State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry; Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment for Determination of Nonregulated Status for Blight-Tolerant Darling 58 American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) Developed Using Genetic Engineering, 67861-67862 [2022-24360]
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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 217 / Thursday, November 10, 2022 / Notices
requiring naturally contaminated
samples in evaluating test kit
performance.
Other Comments
Seven stakeholders made comments,
which were beyond the scope of the
changes proposed by AMS. These
comments included recommendations
to modify the minimum ranges of
concentrations for aflatoxins and
deoxynivalenol, to change the test kit
certificate expiration period from three
to five years, to revise the study design
for the performance verification, to
require all participants to use reference
materials from one provider, and for
AMS to provide guidance or
recommendations on extraction
procedures. AMS may engage
stakeholders for further information
about these recommendations and
consider them in future program
improvements.
Melissa Bailey,
Associate Administrator, Agricultural
Marketing Service.
[FR Doc. 2022–24520 Filed 11–9–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–02–P
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection
Service
[Docket No. APHIS–2020–0030]
State University of New York College
of Environmental Science and
Forestry; Availability of a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement and
Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment for
Determination of Nonregulated Status
for Blight-Tolerant Darling 58 American
Chestnut (Castanea dentata)
Developed Using Genetic Engineering
Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
AGENCY:
We are advising the public
that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared a draft
environmental impact statement (EIS)
and draft plant pest risk assessment
(PPRA) evaluating the potential
environmental impacts and plant pest
risk that may result from the approval
of a petition for nonregulated status for
blight-tolerant Darling 58 American
chestnut (Castanea dentata) from the
State University of New York College of
Environmental Science and Forestry.
The trees have been developed using
genetic engineering to express an
oxalate oxidase enzyme from wheat as
a defense against the fungal pathogen
Cryphonectria parasitica, making
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
SUMMARY:
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:43 Nov 09, 2022
Jkt 259001
Darling 58 American chestnut tolerant
to chestnut blight. We are making the
draft EIS and draft PPRA available for
public review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments
that we receive on or before December
27, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments
by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to
www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS–
2020–0030 in the Search field. Select
the Documents tab, then select the
Comment button in the list of
documents.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery:
Send your comment to Docket No.
APHIS–2020–0030, Regulatory Analysis
and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3A–03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118,
Riverdale, MD 20737–1238.
The petition and any comments we
receive on this docket may be viewed at
Regulations.gov or in our reading room,
which is located in Room 1620 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Subray Hegde, Biotechnology
Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River
Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737–
1238; (301) 851–3901; email:
subray.hegde@usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the authority of the plant pest
provisions of the Plant Protection Act,
as amended (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the
regulations in 7 CFR part 340,
‘‘Movement of Organisms Modified or
Produced Through Genetic
Engineering,’’ regulate, among other
things, the importation, interstate
movement, or release into the
environment of organisms modified or
produced through genetic engineering
that are plant pests or pose a plausible
plant pest risk.
The Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a
final rule, published in the Federal
Register on May 18, 2020 (85 FR 29790–
29838, Docket No. APHIS–2018–0034),1
revising 7 CFR part 340. However, this
petition (APHIS Petition Number 19–
309–01p) 2 for a determination of
1 To view the final rule, go to
www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS–2018–0034
in the Search field.
2 To view the petition, go to https://
www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/biotechnology/
regulatory-processes/petitions/petition-status.
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
67861
nonregulated status is being evaluated
in accordance with the regulations at 7
CFR 340.6 (2020), which were effective
at the time it was received by APHIS on
January 21, 2020.
APHIS received a petition from the
State University of New York College of
Environmental Science and Forestry
(ESF) seeking a determination of
nonregulated status for blight-tolerant
Darling 58 American chestnut (Castanea
dentata). The petition states that Darling
58 American chestnut is unlikely to
pose a plant pest risk and, therefore,
should not be regulated under APHIS’
regulations in 7 CFR part 340.
According to our process 3 for
soliciting public comment when
considering petitions for determination
of nonregulated status of regulated
organisms, APHIS accepts written
comments regarding a petition once
APHIS deems it complete. On August
19, 2020, we announced in the Federal
Register (85 FR 51008–51009, Docket
No. APHIS–2020–0030) the availability
of the blight-tolerant chestnut petition
for public comment.4 We solicited
comments on the petition for 60 days to
help us identify potential environmental
and interrelated economic issues and
impacts that APHIS should consider in
evaluation of the petition. We received
4,320 comments on the petition from
the academic sector, farmers, nongovernmental organizations, nonprofit
organizations, industry, tribes, and
unaffiliated individuals.
As part of our evaluation of the
petition and consideration of public
comments, APHIS concluded that the
proposed determination of nonregulated
status has the potential to significantly
affect the quality of the human
environment.5 In a notice 6 published in
the Federal Register on August 6, 2021
3 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 organisms
developed using genetic engineering. To view the
notice, go to www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS–
2011–0129 in the Search field.
4 To view the notice, supporting documents, and
the comments that we received, go to
www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS–2020–0030
in the Search field.
5 Human environment means comprehensively
the natural and physical environment and the
relationship of present and future generations of
Americans with that environment. Impacts/effects
include ecological (such as effects on natural
resources, and on the components, structures, and
functioning of affected ecosystems), aesthetic,
historic, cultural, economic (such as the effects on
employment), social, or health effects (see 40 CFR
1508.1).
6 To view the notice and the comments we
received, go to www.regulations.gov and enter
APHIS–2020–0030 in the Search field.
E:\FR\FM\10NON1.SGM
10NON1
67862
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 217 / Thursday, November 10, 2022 / Notices
lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1
(86 FR 43160–43162, Docket No.
APHIS–2020–0030), APHIS announced
its intention to prepare an
environmental impact statement (EIS) to
conduct the level of detailed and
rigorous environmental analysis to make
an informed decision about the
proposed determination of nonregulated
status for Darling 58 American chestnut.
APHIS solicited public comment for a
period of 30 days ending September 7,
2021, as part of its scoping process to
identify issues to address in the draft
EIS. We received a total of 3,964 public
comments. Issues most frequently cited
in public comments on the notice
concerning Darling 58 American
chestnut included the following:
• Potential for gene flow to wild
relatives;
• Potential to spread and become
invasive;
• Potential non-target impacts,
specifically to beneficial fungi, the
microbiome, mycorrhizal networks, and
the forest ecosystem;
• Potential impacts to wildlife,
including pollinators, and threatened
and endangered species; and
• Potential human health impacts
from consuming nuts as well as
potential allergies from pollen.
The issues discussed in the draft EIS
were developed by considering the
public input from the Federal Register
notice announcing the intention to draft
an EIS. APHIS evaluated these issues to
analyze the potential environmental
impacts of a determination of
nonregulated status for Darling 58
American chestnut and included a
discussion of these issues in the draft
EIS.
Therefore, in accordance with the
National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), APHIS’ NEPA Implementing
Procedures (7 CFR part 372), and 7 CFR
part 340, APHIS is making available the
draft EIS, as well as a draft plant pest
risk assessment, for a 45-day public
review and comment period. The draft
EIS and draft PPRA are available as
indicated under ADDRESSES and FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above.
A notice of availability regarding the
draft EIS will also be published by the
Environmental Protection Agency in the
Federal Register.
Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of
November 2022.
Anthony Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2022–24360 Filed 11–9–22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410–34–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:43 Nov 09, 2022
Jkt 259001
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
National Agricultural Statistics Service
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Comment Request
National Agricultural Statistics
Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
ACTION: Notice.
AGENCY:
The National Agricultural
Statistics Service (NASS) within US
Department of Agriculture (USDA)
invites the general public and other
Federal agencies to comment on a
proposed information collection. NASS
plans to collect information from the
public to fulfill its data security
requirements when providing access to
restricted use data for the purpose of
evidence building. NASS’s data security
agreements and other paperwork along
with the corresponding security
protocols allow NASS to maintain
careful controls on confidentiality and
privacy, as required by law. The
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60
days of public comment on the
proposed data security information
collection, prior to submission of the
information collection request (ICR) to
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB).
DATES: Written comments on this notice
must be received by January 9, 2023 to
be assured of consideration. Comments
received after that date will be
considered to the extent practicable.
Send comments to the address below.
Comments: Comments are invited on
(a) whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper
performance of the functions of the
National Agricultural Statistics Service
(NASS), including whether the
information will have practical utility;
(b) the accuracy of NASS’s estimate of
the burden of the proposed collection of
information; (c) ways to enhance the
quality, use, and clarity of the
information on respondents, including
through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information
technology; and (d) ways to minimize
the burden of the collection of
information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of
appropriate automated, electronic,
mechanical, or other technological
collection techniques or other forms of
information technology.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by docket number 0535–
NEW, by any of the following methods:
• Email: ombofficer@nass.usda.gov.
Include docket number above in the
subject line of the message.
• E-fax: (855) 838–6382.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
• Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD–
ROM submissions to: Richard Hopper,
NASS Clearance Officer, U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Room 5336
South Building, 1400 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250–
2024.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Hand
deliver to: Richard Hopper, NASS
Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Room 5336 South Building,
1400 Independence Avenue SW,
Washington, DC 20250–2024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Kevin L. Barnes, Associate
Administrator, National Agricultural
Statistics Service, U.S. Department of
Agriculture, (202) 720–2707. Copies of
this information collection and related
instructions can be obtained without
charge from Richard Hopper, NASS—
OMB Clearance Officer, at (202) 720–
2206 or at ombofficer@nass.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
Foundations for Evidence-Based
Policymaking Act of 2018 mandates that
the Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) establish a Standard Application
Process (SAP) for requesting access to
certain confidential data assets. While
the adoption of the SAP is required for
statistical agencies and units designated
under the Confidential Information
Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act
(CIPSEA), it is recognized that other
agencies and organizational units within
the Executive branch may benefit from
the adoption of the SAP to accept
applications for access to confidential
data assets. The SAP is to be a process
through which agencies, the
Congressional Budget Office, State,
local, and Tribal governments,
researchers, and other individuals, as
appropriate, may apply to access
confidential data assets held by a federal
statistical agency or unit for the
purposes of developing evidence. With
the Interagency Council on Statistical
Policy (ICSP) as advisors, the entities
upon whom this requirement is levied
are working with the SAP Project
Management Office (PMO) and with
OMB to implement the SAP. The SAP
Portal is to be a single web-based
common application for the public to
request access to confidential data assets
from federal statistical agencies and
units. The National Center for Science
and Engineering Statistics (NCSES),
within the National Science Foundation
(NSF), submitted a Federal Register
Notice in September 2022 announcing
plans to collect information through the
SAP Portal (87 FR 53793).
Once an application for confidential
data is approved through the SAP
Portal, the National Agricultural
E:\FR\FM\10NON1.SGM
10NON1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 217 (Thursday, November 10, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67861-67862]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-24360]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2020-0030]
State University of New York College of Environmental Science and
Forestry; Availability of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement and
Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment for Determination of Nonregulated
Status for Blight-Tolerant Darling 58 American Chestnut (Castanea
dentata) Developed Using Genetic Engineering
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has prepared a draft environmental impact statement
(EIS) and draft plant pest risk assessment (PPRA) evaluating the
potential environmental impacts and plant pest risk that may result
from the approval of a petition for nonregulated status for blight-
tolerant Darling 58 American chestnut (Castanea dentata) from the State
University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
The trees have been developed using genetic engineering to express an
oxalate oxidase enzyme from wheat as a defense against the fungal
pathogen Cryphonectria parasitica, making Darling 58 American chestnut
tolerant to chestnut blight. We are making the draft EIS and draft PPRA
available for public review and comment.
DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before
December 27, 2022.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov.
Enter APHIS-2020-0030 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2020-0030, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
The petition and any comments we receive on this docket may be
viewed at Regulations.gov or in our reading room, which is located in
Room 1620 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Subray Hegde, Biotechnology
Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD
20737-1238; (301) 851-3901; email: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Under the authority of the plant pest provisions of the Plant
Protection Act, as amended (7 U.S.C. 7701 et seq.), the regulations in
7 CFR part 340, ``Movement of Organisms Modified or Produced Through
Genetic Engineering,'' regulate, among other things, the importation,
interstate movement, or release into the environment of organisms
modified or produced through genetic engineering that are plant pests
or pose a plausible plant pest risk.
The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a
final rule, published in the Federal Register on May 18, 2020 (85 FR
29790-29838, Docket No. APHIS-2018-0034),\1\ revising 7 CFR part 340.
However, this petition (APHIS Petition Number 19-309-01p) \2\ for a
determination of nonregulated status is being evaluated in accordance
with the regulations at 7 CFR 340.6 (2020), which were effective at the
time it was received by APHIS on January 21, 2020.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ To view the final rule, go to www.regulations.gov and enter
APHIS-2018-0034 in the Search field.
\2\ To view the petition, go to https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/biotechnology/regulatory-processes/petitions/petition-status.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
APHIS received a petition from the State University of New York
College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) seeking a
determination of nonregulated status for blight-tolerant Darling 58
American chestnut (Castanea dentata). The petition states that Darling
58 American chestnut is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk and,
therefore, should not be regulated under APHIS' regulations in 7 CFR
part 340.
According to our process \3\ for soliciting public comment when
considering petitions for determination of nonregulated status of
regulated organisms, APHIS accepts written comments regarding a
petition once APHIS deems it complete. On August 19, 2020, we announced
in the Federal Register (85 FR 51008-51009, Docket No. APHIS-2020-0030)
the availability of the blight-tolerant chestnut petition for public
comment.\4\ We solicited comments on the petition for 60 days to help
us identify potential environmental and interrelated economic issues
and impacts that APHIS should consider in evaluation of the petition.
We received 4,320 comments on the petition from the academic sector,
farmers, non-governmental organizations, nonprofit organizations,
industry, tribes, and unaffiliated individuals.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\3\ 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 organisms developed using genetic
engineering. To view the notice, go to www.regulations.gov and enter
APHIS-2011-0129 in the Search field.
\4\ To view the notice, supporting documents, and the comments
that we received, go to www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS-2020-
0030 in the Search field.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
As part of our evaluation of the petition and consideration of
public comments, APHIS concluded that the proposed determination of
nonregulated status has the potential to significantly affect the
quality of the human environment.\5\ In a notice \6\ published in the
Federal Register on August 6, 2021
[[Page 67862]]
(86 FR 43160-43162, Docket No. APHIS-2020-0030), APHIS announced its
intention to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to conduct
the level of detailed and rigorous environmental analysis to make an
informed decision about the proposed determination of nonregulated
status for Darling 58 American chestnut.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\5\ Human environment means comprehensively the natural and
physical environment and the relationship of present and future
generations of Americans with that environment. Impacts/effects
include ecological (such as effects on natural resources, and on the
components, structures, and functioning of affected ecosystems),
aesthetic, historic, cultural, economic (such as the effects on
employment), social, or health effects (see 40 CFR 1508.1).
\6\ To view the notice and the comments we received, go to
www.regulations.gov and enter APHIS-2020-0030 in the Search field.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
APHIS solicited public comment for a period of 30 days ending
September 7, 2021, as part of its scoping process to identify issues to
address in the draft EIS. We received a total of 3,964 public comments.
Issues most frequently cited in public comments on the notice
concerning Darling 58 American chestnut included the following:
Potential for gene flow to wild relatives;
Potential to spread and become invasive;
Potential non-target impacts, specifically to beneficial
fungi, the microbiome, mycorrhizal networks, and the forest ecosystem;
Potential impacts to wildlife, including pollinators, and
threatened and endangered species; and
Potential human health impacts from consuming nuts as well
as potential allergies from pollen.
The issues discussed in the draft EIS were developed by considering
the public input from the Federal Register notice announcing the
intention to draft an EIS. APHIS evaluated these issues to analyze the
potential environmental impacts of a determination of nonregulated
status for Darling 58 American chestnut and included a discussion of
these issues in the draft EIS.
Therefore, in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA), APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372), and 7 CFR
part 340, APHIS is making available the draft EIS, as well as a draft
plant pest risk assessment, for a 45-day public review and comment
period. The draft EIS and draft PPRA are available as indicated under
ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above.
A notice of availability regarding the draft EIS will also be
published by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal
Register.
Done in Washington, DC, this 2nd day of November 2022.
Anthony Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2022-24360 Filed 11-9-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
