[Federal Register: February 3, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 22)]
[Notices]
[Page 5601-5602]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03fe05-12]
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Notices
Federal Register
________________________________________________________________________
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.
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[[Page 5601]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. 04-085-2]
Monsanto Co. and Forage Genetics International; Availability of
Petition and Environmental Assessment for Determination of Nonregulated
Status for Alfalfa Genetically Engineered for Tolerance to the
Herbicide Glyphosate
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice; reopening of comment period.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service is reopening the comment period for a petition from
Monsanto Company and Forage Genetics International that seeks a
determination of nonregulated status for alfalfa designated as events
J101 and J163, which have been genetically engineered for tolerance to
the herbicide glyphosate. The petition has been submitted in accordance
with our regulations concerning the introduction of certain genetically
engineered organisms and products. In accordance with those
regulations, we are soliciting public comments on whether this alfalfa
presents a plant pest risk. We are also making available for public
comment an environmental assessment for the proposed determination of
nonregulated status. This action will allow interested persons
additional time to prepare and submit comments.
DATES: We will consider all comments we receive on or before February
17, 2005.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by any of the following methods:
Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Please send four copies
of your comment (an original and three copies) to Docket No. 04-085-1,
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3C71, 4700
River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238. Please state that your
comment refers to Docket No. 04-085-1.
E-mail: Address your comment to
regulations@aphis.usda.gov. Your comment must be contained in the body
of your message; do not send attached files. Please include your name
and address in your message and ``Docket No. 04-085-1'' on the subject
line.
Reading Room: You may read the petition, the environmental
assessment, and any comments that we receive on Docket No. 04-085-1 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: You may view APHIS documents published in the
Federal Register and related information, including the names of groups
and individuals who have commented on APHIS dockets, on the Internet at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppd/rad/webrepor.html.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Virgil Meier, Biotechnology
Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 River Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD
20737-1236; (301) 734-3363. To obtain copies of the petition or the
environmental assessment (EA), contact Ms. Terry Hampton at (301) 734-
5715; e-mail: Terry.A.Hampton@aphis.usda.gov. The petition and the EA
are also available on the Internet at http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/04_11001p.pdf and http://www.aphis.usda.gov/brs/aphisdocs/04_11001p_ea.pdf.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On April 16, 2004, the Animal and Plant
Health Inspection Service (APHIS) received a petition from Monsanto
Company of St. Louis, MO, and Forage Genetics International of West
Salem, WI (Monsanto/FGI), requesting a determination of nonregulated
status under 7 CFR part 340 for alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) designated
as events J101 and J163, which have been genetically engineered for
tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate. The Monsanto/FGI petition states
that the subject alfalfa should not be regulated by APHIS because it
does not present a plant pest risk.
In a notice published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2004
(69 FR 68300-68301, Docket No. 04-085-1), APHIS announced the receipt
of the Monsanto/FGI petition and solicited comments on whether the
subject alfalfa would present a plant pest risk. We solicited comments
concerning our notice for 60 days, ending January 24, 2005.
We are reopening the comment period for an additional 2 weeks from
the date of this notice to give interested parties additional time to
submit comments. We will also consider all comments we received between
the January 25, 2005 (the day after the close of the original comment
period) and the date of this notice.
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 persons for a period of 14 days
from the date of this notice. We are also soliciting written comments
from interested persons on the environmental assessment (EA) prepared
to examine any environmental impacts of the proposed determination for
the subject alfalfa event. The petition and the EA and any comments
received are available for public review, and copies of the petition
and the EA are available as indicated in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT section of this notice.
After the comment period closes, APHIS will review the data
submitted by the petitioner, all written comments received during the
comment period, and any other relevant information. After reviewing and
evaluating the comments on the petition and the EA and other data and
information, APHIS will furnish a response to the petitioner, either
approving the petition in whole or in part, or denying the petition.
APHIS will then publish a notice in the Federal Register announcing the
regulatory status of the Monsanto/FGI glyphosate-tolerant alfalfa
events J101 and J163 and the availability of APHIS' written decision.
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 1622n and 7701-7772; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR
2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.
[[Page 5602]]
Done in Washington, DC, this 28th day of January 2005.
Elizabeth E. Gaston,
Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. E5-409 Filed 2-2-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P