Seed Comments Wanted

OMAHA (DTN) -- The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has announced the comment period for its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for cultivars of corn and soybean resistant to 2,4-D, and announced that comments regarding dicamba-resistant seeds being created by Monsanto are also being accepted.

In May, APHIS announced that it would be preparing an EIS on the genetically engineered seeds before allowing commercial launch.

The comment period on the two EIS efforts is until July 17. APHIS also will hold two online "virtual public" meetings to allow live testimony about the environmental impact of these seeds.

This is the second time, and the first for agronomic crops, where USDA has asked for an EIS ahead of deregulating a new GE plant. That deregulation is the step necessary to allow commercial sales.

It is also the second time APHIS has used virtual public meetings to gather comments. The first instance for a pre-sales EIS and virtual meetings, which took place in late April, involved the EIS for GE eucalyptus trees that are altered for frost resistance. That GE trait would allow the trees used in pulp production to survive winters in the southern U.S. The trees were created by ArborGen LLC of South Carolina.

APHIS has not commented on whether an EIS will become standard procedure, but some experts have speculated that the agency may call for the impact statements ahead of deregulation and commercial launch of new GE crops in the future. In two recent cases, glyphosate-tolerant alfalfa and glyphosate-tolerant sugar beets, USDA deregulated the crops, seed was sold and planted, then lawsuits filed by environmental groups led to market disruptions as APHIS worked on environmental impact studies under court order.

At the April online event for GE trees, a handful of speakers discussed the potential for GE eucalyptus trees to grow wild and destroy habitat, as well as speaking against the idea of single-tree species plantations in general. ArborGen has a number of GE trees in its pipeline, and they would likely be grown in plantation-style settings.

ArborGen has been growing the GE eucalyptus trees in experimental plots since 2002, and petitioned APHIS in January 2011 to deregulate the GE trees, which allows for full commercial production. APHIS announced in February 2013 that it would be preparing an EIS on the trees ahead of possible deregulation. The comment period on that EIS ended in April. According to the APHIS website, the agency will publish a draft EIS and then open a second public comment period.

APHIS has not commented on the timing of those events, nor has it commented on a time schedule for the completion of EIS for 2,4-D or the dicamba seed varieties. Farm commodity groups have speculated that the EIS of 2,4-D and dicamba could delay the commercialization of those seeds by up to two years.

Comments on the environmental impact of 2,4-D-tolerant crops can be submitted, by July 17, two ways, according to APHIS information. Online comments can be submitted at http://www.regulations.gov/….

Mailed documents can be sent to: Docket No. APHIS-2013-0042, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD, APHIS, Station 3A-03.8, 4700 River Road Unit 118, Riverdale, MD 20737-1238.

For comments on dicamba-tolerant seeds, submit online to:

http://www.regulations.gov/…

Mailed documents should be sent to the same APHIS address as for 2,4-D, but reference Docket No. APHIS-2013-0043.

The virtual public meetings are June 26, from 7-9 p.m. EDT and June 27, 2013, from 4-6 p.m. EDT. For information on attending those meetings, go to http://www.aphisvirtualmeetings.com/….

Editor's note: this story was updated to include information on the comment period for dicamba seeds from Monsanto.

Greg Horstmeier can be reached at greg.horstmeier@telventdtn.com

(AG/SK)

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