Nuseed Americas Inc.; Availability of a Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment and Draft Environmental Assessment for Canola Genetically Engineered for Altered Oil Profile, 29742-29743 [2018-13589]
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Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2018 / Notices
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
Summary of Collection: The Rural
Housing Service is authorized by
Section 306(a) of the Consolidated Farm
and Rural Development Act (7 U.S.C.
1926), as amended, to make grants to
public agencies, nonprofit corporations,
and Indian tribes to develop essential
community facilities and services for
public use in rural areas. These facilities
include schools, libraries, childcare,
hospitals, clinics, assisted-living
facilities, fire and rescuer stations,
police stations, community centers,
public buildings, and transportation.
The Department of Agriculture through
its Community Programs strives to
ensure that facilities are available to all
rural communities.
Need and Use of the Information:
Rural Development field offices will
collect information from applicant/
borrowers and consultants. This
information is used to determine
eligibility, project feasibility, and to
ensure borrowers operate on a sound
basis and use loan and grant funds for
authorized purposes. Failure to collect
the information could result in
improper determinations of eligibility,
improper use of funds, and or unsound
loans.
Description of Respondents: Not-forprofit institutions.
Number of Respondents: 1,272.
Frequency of Responses: Reporting:
On occasion.
Total Burden Hours: 16,462.
Rural Housing Service
Title: Rural Rental Housing Program,
7 CFR part 3560.
OMB Control Number: 0575–0189.
Summary of Collection: The purpose
of the Rural Rental Housing Program is
to provide adequate, affordable, decent,
safe, and sanitary rental units for very
low-, low-, and moderate-income
households in rural areas. The Rural
Housing Service (RHS) is authorized to
collect the information needed to
administer these various programs
under Title V of the Housing Act of
1949, Section 515 Rural Rental Housing,
Sections 514 and 516 Farm Labor
Housing loans and grants, and Section
521 Rental Assistance.
Need and Use of the Information:
Information is completed by developers
and potential borrowers seeking
approval of rural rental housing loans
with assistance of professional such as
attorneys, architects, and contractors
and the operation and management of
MFH properties in an affordable, decent,
safe, and sanitary manner. The forms
and information provide the basis for
making determinations of eligibility and
the need and feasibility of the proposed
housing. The information collected by
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:24 Jun 25, 2018
Jkt 244001
RHS is used to plan, manage, evaluate,
and account for Government resources.
The reports are required to ensure the
proper and judicious use of public
funds.
Description of Respondents: Business
or other for profit: Individual or
households; Not-for-profit institutions;
State, Local, or Tribal Government.
Number of Respondents: 507,200.
Frequency of Responses:
Recordkeeping; Reporting: Quarterly;
Monthly, Annually.
Total Burden Hours: 1,113,828.
Ruth Brown,
Departmental Information Collection
Clearance Officer.
[FR Doc. 2018–13697 Filed 6–25–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–XV–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2017–0096]
Nuseed Americas Inc.; Availability of a
Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment and
Draft Environmental Assessment for
Canola Genetically Engineered for
Altered Oil Profile
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
We are advising the public
that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service is making available
for public comment a draft plant pest
risk assessment (PPRA) and draft
environmental assessment (EA) for
canola designated as event B0050–027,
which has been genetically engineered
to accumulate the long chain omega-3
fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic
acid in seed. We are making the draft
PPRA and draft EA available for public
review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before July 26,
2018.
SUMMARY:
You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
https://www.regulations.gov/#!docket
Detail;D=APHIS-2017-0096.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Send your comment to Docket No.
APHIS–2017–0096, Regulatory Analysis
and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3A–03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.
Supporting documents for this
petition and any comments we receive
on this docket may be viewed at https://
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=
ADDRESSES:
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
APHIS-2017-0096 or in our reading
room, which 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) 799–7039 before
coming.
Supporting documents for this
petition are also available on the APHIS
website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/
biotechnology/petitions_table_
pending.shtml under APHIS Petition
Number 17–236–01p.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
John Turner, Director, Environmental
Risk Analysis Programs, Biotechnology
Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River
Road, Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737–
1236; (301) 851–3954, email:
john.t.turner@aphis.usda.gov. To obtain
copies of the petition, contact Ms. Cindy
Eck at (301) 851–3892, email:
cynthia.a.eck@aphis.usda.gov.
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.
APHIS received a petition (APHIS
Petition Number 17–236–01p) from
Nuseed Americas Inc. (Nuseed) of
Breckenridge, MN, seeking a
determination of nonregulated status of
canola (Brassica spp.) designated as
event B0050–027, which has been
genetically engineered to accumulate
the long chain omega-3 fatty acid known
as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in seed.
The Nuseed petition states that
information collected during field trials
and laboratory analyses indicates that
B0050–027 canola is not likely to be a
plant pest and therefore should not be
a regulated article under APHIS’
regulations in 7 CFR part 340.
E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM
26JNN1
Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 123 / Tuesday, June 26, 2018 / Notices
sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES
According to our process 1 for
soliciting public comment when
considering petitions for determinations
of nonregulated status of GE organisms,
APHIS accepts written comments
regarding a petition once APHIS deems
it complete. In a notice 2 published in
the Federal Register on December 11,
2017 (82 FR 58167–58168, Docket No.
APHIS–2017–0096), APHIS announced
the availability of the Nuseed petition
for public comment. APHIS solicited
comments on the petition for 60 days
ending on February 9, 2018, in order to
help identify potential environmental
and interrelated economic issues and
impacts that APHIS may determine
should be considered in our evaluation
of the petition. APHIS received four
comments on the petition. Two of the
comments were from individuals and
two were from the canola industry.
APHIS has evaluated the issues raised
during the comment period and, where
appropriate, has provided a discussion
of these issues in our draft
environmental assessment (EA).
After public comments are received
on a completed petition, APHIS
evaluates those comments and then
provides a second opportunity for
public involvement in our
decisionmaking process. According to
our public review process (see footnote
1), the second opportunity for public
involvement follows one of two
approaches, as described below.
If APHIS decides, based on its review
of the petition and its evaluation and
analysis of comments received during
the 60-day public comment period on
the petition, that the petition involves a
GE organism that raises no substantive
new issues, APHIS will follow
Approach 1 for public involvement.
Under Approach 1, APHIS announces in
the Federal Register the availability of
APHIS’ preliminary regulatory
determination along with its draft EA,
preliminary finding of no significant
impact (FONSI), and its draft plant pest
risk assessment (PPRA) for a 30-day
public review period. APHIS will
evaluate any information received
related to the petition and its supporting
documents during the 30-day public
review period.
1 On March 6, 2012, APHIS published in the
Federal Register (77 FR 13258–13260, Docket No.
APHIS–2011–0129) a notice describing our public
review process for soliciting public comments and
information when considering petitions for
determinations of nonregulated status for GE
organisms. To view the notice, go to https://
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2011-0129.
2 To view the notice, the petition, and the
comments we received, go to https://
www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS2017-0096.
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:24 Jun 25, 2018
Jkt 244001
If APHIS decides, based on its review
of the petition and its evaluation and
analysis of comments received during
the 60-day public comment period on
the petition, that the petition involves a
GE organism that raises substantive new
issues, APHIS will follow Approach 2.
Under Approach 2, APHIS first solicits
written comments from the public on a
draft EA and draft PPRA for a 30-day
comment period through the
publication of a Federal Register notice.
Then, after reviewing and evaluating the
comments on the draft EA and draft
PPRA and other information, APHIS
will revise the PPRA as necessary and
prepare a final EA and, based on the
final EA, a National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) decision document
(either a FONSI or a notice of intent to
prepare an environmental impact
statement). For this petition, we are
using Approach 2.
As part of our decisionmaking process
regarding a GE organism’s regulatory
status, APHIS prepares a PPRA to assess
the plant pest risk of the article. APHIS
also prepares the appropriate
environmental documentation—either
an EA or an environmental impact
statement—in accordance with NEPA,
to provide the Agency and the public
with a review and analysis of any
potential environmental impacts that
may result if the petition request is
approved.
APHIS has prepared a draft PPRA and
has concluded that canola designated as
event B0050–027, which has been
genetically engineered to accumulate
the long chain omega-3 fatty acid known
as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in seed,
is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk. In
section 403 of the Plant Protection Act,
‘‘plant pest’’ is defined as any living
stage of any of the following that can
directly or indirectly injure, cause
damage to, or cause disease in any plant
or plant product: A protozoan, a
nonhuman animal, a parasitic plant, a
bacterium, a fungus, a virus or viroid, an
infectious agent or other pathogen, or
any article similar to or allied with any
of the foregoing.
APHIS has also prepared a draft EA in
which we present two alternatives based
on our analysis of data submitted by
Nuseed, a review of other scientific
data, field tests conducted under APHIS
oversight, and comments received on
the petition. APHIS is considering the
following alternatives: (1) Take no
action, i.e., APHIS would not change the
regulatory status of canola designated as
event B0050–027, or (2) make a
determination of nonregulated status of
canola designated as event B0050–027.
The draft EA was prepared in
accordance with (1) NEPA, as amended
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 9990
29743
(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) U.S. Department
of Agriculture regulations implementing
NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS’
NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR
part 372).
In accordance with 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 on our draft EA and
our draft PPRA regarding the petition
for a determination of nonregulated
status from interested or affected
persons for a period of 30 days from the
date of this notice. Copies of the draft
EA and the draft PPRA, as well as the
previously published petition, are
available as indicated under ADDRESSES
and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
above.
After the 30-day comment period
closes, APHIS will review and evaluate
any information received during the
comment period and any other relevant
information. After reviewing and
evaluating the comments on the draft
EA and the draft PPRA and other
information, APHIS will revise the
PPRA as necessary and prepare a final
EA. Based on the final EA, APHIS will
prepare a NEPA decision document
(either a FONSI or a notice of intent to
prepare an environmental impact
statement). If a FONSI is reached,
APHIS will furnish a response to the
petitioner, either approving or denying
the petition. APHIS will also publish a
notice in the Federal Register
announcing the regulatory status of the
GE organism and the availability of
APHIS’ final EA, PPRA, FONSI, and our
regulatory determination.
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 20th day of
June 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018–13589 Filed 6–25–18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
E:\FR\FM\26JNN1.SGM
26JNN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 123 (Tuesday, June 26, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29742-29743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13589]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2017-0096]
Nuseed Americas Inc.; Availability of a Draft Plant Pest Risk
Assessment and Draft Environmental Assessment for Canola Genetically
Engineered for Altered Oil Profile
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service is making available for public comment a draft plant
pest risk assessment (PPRA) and draft environmental assessment (EA) for
canola designated as event B0050-027, which has been genetically
engineered to accumulate the long chain omega-3 fatty acid known as
docosahexaenoic acid in seed. We are making the draft PPRA and draft EA
available for public review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before July
26, 2018.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0096.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2017-0096, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
Supporting documents for this petition and any comments we receive
on this docket may be viewed at https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0096 or in our reading room, which 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) 799-7039 before coming.
Supporting documents for this petition are also available on the
APHIS website at https://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/petitions_table_pending.shtml under APHIS Petition Number 17-236-01p.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. John Turner, Director,
Environmental Risk Analysis Programs, Biotechnology Regulatory
Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road, Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1236;
(301) 851-3954, email: [email protected]. To obtain copies
of the petition, contact Ms. Cindy Eck at (301) 851-3892, email:
[email protected].
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 Sec. 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. APHIS received a petition (APHIS Petition Number
17-236-01p) from Nuseed Americas Inc. (Nuseed) of Breckenridge, MN,
seeking a determination of nonregulated status of canola (Brassica
spp.) designated as event B0050-027, which has been genetically
engineered to accumulate the long chain omega-3 fatty acid known as
docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in seed. The Nuseed petition states that
information collected during field trials and laboratory analyses
indicates that B0050-027 canola is not likely to be a plant pest and
therefore should not be a regulated article under APHIS' regulations in
7 CFR part 340.
[[Page 29743]]
According to our process \1\ for soliciting public comment when
considering petitions for determinations of nonregulated status of GE
organisms, APHIS accepts written comments regarding a petition once
APHIS deems it complete. In a notice \2\ published in the Federal
Register on December 11, 2017 (82 FR 58167-58168, Docket No. APHIS-
2017-0096), APHIS announced the availability of the Nuseed petition for
public comment. APHIS solicited comments on the petition for 60 days
ending on February 9, 2018, in order to help identify potential
environmental and interrelated economic issues and impacts that APHIS
may determine should be considered in our evaluation of the petition.
APHIS received four comments on the petition. Two of the comments were
from individuals and two were from the canola industry. APHIS has
evaluated the issues raised during the comment period and, where
appropriate, has provided a discussion of these issues in our draft
environmental assessment (EA).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ On March 6, 2012, APHIS published in the Federal Register
(77 FR 13258-13260, Docket No. APHIS-2011-0129) a notice describing
our public review process for soliciting public comments and
information when considering petitions for determinations of
nonregulated status for GE organisms. To view the notice, go to
https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0129.
\2\ To view the notice, the petition, and the comments we
received, go to https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-
2017-0096.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
After public comments are received on a completed petition, APHIS
evaluates those comments and then provides a second opportunity for
public involvement in our decisionmaking process. According to our
public review process (see footnote 1), the second opportunity for
public involvement follows one of two approaches, as described below.
If APHIS decides, based on its review of the petition and its
evaluation and analysis of comments received during the 60-day public
comment period on the petition, that the petition involves a GE
organism that raises no substantive new issues, APHIS will follow
Approach 1 for public involvement. Under Approach 1, APHIS announces in
the Federal Register the availability of APHIS' preliminary regulatory
determination along with its draft EA, preliminary finding of no
significant impact (FONSI), and its draft plant pest risk assessment
(PPRA) for a 30-day public review period. APHIS will evaluate any
information received related to the petition and its supporting
documents during the 30-day public review period.
If APHIS decides, based on its review of the petition and its
evaluation and analysis of comments received during the 60-day public
comment period on the petition, that the petition involves a GE
organism that raises substantive new issues, APHIS will follow Approach
2. Under Approach 2, APHIS first solicits written comments from the
public on a draft EA and draft PPRA for a 30-day comment period through
the publication of a Federal Register notice. Then, after reviewing and
evaluating the comments on the draft EA and draft PPRA and other
information, APHIS will revise the PPRA as necessary and prepare a
final EA and, based on the final EA, a National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA) decision document (either a FONSI or a notice of intent to
prepare an environmental impact statement). For this petition, we are
using Approach 2.
As part of our decisionmaking process regarding a GE organism's
regulatory status, APHIS prepares a PPRA to assess the plant pest risk
of the article. APHIS also prepares the appropriate environmental
documentation--either an EA or an environmental impact statement--in
accordance with NEPA, to provide the Agency and the public with a
review and analysis of any potential environmental impacts that may
result if the petition request is approved.
APHIS has prepared a draft PPRA and has concluded that canola
designated as event B0050-027, which has been genetically engineered to
accumulate the long chain omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic
acid (DHA) in seed, is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk. In section
403 of the Plant Protection Act, ``plant pest'' is defined as any
living stage of any of the following that can directly or indirectly
injure, cause damage to, or cause disease in any plant or plant
product: A protozoan, a nonhuman animal, a parasitic plant, a
bacterium, a fungus, a virus or viroid, an infectious agent or other
pathogen, or any article similar to or allied with any of the
foregoing.
APHIS has also prepared a draft EA in which we present two
alternatives based on our analysis of data submitted by Nuseed, a
review of other scientific data, field tests conducted under APHIS
oversight, and comments received on the petition. APHIS is considering
the following alternatives: (1) Take no action, i.e., APHIS would not
change the regulatory status of canola designated as event B0050-027,
or (2) make a determination of nonregulated status of canola designated
as event B0050-027.
The draft EA was prepared in accordance with (1) 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) U.S. Department of Agriculture
regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 1b), and (4) APHIS' NEPA
Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372).
In accordance with 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 on our draft EA and our draft PPRA
regarding the petition for a determination of nonregulated status from
interested or affected persons for a period of 30 days from the date of
this notice. Copies of the draft EA and the draft PPRA, as well as the
previously published petition, are available as indicated under
ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above.
After the 30-day comment period closes, APHIS will review and
evaluate any information received during the comment period and any
other relevant information. After reviewing and evaluating the comments
on the draft EA and the draft PPRA and other information, APHIS will
revise the PPRA as necessary and prepare a final EA. Based on the final
EA, APHIS will prepare a NEPA decision document (either a FONSI or a
notice of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement). If a
FONSI is reached, APHIS will furnish a response to the petitioner,
either approving or denying the petition. APHIS will also publish a
notice in the Federal Register announcing the regulatory status of the
GE organism and the availability of APHIS' final EA, PPRA, FONSI, and
our regulatory determination.
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 20th day of June 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-13589 Filed 6-25-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
