WEED SCIENCE SOCIETIES COMMENT ON APHIS REVISION OF ITS BIOTECHNOLOGY REGULATIONS

The National and Regional Weed Science Societies submitted comments on APHIS’s proposed rule regarding the importation, interstate movement, and environmental release of certain genetically engineered (GE) organisms. APHIS’s proposed revisions are in response to advances in genetic engineering and APHIS’s accumulated experience in implementing the current regulations.  While we complimented APHIS on the many positive aspects of the proposal, we encouraged APHIS to re-propose a rule that minimizes regulatory uncertainty related to their weed risk assessment model.