90 FR 128 pg. 30035 - Bayer CropScience: Availability of a Petition for a Determination of Nonregulated Status and Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment for MON 95275 Maize (Corn)
Type: NOTICEVolume: 90Number: 128Page: 30035
Page: 30035Docket number: [Docket No. APHIS-2025-0021]
FR document: [FR Doc. 2025-12607 Filed 7-7-25; 8:45 am]
Agency: Agriculture Department
Sub Agency: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Official PDF Version: PDF Version
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2025-0021]
Bayer CropScience: Availability of a Petition for a Determination of Nonregulated Status and Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment for MON 95275 Maize (Corn)
AGENCY:
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION:
Notice of availability.
SUMMARY:
We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition from Bayer CropScience seeking a determination of nonregulated status for MON 95275 maize (corn) which has been developed using genetic engineering to produce two insecticidal proteins and a double-stranded RNA transcript to provide protection from feeding damage caused by targeted coleopteran (corn rootworm) insect pests. We are making the petition and draft plant pest risk assessment available for public review and comment.
DATES:
We will consider all comments that we receive on or before September 8, 2025.
ADDRESSES:
You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to www.regulations.gov. Enter APHIS-2025-0021 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab, then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
• Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to Docket No. APHIS-2025-0021, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, Beltsville, MD 20705.
The petition, draft plant pest risk assessment, and any comments we receive on this docket may be viewed at www.regulations.gov, or in our reading room, which is located in 1620 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 and draft plant pest risk assessment are also available on the APHIS website at: https://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/legacy-petition-process/petitions. Search for APHIS petition 25-083-01p.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Mr. Alan Pearson, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, APHIS, USDA, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, AP100-3-1151, Beltsville, MD 20705; (301) 851-3944; email: alan.pearson@usda.gov.
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 organisms and products are considered "regulated articles."
The regulations in §?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 §?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 25-083-01p) from Bayer CropScience seeking a determination of nonregulated status for MON 95275 maize (corn) which has been developed using genetic engineering for resistance to feeding damage caused by targeted coleopteran (corn rootworm) insect pests. The petition states that the information provided indicates that MON 95275 corn is unlikely to pose a plant pest risk and therefore should not be regulated under APHIS' regulations in 7 CFR part 340.
As part of our decision-making process regarding the organism's regulatory status, APHIS prepared a draft plant pest risk assessment (PPRA) to assess the plant pest risk of the organism. APHIS' draft PPRA compared the pest risk posed by the MON 95275 corn with that of the unmodified variety from which it was derived. The draft PPRA concluded that MON 95275 corn is unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to the unmodified corn.
Paragraph (d) of §?340.6 provides that APHIS will publish a notice in the Federal Register providing 60 days for public comment on petitions for a determination of nonregulated status. In accordance with §?340.6(d), we are publishing this notice to inform the public that APHIS will accept written comments regarding the petition and draft PPRA from interested or affected persons for a period of 60 days from the date of this notice. The petition and draft PPRA are available for public review and comment, and copies are available as indicated under ADDRESSES and from the individual listed under the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice. We are particularly interested in receiving comments regarding biological 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 and evaluate any information received during the comment period and any other relevant information. Based upon available information, APHIS will respond to the petitioner either approving or denying the petition. APHIS will post its regulatory determination on its website and publish a notice of availability in the Federal Register .
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 2nd day of July 2025.
Michael Watson,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-12607 Filed 7-7-25; 8:45 am]
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