Monsanto Company Petition (13-290-01p) for Determination of Nonregulated Status of Corn Rootworm-Protected and Glyphosate-Tolerant MON 87411 Maize OECD Unique Identifier: MON-87411-9 Draft Environmental Assessment April 2015 Agency Contact Cindy Eck USDA, APHIS, BRS 4700 River Road, Unit 91 Riverdale, MD 20737-1237 Phone: (301) 734-0667 Fax: (301) 734-8910 [email protected] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA’S TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and TDD). To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326–W, Whitten Building, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410 or call (202) 720–5964 (voice and TDD). USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Mention of companies or commercial products in this report does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture over others not mentioned. USDA neither guarantees nor warrants the standard of any product mentioned. Product names are mentioned solely to report factually on available data and to provide specific information. This publication reports research involving pesticides. All uses of pesticides must be registered by appropriate State and/or Federal agencies before they can be recommended. MON 87411 MAIZE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION ............................................................................................................. PAGE LIST OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ........................................................ vii 1 PURPOSE AND NEED ............................................................................................ 1 1.1 BACKGROUND ................................................................................................. 1 1.2 PURPOSE OF PRODUCT ................................................................................. 1 1.3 COORDINATED FRAMEWORK REVIEW FOR MON 87411 MAIZE ................ 2 1.3.1 USDA-APHIS .......................................................................................... 3 1.3.2 Environmental Protection Agency ........................................................... 3 1.3.3 Food and Drug Administration................................................................. 4 1.4 PURPOSE AND NEED FOR APHIS ACTION ................................................... 5 1.5 PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT ................................................................................... 6 1.5.1 First Opportunity for Public Involvement ................................................. 6 1.5.2 Second Opportunity for Public Involvement ............................................ 6 1.5.3 Public Involvement for Petition AHPIS Petition No. 13-290-01p ............. 7 1.6 ISSUES CONSIDERED ....................................................................................... 8 1.6.1 Summary of Issues ................................................................................. 8 1.6.2 Response to Comments .......................................................................... 9 2 AFFECTED ENVIRONMENT................................................................................. 10 2.1 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION OF Maize .................................................... 10 2.1.1 Areas and Acreage of Corn Production ................................................. 11 2.1.2 Agronomic Practices: Tillage, Crop Rotation, and Agronomic Inputs ... 14 2.1.3 Organic Corn Farming and Specialty Corn Systems ............................. 22 2.2 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ............................................................................ 24 2.2.1 Soil Quality ............................................................................................ 24 2.2.2 Water Resources .................................................................................. 25 2.2.3 Air Quality.............................................................................................. 27 2.2.4 Climate Change .................................................................................... 29 i MON 87411 MAIZE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 2.3 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES ............................................................................ 30 2.3.1 Animal Communities ............................................................................. 30 2.3.2 Plant Communities ................................................................................ 34 2.3.3 Soil Microorganisms .............................................................................. 37 2.3.4 Biological Diversity ................................................................................ 37 2.3.5 Gene Movement .................................................................................... 39 2.4 HUMAN HEALTH ............................................................................................. 40 2.4.1 Public Health ......................................................................................... 41 2.4.2 Worker Health and Safety ..................................................................... 43 2.5 ANIMAL FEED ................................................................................................. 45 2.6 SOCIOECONOMIC ISSUES ............................................................................ 46 2.6.1 Domestic Economic Environment ......................................................... 47 2.6.2 Trade Economic Environment ............................................................... 52 3 ALTERNATIVES .................................................................................................... 55 3.1 NO ACTION: CONTINUATION AS A REGULATED ARTICLE ........................ 55 3.2 PREFERRED ALTERNATIVE: DETERMINATION THAT MON 87411 MAIZE IS NO LONGER A REGULATED ARTICLE ....................................... 55 3.3 ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED BUT REJECTED FROM FURTHER CONSIDERATION ......................................................................................... 56 3.3.1 Prohibit Any MON 87411 Maize from Being Released .......................... 56 3.3.2 Approve the Petition in Part................................................................... 57 3.3.3 Isolation Distance between MON 87411 Maize and Non-GE Corn and Geographical Restrictions .................................................. 57 3.3.4 Requirement of Testing for MON 87411 Maize ..................................... 58 3.4 COMPARISON OF ALTERNATIVES ............................................................... 58 4 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES ................................................................ 64 4.1 SCOPE OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS ............................................ 64 4.2 AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION OF CORN ................................................... 64 4.2.1 No-Action Alternative: Areas and Acreage of Corn Production ............. 65 4.2.2 Preferred Alternative: Areas and Acreage of Corn Production .............. 65 4.2.3 No Action Alternative: Agronomic Practices—Tillage and Crop Rotation ..................................................................................... 66 ii MON 87411 MAIZE DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT 4.2.4 Preferred Alternative: Agronomic Practices—Tillage and Crop Rotation ..................................................................................... 66 4.2.5 No Action Alternative: Agronomic Inputs ............................................... 67 4.2.6 Preferred Alternative: Agronomic Inputs ............................................... 67 4.2.7 No-Action Alternative: Organic Corn Farming ....................................... 68 4.2.8 Preferred Alternative: Organic Corn Farming ........................................ 68 4.2.9 No-Action Alternative: Specialty Corn Production ................................. 69 4.2.10 Preferred Alternative: Specialty Corn Production .................................. 69 4.3 PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT .............................................................................. 70 4.3.1 No Action Alternative: Soil Quality ......................................................... 70 4.3.2 Preferred Alternative: Soil Quality ......................................................... 71 4.3.3 No Action Alternative: Water Resources ............................................... 71 4.3.4 Preferred Alternative: Water Resources ................................................ 72 4.3.5 No Action Alternative: Air Quality .......................................................... 72 4.3.6 Preferred Alternative: Air Quality ........................................................... 73 4.3.7 No Action Alternative: Climate Change ................................................. 73 4.3.8 Preferred Alternative: Climate Change .................................................. 74 4.4 BIOLOGICAL RESOURCES .............................................................................. 74 4.4.1 No Action Alternative: Animal Communities .......................................... 74 4.4.2 Preferred Alternative: Animal Communities .......................................... 75 4.4.3 No-Action Alternative: Plant