SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Under the authority of the plant pest provisions of the Plant Protection Act (7 U.S.C. 7701-7772, 7781-7786) and 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,” APHIS regulates, 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.

APHIS received a petition (APHIS Petition Number 19-316-01p) from Monsanto Company, as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bayer Crop Science (Bayer/Monsanto), seeking a determination of nonregulated status for MON 87429 maize (corn), which has been developed using genetic engineering for dicamba, glufosinate, quizalofop, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) resistance with tissue-specific glyphosate resistance facilitating the production of hybrid maize seed. The petition provides information in support of petitioners' position that MON 87429 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.

On May 8, 2020, APHIS published the Bayer/Monsanto petition in the Federal Register seeking public comment for a period of 60 days (85 FR 27354-27355; Docket No. APHIS-2020-0021). APHIS received 4,112 comments on the petition. On April 28, 2021, APHIS published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in the Federal Register seeking public comment for a period of 30 days (86 FR 22384-22386; Docket No. APHIS-2020-0021). APHIS received 3,069 comments on the NOI.

On March 22, 2024, APHIS published the draft PPRA and draft EIS in the Federal Register (89 FR 20424-20425, APHIS-2020-0021) and accepted public comments from March 22, 2024, through May 6, 2024. APHIS received ( printed page 50514) 9,600 comments on the draft EIS and one comment on the draft PPRA. However, on August 18, 2025, APHIS published a withdrawal of the NOI (90 FR 40050; Docket No. APHIS-2025-0029). Therefore, consistent with this August 18, 2025 Federal Register notice, APHIS terminated work on the EIS.

Based on APHIS' evaluation in the PPRA of information and data submitted by Bayer/Monsanto in its petition, available scientific data, and public comments received in response to the petition and draft PPRA, APHIS has determined that MON 87429 is unlikely to pose a greater plant pest risk than the unmodified comparator and therefore is no longer subject to our regulations in 7 CFR part 340 governing the introduction of certain organisms developed using genetic engineering.

Copies of the signed determination, PPRA, and response to comments, as well as the previously published petition and supporting documents, are available as indicated in the ADDRESSES and FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT sections of this notice.

Authority:7 U.S.C. 7701-7772 and 7781-7786; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 7 CFR 2.22, 2.80, and 371.3.

91 FR 50513