[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 232 (Tuesday, December 5, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57426-57427]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-26155]



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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2017-0097]


Texas A&M AgriLife Research; Availability of Petition for 
Determination of Nonregulated Status of Cotton Genetically Engineered 
for Ultra-Low Gossypol Levels in the Cottonseed

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has received a petition from Texas A&M AgriLife 
Research seeking a determination of nonregulated status of cotton 
designated as event TAM66274, which has been genetically engineered for 
ultra-low gossypol levels in the cottonseed. The petition has been 
submitted in accordance with our regulations concerning the 
introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms and products. 
We are making the Texas A&M AgriLife Research petition available for 
review and comment to help us identify potential environmental and 
interrelated economic issues and impacts that the Animal and Plant 
Health Inspection Service may determine should be considered in our 
evaluation of the petition.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before 
February 5, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0097.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2017-0097, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, 
APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-
1238.
    Supporting documents and any comments we receive on this docket may 
be viewed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-
0097 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.
    The petition is also available on the APHIS Web site at: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/petitions_table_pending.shtml under 
APHIS petition 17-292-01p.

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. Paragraphs (b) and (c) of Sec.  340.6 describe 
the form that a petition for a determination of nonregulated status 
must take and the information that must be included in the petition.
    APHIS has received a petition (APHIS Petition Number 17-292-01p) 
from Texas A&M AgriLife Research of College Station, TX (Texas A&M), 
seeking a determination of nonregulated status of cotton (Gossypium 
hirsutum) designated as event TAM66274, which has been genetically 
engineered for ultra-low gossypol levels in the cottonseed. The Texas 
A&M petition states that information collected during field trials and 
laboratory analyses indicates that TAM66274 cotton is not likely to be 
a plant pest and therefore should not be a regulated article under 
APHIS' regulations in 7 CFR part 340.
    As described in the petition, TAM66274 cotton was developed through 
agrobacterium-mediated transformation of G. hirsutum cotton tissues 
from non-transgenic cultivar (cv.) Coker 312 using plasmid pART27-
LCT66. TAM66274 cotton is currently regulated under 7 CFR part 340. 
Interstate movements and field tests of TAM66274 cotton have been 
conducted under notifications acknowledged by APHIS.
    Field tests conducted under APHIS oversight allowed for evaluation 
in a natural agricultural setting while imposing measures to minimize 
the likelihood of persistence in the environment after completion of 
the tests. Data are gathered on multiple parameters and used by the 
applicant to evaluate agronomic characteristics and product 
performance. These and other data are used by APHIS to determine if the 
new variety poses a plant pest risk.
    Paragraph (d) of Sec.  340.6 provides that APHIS will publish a 
notice in the Federal Register providing 60 days for public comment for 
petitions for a determination of nonregulated status. On March 6, 2012, 
we published in the Federal Register (77 FR 13258-13260, Docket No. 
APHIS-2011-0129) a notice \1\ describing our process for soliciting 
public comment when considering petitions for determinations of 
nonregulated status for GE organisms. In that notice we indicated that 
APHIS would accept written comments regarding a petition once APHIS 
deemed it complete.
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    \1\ To view the notice, go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2011-0129.
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    In accordance with Sec.  340.6(d) of the regulations and 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 regarding the petition for a determination of 
nonregulated status from interested or affected persons for a period of 
60 days from the date of this notice. The petition is available for 
public review and comment, and copies are available as indicated under 
ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above. We are interested 
in receiving comments regarding potential environmental and 
interrelated economic issues and impacts that APHIS may determine 
should be considered in our evaluation of the petition. We are 
particularly interested in receiving comments regarding biological, 
cultural, or ecological issues, and we encourage the submission of 
scientific data, studies, or research to support your comments.
    After the comment period closes, APHIS will review all written 
comments received during the comment period and any other relevant 
information. Any substantive issues identified by APHIS based on our 
review of the petition and

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our evaluation and analysis of comments will be considered in the 
development of our decisionmaking documents. As part of our 
decisionmaking process regarding a GE organism's regulatory status, 
APHIS prepares a plant pest risk assessment to assess its plant pest 
risk and the appropriate environmental documentation--either an 
environmental assessment (EA) or an environmental impact statement 
(EIS)--in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 
to provide the Agency with a review and analysis of any potential 
environmental impacts associated with the petition request. For 
petitions for which APHIS prepares an EA, APHIS will follow our 
published process for soliciting public comment (see footnote 1) and 
publish a separate notice in the Federal Register announcing the 
availability of APHIS' EA and plant pest risk assessment.
    Should APHIS determine that an EIS is necessary, APHIS will 
complete the NEPA EIS process in accordance with Council on 
Environmental Quality regulations (40 CFR part 1500-1508) and APHIS' 
NEPA implementing regulations (7 CFR part 372).

    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 29th day of November 2017.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-26155 Filed 12-4-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-34-P