25–29, 2001. The Under

Secretary and FDA recognize the

importance of providing interested

parties the opportunity to obtain

background information on the 2nd

Session, Ad Hoc Intergovernmental

Task Force on Foods Derived From

Biotechnology, and address items on the

agenda.

DATES: The public meetings are

scheduled for Tuesday, February 13,

2001, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and on

Wednesday, March 7, 2001, 1 p.m. to 4

p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held in Conference Room 1409, Federal

Office Building 8, Food and Drug

Administration, 200 C Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20204. Reference

documents will be available for review

in the FSIS Docket Room, U.S.

Department of Agriculture, Food Safety

and Inspection Service, Room 102

Cotton Annex, 300 12th Street, SW.,

Washington, DC 20250–3700. The

documents will also be accessible via

the World Wide Web at the following

address: http://www.fao.org/waicent/

faoinfo/ECONOMIC/esn/codex/ccfbt2/

bt01_01e.htm. Submit one original and

two copies of written comments to the

FSIS Docket Room at the address above

and reference docket number 01–004N.

All comments submitted in response to

this notice will be available for public

inspection in the FSIS Docket Room

between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.,

Monday through Friday.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Patrick J. Clerkin, Associate U.S.

Manager for Codex, U.S. Codex Office,

Food Safety and Inspection Service,

Room 4861, South Building, 1400

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20250. Telephone (202)

205–7760, Fax (202) 720–3157. Persons

requiring a sign language interpreter or

other special accommodations should

notify Mr. Clerkin at the above number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The Codex Alimentarius Commission

(Codex) was established in 1962 by two

United Nations Organizations, the Food

and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and

the World Health Organization (WHO).

Codex is the major international

organization for encouraging fair

international trade in food and

protecting the health and economic

interests of consumers. Through

adoption of food standards, codes of

practice, and other guidelines

developed by its committees, and by

promoting their adoption and

implementation by governments, Codex

seeks to ensure that the world’s food

supply is sound, wholesome, free from

adulteration, and correctly labeled.

Codex, at its 23rd Session, established

the Ad Hoc Intergovernmental Task

Force on Foods Derived From

Biotechnology to develop standards,

guidelines, or recommendations, as

appropriate, for foods derived from

biotechnology or traits introduced into

foods by biotechnology, on the basis of

scientific evidence, risk analysis and

having regard, where appropriate, to

other legitimate factors relevant to the

health of consumers and the promotion

of fair trade practices. The Task Force is

chaired by the government of Japan.

Issues To Be Discussed at the Public

Meetings

The provisional agenda items and the

relevant documents to be discussed

during the public meetings:

1. Adoption of the Agenda, Document

CX/FBT 01/1

2. Matters Referred to the Task Force by

Other Codex Committees, Document

CX/FBT 01/2

3. Matters of Interest from Other

International Organizations with

respect to the Evaluation of the Safety

and Nutrition Aspects of Foods

Derived from Biotechnology,

Document CX/FBT 01/3

4. Consideration of Proposed Draft

General Principles for the Risk

Analysis of Foods Derived from

Modern Biotechnology at Step 4,

Document CX/FBT 01/4, and

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 42 / Friday, March 2, 2001 / Notices 13039

Comments submitted at Step 3,

Document CX/FBT 01/4 Add.1

5. Consideration of Proposed Draft

Guideline for the Conduct of Safety

Assessment of Foods Derived from

Recombinant-DNA Plants at Step 4,

Document CX/FBT 01/5, and

Comments submitted at Step 3,

Document CX/FBT 01/5 Add.1

6. Discussion Paper on Traceability,

Document CX/FBT 01/6

7. Information Paper on Familiarity,

Document CX/FBT 01/7

8. Consideration of Analytical Methods,

Document CX/FBT 01/8

9. Other Business, Future Work and

Date and Place of Next Session

In advance of these meetings, the U.S.

Delegate to the Task Force will have

assigned responsibility for development

of U.S. positions on these issues to

members of government. The

individuals assigned responsibility will

be named at these meetings and will

take comment on and develop draft U.S

positions. All interested parties are

invited to provide information and

comments on the above issues, or on

any other issues that may be brought

before the Task Force.

Public Meetings

At the February 13th public meeting,

the issues will be described, discussed,

and attendees will have the opportunity

to pose questions and offer comments.

At the March 7th public meeting, draft

United States’ positions on the issues

will be described, discussed, and

attendees will have the opportunity to

pose questions and offer comments.

Please state that your comments relate

to Task Force activities and specify

which issues your comments address.

Additional Public Notification

Public awareness of all segments of

rulemaking and policy development is

important. Consequently, in an effort to

better ensure that minorities, women,

and persons with disabilities are aware

of this notice, FSIS will announce it and

provide copies of this Federal Register

publication in the FSIS Constituent

Update. FSIS provides a weekly FSIS

Constituent Update, which is

communicated via fax to over 300

organizations and individuals. In

addition, the update is available on-line

through the FSIS web page located at

http://www.fsis.usda.gov. The update is

used to provide information regarding

FSIS policies, procedures, regulations,

Federal Register notices, FSIS public

meetings, recalls, and any other types of

information that could affect or would

be of interest to our constituents/

stakeholders. The constituent fax list

consists of industry, trade, and farm

groups, consumer interest groups, allied

health professionals, scientific

professionals, and other individuals that

have requested to be included. Through

these various channels, FSIS is able to

provide information to a much broader,

more diverse audience. For more

information and to be added to the

constituent fax list, fax your request to

the Congressional and Public Affairs

Office, at (202) 720–5704.

Done at Washington, DC on February 6,

2001.

F. Edward Scarbrough,

U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius.

[FR Doc. 01–5037 Filed 3–1–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410–DM–P

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Rural Housing Service

Announcement of Funding To Develop

Essential Community Facilities in

Rural Communities for Eligible Public

Entities, Nonprofit Corporations, and

Tribal Governments With Extreme High

Unemployment and Severe Economic

Depression

AGENCY: Rural Housing Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Rural Housing Service

(RHS) announces the availability of

$47.5 million in National competitive

grant funds to be administered in

accordance with this Notice, 7 U.S.C.

1926(a)(20), and the Community

Facilities grant program (7 CFR part

3570, subpart B) to develop essential

community facilities in rural

communities with extreme high

unemployment and severe economic

depression. An additional $2.5 million

is available for community planning and

implementation related to these

essential community facilities.

DATES: Applications may be submitted

at any time until funds are exhausted.

ADDRESSES: Entities wishing to apply for

assistance are encouraged to contact

their local USDA Rural Development

office for guidance on the intake and

processing of preapplications.

A listing of Rural Development State

offices, their addresses, telephone

numbers, and a person to contact

follows:

Note: Telephone numbers listed are not

toll-free.

Alabama State Office, Suite 601, Sterling

Centre, 4121 Carmichael Road,

Montgomery, AL 36106–3683, 334–279–

3400, Chris Harmon

Alaska State Office, 800 W. Evergreen, Suite

201, Palmer, AK 99645–6539, 907–761–

7705, Merlaine Kruse

Arizona State Office, Phoenix Corporate

Center, 3003 North Central Avenue, Suite

900, Phoenix, AZ 85012–2906, 602–280–

8700, Leonard Gradillas

Arkansas State Office, 700 W. Capitol

Avenue, Room 3416, Little Rock, AR

72201–3225, 501–301–3200, Jesse G. Sharp

California State Office, 430 G Street, #4169,

Davis, CA 95616–4169, 530–792–5800,

Robert Longman

Colorado State Office, 655 Parfet Street,

Room E100, Lakewood, CO 80215, 303–

236–2801, Leroy Cruz

Delaware State Office,* 4607 S. DuPont

Highway, P.O. Box 400, Camden, DE

19934–9998, 302–697–4300, Arthur

Greenwood

* The Delaware State Office also

administers the Maryland program.

Florida State Office,* 4440 N.W. 25th Place,

P.O. Box 147010, Gainesville, FL 32614–

7010, 352–338–3400, Glenn W. Walden

* The Florida State Office also administers

the Virgin Islands program.

Georgia State Office, Stephens Federal

Building, 355 E. Hancock Avenue, Athens,

GA 30601–2768, 706–546–2162, Jerry

Thomas

Hawaii State Office, Room 311, Federal

Building, 154 Waianuenue Avenue, Hilo,

HI 96720, 808–933–8380, Thao Khamoui

Idaho State Office, 9173 W. Barnes Drive,

Suite A1, Boise, ID 83709, 208–378–5600,

Dan Fraser

Illinois, Illini Plaza, Suite 103, 1817 South

Neil Street, Champaign, IL 61820, 217–

398–5235, Gerald Townsend

Indiana State Office, 5975 Lakeside

Boulevard, Indianapolis, IN 46278, 317–

290–3100, Gregg Delp

Iowa State Office, 873 Federal Building, 210

Walnut Street, Des Moines, IA 50309,

5150284–4663, Dorman A. Otte

Kansas State Office, 1200 SW Executive

Drive, P.O. Box 4653, Topeka, KS 66604,

785–271–2700, Gary Smith

Kentucky, Suite 200, 771 Corporate Drive,

Lexington, KY 40503, 859–224–7300,

Vernon C. Brown

Louisiana State Office, 3727 Government

Street, Alexandria, LA 71302, 318–473–

7920, Danny Magee

Maine State Office, 967 Illinois Avenue,

Suite 4, P.O. Box 405, Bangor, ME 04402–

0405, 207–990–9106, Alan Daigle

Massachusetts State Office,* 967 Illinois

Ave., Suite 4, 451 West Street, Amherst,

MA 01002, 413–253–4300, Daniel

Beaudette

* The Massachusetts State Office, also

administers the Rhode Island and

Connecticut programs.

Michigan State Office, 3001 Coolidge Road,

Suite 200, East Lansing, MI 48823, 517–

324–5100, Philip H. Wolak

Minnesota State Office, 410 AgriBank

Building, 375 Jackson Street, St. Paul, MN

55101–1853, 651–602–7800, James Maras

Mississippi State Office, Federal Building,

Suite 831, 100 W. Capitol, Jackson, MS

39269, 601–965–4316, Darnella SmithMurray

Missouri State Office, 601 Business Loop, 70

West, Parkade Center, Suite 235, Columbia,

MO 65203, 573–876–0976, Randall L.

Griffith