Washington, DC
February 3, 2005
[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]
Notices
[[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
This document
in PDF format:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/E5-409.pdf
AGENCY:
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION:
Notice; reopening of comment period.
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]
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