Notice2026-19239
Bayer U.S.-Crop Science: Availability of a Petition for a Determination of Nonregulated Status and Draft Plant Pest Risk Assessment for MON 89151 Lepidopteran-Protected Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 21, 2026
Issuing agencies
Agriculture DepartmentAnimal and Plant Health Inspection Service
Abstract
We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition from Bayer U.S.-Crop Science seeking a determination of nonregulated status for MON 89151 lepidopteran-protected cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) which has been developed using genetic engineering to express three insecticidal proteins to protect against feeding damage caused by target lepidopteran pests. We are making the petition and draft plant pest risk assessment available for public review and comment.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 181 (Monday, September 21, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 181 (Monday, September 21, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 59758-59759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-19239]
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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service
[Docket No. APHIS-2026-0859]
Bayer U.S.-Crop Science: Availability of a Petition for a
Determination of Nonregulated Status and Draft Plant Pest Risk
Assessment for MON 89151 Lepidopteran-Protected Cotton (Gossypium
hirsutum)
AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.
ACTION: Notice of availability.
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SUMMARY: We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health
Inspection Service has received a petition from Bayer U.S.-Crop Science
seeking a determination of nonregulated status for MON 89151
lepidopteran-protected cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) which has been
developed using genetic engineering to express three insecticidal
proteins to protect against feeding damage caused by target
lepidopteran 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
November 20, 2026.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments by either of the following methods:
<bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>.
Enter APHIS-2026-0859 in the Search field. Select the Documents tab,
then select the Comment button in the list of documents.
<bullet> Postal Mail/Commercial Delivery: Send your comment to
Docket No. APHIS-2026-0859, Regulatory Analysis and Development, PPD,
APHIS, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue #AP760, Beltsville, MD 20705.
The petition, draft plant pest risk assessment, and any comments we
receive on this docket may be viewed at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Alan Pearson, Biotechnology
Regulatory Services, APHIS, USDA, 5601 Sunnyside Avenue, AP100-3-WS-
1151, Beltsville, MD 20705; (301) 851-3944; email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3a5b565b54144a5f5b484955547a4f495e5b145d554c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d5b4b9b4bbfba5b0b4a7a6babb95a0a6b1b4fbb2baa3">[email protected]</span></a>.
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.''
Section 340.6(a) of the regulations provides 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 Sec. 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 25-323-01p)
from Bayer U.S.-Crop Science seeking a determination of nonregulated
status for MON 89151 lepidopteran-protected cotton (Gossypium
hirsutum), referred to as MON 89151, which has been developed using
genetic engineering to express three insecticidal proteins (Vip3Cb1.1,
Cry1Da_7, and Cry1B.3) to protect against feeding damage caused by
target lepidopteran pests. The petition states that the information
provided indicates that MON 89151 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 MON 89151 with that of the nonmodified
variety from which it was derived. The draft PPRA concluded that MON
89151 is unlikely to pose an increased plant pest risk compared to the
nonmodified cotton.
Paragraph (d) of Sec. 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 Sec. 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
[[Page 59759]]
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 16th day of September 2026.
Kelly Moore,
Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.
[FR Doc. 2026-19239 Filed 9-18-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-34-P
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