[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 213 (Tuesday, November 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 59720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-29072]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Notice of Availability of Environmental Assessment and Finding of 
No Significant Impact for Actions to be Taken Under the NIH Guidelines 
for Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules

    Notice is hereby given of the availability of an Environmental 
Assessment (EA) and Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) for public 
review. The EA is for actions to be taken under the NIH Guidelines for 
Research Involving Recombinant DNA Molecules (59 FR 34496, amended 59 
FR 40170, 60 FR 20726, 61 FR 1482, 61 FR 10004, 62 FR 4782). Under the 
actions, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will relinquish its 
approval of individual human gene transfer protocols to the Food and 
Drug Administration, which has statutory authority for such approvals. 
Instead, the NIH will emphasize its role as the focal point for policy 
discussion and review of scientific, safety, social, and ethical issues 
arising from human gene transfer research. The EA finds that these 
actions will not significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment.
    Copies of the EA and FONSI can be viewed in the NIH Environmental 
Reading Room, Building 31, Room 2B04, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 
20892. Additional copies of the EA and FONSI are available for viewing 
in the NIH Office of Recombinant DNA Activities (ORDA), 6000 Executive 
Boulevard, Suite 302, Bethesda, MD 20892-7010.
    For further information, contact Debra Knorr, Deputy Director, 
Office of Recombinant DNA Activities, National Institutes of Health, 
MSC 7010, 6000 Executive Boulevard, Suite 302, Bethesda, Maryland 
20892-7010, Phone 301-496-9838, FAX 301-496-9839.

    Dated: October 26, 1997.
Lana Skirboll,
Associate Director for Science Policy, National Institutes of Health.
[FR Doc. 97-29072 Filed 11-3-97; 8:45 am]
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