[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 96 (Thursday, May 17, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22944-22945]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-10490]


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 Notices
                                                 Federal Register
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains documents other than rules 
 or proposed rules that are applicable to the public. Notices of hearings 
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 delegations of authority, filing of petitions and applications and agency 
 statements of organization and functions are examples of documents 
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  Federal Register / Vol. 83, No. 96 / Thursday, May 17, 2018 / 
Notices  

[[Page 22944]]



DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

[Docket No. APHIS-2017-0018]


Draft Environmental Impact Statement and Preliminary Pest Risk 
Assessment for Permit for Release of Genetically Engineered Citrus 
tristeza virus

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health 
Inspection Service has prepared a draft environmental impact statement 
(EIS) and preliminary pest risk assessment (PRA) that evaluate the 
potential environmental impacts and plant pest risk associated with the 
proposed environmental release of genetically engineered Citrus 
tristeza virus. We are making the draft EIS and preliminary PRA 
available for public review and comment.

DATES: We will consider all comments that we receive on or before June 
25, 2018.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
     Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0018.
     Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to 
Docket No. APHIS-2017-0018, 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-
0018 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Alan Pearson, Chief, Plant Pests, 
and Protectants Branch, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, APHIS, 4700 
River Road Unit 147, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238; (301) 851-3944, email: 
[email protected]. To obtain copies of the documents, contact 
Ms. Cindy Eck at (301) 851-3882, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    Under the authority of the plant pest provisions of the Plant 
Protection Act (PPA), as amended (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 
organisms and products are considered ``regulated articles.'' The 
regulations in Sec.  340.2 contain a list of organisms considered to be 
regulated articles, including all members of groups containing plant 
viruses, and all insect viruses.
    The regulations in Sec.  340.4(a) provide that any person may 
submit an application for a permit for the introduction of a regulated 
article to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS). 
Paragraph (b) of Sec.  340.4 describes the form that an application for 
a permit for the environmental release of a regulated article must take 
and the information that must be included in the application. In 
addition, paragraph (b) states that applications must be submitted at 
least 120 days in advance of the proposed release into the environment 
in order to allow for APHIS review. However, the 120-day review period 
would be extended if preparation of an environmental impact statement 
(EIS) is necessary.
    Under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA) of 1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), Federal agencies 
must examine the potential environmental impacts of proposed Federal 
actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human 
environment before those actions can be taken. In accordance with NEPA, 
regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality for implementing 
the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), U.S. 
Department of Agriculture regulations implementing NEPA (7 CFR part 
1b), and APHIS' NEPA Implementing Procedures (7 CFR part 372), APHIS 
has considered how to properly examine the potential environmental 
impacts of issuing permits for the introduction of genetically 
engineered regulated articles into the United States.
    In a notice \1\ published in the Federal Register on April 10, 2017 
(82 FR 17179-17180, Docket No. APHIS-2017-0018), APHIS announced its 
intention to prepare an EIS in connection with the potential approval 
of an application from Southern Gardens Citrus Nursery, LLC, seeking a 
permit for the environmental release of genetically engineered Citrus 
tristeza virus (CTV) throughout Florida. The virus has been genetically 
engineered to express defensin proteins from spinach as a biological 
control approach to managing citrus greening disease in the State of 
Florida. Citrus greening disease, also called huanglongbing, was first 
detected in the United States in 2005 in Florida, and has since become 
a devastating disease of citrus in Florida.
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    \1\ To view the notice and the comments we received, go to 
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=APHIS-2017-0018.
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    This approach for controlling citrus greening disease does not 
involve a genetically engineered tree. Instead, the gene from spinach 
that codes for the defensin protein will be delivered to the tree's 
circulatory system by the genetically engineered CTV. APHIS decided to 
prepare an EIS because of the scope of the proposed releases and to 
better understand the potential environmental impacts and the 
associated uncertainty related to permit issuance.
    APHIS solicited public comment for a period of 30 days ending May 
10, 2017, as part of its scoping process to identify issues to address 
in the draft EIS. We

[[Page 22945]]

received a total of 94 public comments. Issues most frequently cited in 
public comments on the notice included:
     The potential for the genetically engineered CTV to change 
over time and the potential for recombination with other viruses;
     Impacts to non-target species;
     The potential for defensin proteins to be found in areas 
other than the phloem of the plant;
     The potential for the genetically engineered CTV to become 
more transmissible;
     The impacts to organic citrus growers; and
     Health and safety concerns.
    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 CTV and included a discussion of 
these issues in the draft EIS.
    Therefore, in accordance with 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 preliminary pest risk assessment 
(PRA), for a 45 day public review and comment period. The draft EIS and 
preliminary PRA are available as indicated under ADDRESSES and FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT above.
    A notice of availability regarding the draft EIS was also published 
by the Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register on May 
11, 2018 (82 FR 22060, Docket No. ER-FRL-9039-3).

    Done in Washington, DC, this 11th day of May 2018.
Kevin Shea,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-10490 Filed 5-16-18; 8:45 am]
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