Washington,DC
March 6, 2009
The U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Animal and
Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) invites interested
parties to discuss the agenda and format for public meeting(s)
to be held in April 2009 on a proposed rule to revise existing
regulations regarding the importation, interstate movement and
environmental release of certain genetically engineered (GE)
organisms. The public scoping session will be on March 13, from
9 a.m. to 4 p.m., in Riverdale, Md.
“Revising our biotechnology regulations is a significant
undertaking and we are seeking active participation from the
public. In order to have focused, substantive dialogue at our
April meeting(s), we want to identify topics for discussion as
well as possible meeting formats," said Kevin Shea acting
administrator of APHIS. "We strongly encourage interested
parties to share their suggestions so we can better serve their
needs.”
Transcripts of the March scoping session and April public
meeting(s) will be made part of the rulemaking record. In order
to ensure all transcriptions are available for public
consideration, APHIS is extending the comment period for the
proposed rule, which currently closes on March 17, until 60 days
following the April meeting(s).
The scoping meeting will be at USDA Center at Riverside, 4700
River Road, Riverdale, Md., in Conference Room A. For directions
or facilities information, call (301) 734-8010. Additional
details regarding the format of the meeting are available at
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/biotechnology/340/340_index.shtml.
Notice of the scoping meeting and extended public comment will
soon be published in the Federal Register.
Consideration will be given to comments received until 60 days
after the April public meeting(s). Send two copies of postal or
commercial delivery comments to Docket No. APHIS-2008-0023,
Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station
3A-03.8, 4700 River Road, Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.
Comments can be submitted on the Federal eRulemaking portal at
http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspublic/component/main?main=DocketDetail&d=APHIS-2008-0023.
Comments received are posted on the Regulations.gov Web site and
also can be viewed at USDA, Room 1141, South Building, 14th St.
and Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C., between 8 a.m.
and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. To
facilitate entry into the comment reading room, please call
(202) 690-2817. |
|
