Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Proposed Rules 32175

B. Executive Order 13045

The proposed rule is not subject to

E.O. 13045, entitled ‘‘Protection of

Children from Environmental Health

Risks and Safety Risks,’’ because it is

not an ‘‘economically significant’’ action

under E.O. 12866.

C. Regulatory Flexibility Act

Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act,

5 U.S.C. 600 et seq., EPA must prepare

a regulatory flexibility analysis

assessing the impact of any proposed or

final rule on small entities. 5 U.S.C. 603

and 604. Alternatively, EPA may certify

that the rule will not have a significant

impact on a substantial number of small

entities. Small entities include small

businesses, small not-for-profit

enterprises, and government entities

with jurisdiction over populations of

less than 50,000.

SIP approvals under section 110 and

subchapter I, part D of the Clean Air Act

do not create any new requirements but

simply approve requirements that the

State is already imposing. Therefore,

because the Federal SIP approval does

not impose any new requirements, the

Administrator certifies that it does not

have a significant impact on any small

entities affected. Moreover, due to the

nature of the Federal-State relationship

under the CAA, preparation of a

flexibility analysis would constitute

Federal inquiry into the economic

reasonableness of state action. The

Clean Air Act forbids EPA to base its

actions concerning SIPs on such

grounds. Union Electric Co. v. U.S. EPA,

427 U.S. 246, 255–66 (1976); 42 U.S.C.

7410(a)(2).

D. Unfunded Mandates

Under section 202 of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995

(‘‘Unfunded Mandates Act’’), signed

into law on March 22, 1995, EPA must

prepare a budgetary impact statement to

accompany any proposed or final rule

that includes a Federal mandate that

may result in estimated costs to State,

local, or tribal governments in the

aggregate; or to private sector, of $100

million or more. Under section 205,

EPA must select the most cost-effective

and least burdensome alternative that

achieves the objectives of the rule and

is consistent with statutory

requirements. Section 203 requires EPA

to establish a plan for informing and

advising any small governments that

may be significantly or uniquely

impacted by the rule.

EPA has determined that the approval

action being proposed does not include

a Federal mandate that may result in

estimated costs of $100 million or more

to either State, local, or tribal

governments in the aggregate, or to the

private sector. This Federal action

approves pre-existing requirements

under State or local law, and imposes

no new requirements. Accordingly, no

additional costs to State, local, or tribal

governments, or to the private sector,

result from this action.

The Administrator’s decision to

approve or disapprove this SIP revision

for the Liberty Borough PM–10

nonattainment area revision will be

based on whether it meets the

requirements of section 110(a)(2)(A)–(K)

and part D of the Clean Air Act, as

amended, and EPA regulations in 40

CFR part 51.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

Environmental protection, Air

pollution control, Hydrocarbons,

Nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter,

Sulfur oxide.

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Dated: May 28, 1998.

W. Michael McCabe,

Regional Administrator, Region III.

[FR Doc. 98–15582 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Office of the Secretary

49 CFR Part 24

[FHWA Docket No. FHWA–98–3379]

RIN 2125–AE34

Uniform Relocation Assistance and

Real Property Acquisition Regulations

for Federal and Federally Assisted

Programs

AGENCY: Federal Highway

Administration (FHWA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking

(NPRM); request for comments.

SUMMARY: This proposal would

implement several amendments to the

Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real

Property Acquisition Policies Act

(Uniform Act), 42 U.S.C. 4601–4655,

that were made by Pub. L. 105–117,

enacted on November 21, 1997. Those

amendments provide that an alien not

lawfully present in the United States

shall not be eligible to receive relocation

payments or any other assistance

provided under the Uniform Act, unless

such ineligibility would result in

exceptional and extremely unusual

hardship to the alien’s spouse, parent,

or child, and such spouse, parent, or

child is a citizen or an alien admitted

for permanent residence. The

amendments direct the lead agency (the

FHWA) to promulgate implementing

regulations within one year of their

enactment. If promulgated, this rule

would apply to the Uniform Act

activities of all Federal departments and

agencies that are covered by the Act.

DATES: Comments must be received on

or before August 11, 1998.

ADDRESSES: Your signed, written

comments must refer to the docket

number appearing at the top of this

document and you must submit the

comments to the Docket Clerk, U.S.

DOT Dockets, Room PL–401, 400

Seventh Street, SW., Washington, DC

20590–0001. All comments received

will be available for examination at the

above address between 10 a.m. and 5

p.m., e.t., Monday through Friday,

except Federal holidays. Those desiring

notification of receipt of comments must

include a self-addressed, stamped

envelope or post card.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Marshall Schy, Office of Right-of-Way,

(202) 366–2035; or Reid Alsop, Office of

the Chief Counsel, HCC–31, (202) 366–

1371, Federal Highway Administration,

400 Seventh Street, SW., Washington,

DC 20590. Office hours are from 7:45

a.m. to 4:15 p.m., e.t., Monday through

Friday, except Federal holidays.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Electronic Access

Internet users can access all

comments received by the U.S. DOT

Dockets, Room PL–401, by using the

universal resource locator (URL): http:/

/dms.dot.gov. It is available 24 hours

each day, 365 days each year. Please

follow the instructions online for more

information and help.

An electronic copy of this document

may be downloaded by using a modem

and suitable communications software

from the Federal Register Electronic

Bulletin Board Service at (202) 512–

1661. Internet users may reach the

Federal Register’s home page at: http:/

/www.nara.gov/nara/fedreg and the

Government Printing Office’s database

at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/suldocs.

Background

The Uniform Act designates the

Department of Transportation (the

Department) as the lead agency for

implementing the Uniform Act. The

Department has delegated this

responsibility to the FHWA (49 CFR

1.48 (cc)). Pursuant to section 213 of the

Uniform Act, the FHWA promulgated a

single governmentwide regulation for

implementing the Uniform Act, at 49

CFR part 24. That regulation was

developed with the active cooperation
32176 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Proposed Rules

of the Department of Housing and Urban

Development, and was coordinated with

sixteen other affected Federal agencies.

Pub. L. 105–117, 111 Stat. 2384, was

enacted on November 21, 1997. It

amends the Uniform Act to provide that

an alien who is not lawfully present in

the United States is not eligible for

relocation benefits or assistance, under

the Uniform Act, unless the denial of

eligibility would result in an

exceptional and extremely unusual

hardship to such alien’s spouse, parent,

or child who is a citizen or is lawfully

admitted for permanent residence in the

United States. This amendment was

apparently enacted in response to a well

publicized case in California in which a

person considered to be an illegal

immigrant was provided with a

substantial relocation payment.

Persons who are forced to move from

their homes, businesses, or farms by

Federal or federally assisted programs or

projects suffer substantial

inconvenience and, in many cases, may

also suffer financial burdens or other

hardships. The Uniform Act is intended

to provide assistance to such persons.

Section 201(b) of the Uniform Act

makes it clear that the Act is intended

to establish a uniform policy for the fair

and equitable treatment of persons who

are displaced as a direct result of

programs or projects that are undertaken

by a Federal agency or with Federal

financial assistance. Its primary purpose

is to ensure that displaced persons

‘‘shall not suffer disproportionate

injuries as the result of programs and

projects designed for the benefit of the

public as a whole and to minimize the

hardship of displacement on such

persons.’’

Consistent with the overall objectives

of the Uniform Act, this proposed rule

seeks to implement Pub. L. 105–117 in

a way that would avoid imposing

significant administrative or procedural

burdens on the thousands of persons

who are displaced from their homes,

businesses, and farms each year by

Federal or federally assisted activities.

The proposal also seeks to minimize the

administrative burdens that would be

imposed on the many Federal, State and

local agencies that implement the

Uniform Act.

This proposal would require each

person seeking relocation payments or

assistance under the Uniform Act to

certify, as a condition of eligibility, that

he or she is lawfully present in the

United States. The certification could be

a part of a person’s claim for relocation

benefits (described in 49 CFR 24.207).

Displacing agencies would deny

eligibility only if: (1) a person fails to

provide the required certification; or (2)

the agency determines that a person’s

certification is invalid, based on a fair

and nondiscriminatory review of an

alien’s documentation or other

information that the agency considers

reliable and appropriate. However, no

specific level or type of review would be

prescribed. If a displacing agency

believes, based on its review or on other

credible evidence, that a person is an

alien not lawfully present in the United

States, it would obtain verification from

the local office of the Immigration and

Naturalization Service before making a

final determination to deny eligibility.

Another option, not proposed in this

NPRM, would be to establish more

detailed requirements that would

mandate such things as documentation

that would have to be provided by each

person to be displaced, and the review

procedures that would have to be

followed and the findings that would

have to be made by affected Federal,

State or local agencies.

We believe that the proposal set forth

in this NPRM document is adequate to

prevent payment of relocation benefits

in cases, such as the one that gave rise

to Pub. L. 105–117, in which a person

is determined by the displacing agency

to be an illegal alien, without imposing

substantial administrative burdens and

costs on displaced persons or displacing

agencies.

The NPRM also contains a proposed

definition of the term ‘‘alien not

lawfully present in the United States’’.

The proposed definition includes aliens

whose entry into the United States was

unlawful and aliens who may have

entered lawfully but whose presence in

the United States has become unlawful.

Immigration and Naturalization Service

(INS) regulations currently contain a

definition of the term ‘‘alien who is

lawfully present in the United States’’ at

8 CFR 103.12. The proposed definition

would utilize that INS definition, by

providing that an ‘‘alien not lawfully

present’’ in the U.S. is someone who is

not included in the INS’s definition of

an ‘‘alien who is lawfully present’’ in

the U.S.

Further, the proposal provides that

relocation eligibility would be allowed,

even if a person is not lawfully present

in the United States, if the agency

concludes that denial would result in

‘‘exceptional and extremely unusual

hardship’’ to such person’s spouse,

parent, or child who is a citizen or is

lawfully admitted for permanent

residence in the United States. Any

person who is denied eligibility may

utilize the existing appeals procedure,

described in 49 CFR 24.10.

This proposed rule includes a

definition of the phrase ‘‘exceptional

and extremely unusual hardship’’ as it

applies to such spouse, parent, or child,

which focuses on significant and

demonstrable impacts upon health,

safety, or family cohesion.

In drafting this proposal,

consideration was given to cases in

which some, but not all, occupants of a

dwelling are not lawfully present in the

United States and would be denied

Uniform Act benefits under this rule. In

such cases we believe that only the

eligible occupants should be considered

in selecting comparable dwellings and

computing a replacement housing

payment. However, this proposal does

not contain detailed information

concerning the computation of a

replacement housing payment in such a

situation. Comments are requested as to

whether additional information or

guidance on this subject should be

included in the final rule.

It should be noted that most States

have their own relocation statutes,

which enable State agencies to comply

with the Uniform Act on programs or

projects that receive Federal financial

assistance. Such States should consider

whether any changes to State law or

regulations are necessary to comply

with Pub. L. 105–117. While specific

details concerning the law’s

implementation will not be known until

a final rule is promulgated, it appears

probable that, in order to comply with

the Uniform Act, State or local

displacing agencies will need to obtain

some type of certification or verification

from all persons who are to be displaced

as the result of a federally assisted

project. Further, while we do not

believe that Pub. L. 105–117 preempts

provisions of State relocation statutes,

Federal funds could no longer

participate in the costs of any relocation

payments or assistance, provided to

aliens on federally assisted projects, that

are not consistent with the provisions of

Pub. L. 105–117 and implementing

regulations.

Finally, this proposed rule would

make two technical changes to 49 CFR

24.2 unrelated to Pub. L. 105–117. First,

it would eliminate the paragraph

designations in the alphabetized list of

definitions contained therein, to reflect

current drafting policies of the Office of

the Federal Register. Second, it would

modify the definition of ‘‘State’’ to

delete the outdated reference to the

Trust Territories of the Pacific Islands.

Cross References

Part 24 of title 49, CFR, constitutes the

governmentwide regulation

implementing the Uniform Act. The

regulations and directives of many other

Federal departments and agencies
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Proposed Rules 32177

contain a cross reference to this part in

their regulations, and the change

proposed in this notice of proposed

rulemaking would be directly applicable

to the relocation assistance activities of

these departments and agencies. The

proposed changes would also apply to

other agencies within DOT that are

covered by the Act. The parts of the

Code of Federal Regulations which

contain a cross reference to this part, are

listed below:

Department of Agriculture, 7 CFR part

21

Department of Commerce, 15 CFR part

11

Department of Defense, 32 CFR part 259

Department of Education, 34 CFR part

15

Department of Energy, 10 CFR part 1039

Environmental Protection Agency, 40

CFR part 4

Federal Emergency Management

Agency, 44 CFR part 25

General Services Administration, 41

CFR part 105–51

Department of Health and Human

Services, 45 CFR part 15

Department of Housing and Urban

Development, 24 CFR part 42

Department of Justice, 41 CFR part 128–

18

Department of Labor, 29 CFR part 12

National Aeronautics and Space

Administration, 14 CFR part 1208

Pennsylvania Avenue Development

Corporation, 36 CFR part 904

Tennessee Valley Authority, 18 CFR

part 1306

Veterans Administration, 38 CFR part

25

Rulemaking and Analyses and Notices

Executive Order 12866 (Regulatory

Planning and Review) and DOT

Regulatory Policies and Procedures

The FHWA has determined that this

action is not a significant regulatory

action within the meaning of Executive

Order 12866, nor is it a significant

regulatory action within the Department

of Transportation’s regulatory policies

and procedures. It is anticipated that the

economic impact of this rulemaking will

be minimal; therefore, a full regulatory

evaluation is not required. The FHWA

does not consider this action to be a

significant regulatory action because the

amendments would merely update

existing regulations so that they are

consistent with Pub. L. 105–117. By this

rulemaking, the agency merely proposes

to implement several amendments to

the Uniform Act to ensure that aliens

not lawfully present in the United States

are ineligible for relocation benefits or

assistance. In an effort to protect other

occupants of a dwelling, however, this

proposal would allow the displacing

agency to grant relocation eligibility if

the agency concludes that denial would

result in ‘‘exceptional and extremely

unusual hardship’’ to such person’s

spouse, parent, or child who is a citizen

or is lawfully admitted for permanent

residence in the United States. Neither

the individual nor cumulative impact of

this action would be significant because

this action would not alter the funding

levels available in Federal or federally

assisted programs covered by the

Uniform Act. The proposal would

merely prevent payment of relocation

benefits in cases where the displacing

agency determines a person to be in this

country unlawfully.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

In compliance with the Regulatory

Flexibility Act (Pub. L. 96–354, 5 U.S.C.

601–612), the agency has evaluated the

effects of this rule on small entities and

hereby certifies that this action will not

have a significant economic impact on

a substantial number of small entities.

This action would merely update and

clarify existing procedures used by

displacing agencies so as to prevent the

payment of relocation benefits to aliens

who are in this country unlawfully, in

accordance with Pub. L. 105–117.

Environmental Impacts

The FHWA has also analyzed this

action for the purpose of the National

Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C.

4321 et seq.), and has determined that

this action would not have any effect on

the quality of the human environment.

Executive Order 12612 (Federalism

Assessment)

This action has been analyzed in

accordance with the principles and

criteria contained in Executive Order

12612, and it has been determined that

this action does not have sufficient

federalism implications to warrant the

preparation of a federalism assessment.

Pub. L. 105–117 would discourage State

and local governments from providing

relocation benefits under the Uniform

Act to persons who are not lawfully

present in the United States (unless

certain hardships would result) by

denying the participation of Federal

funds in any such benefits. The FHWA

expects this to affect only a relatively

small percentage of all persons covered

by the Uniform Act. Further, this

proposal seeks to implement the

requirements of Pub. L. 105–117 in a

way that will keep administrative

burdens to a minimum.

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act

Under Section 202 of the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Pub. L.

104–4, 109 Stat. 48), the FHWA must

prepare a budgetary impact statement

on any proposal or final rule that

includes a Federal mandate that may

result in estimated annual costs to State,

local or tribal government of $100

million or more. The Congressional

Budget Office has concluded that Pub.

L. 105–117 would impose no Federal

mandates, as defined in the Unfunded

Mandates Reform Act, and would

impose no significant costs on State,

local, or tribal governments. The FHWA

concurs in that conclusion, and does not

intend to impose any duties upon State,

local or tribal governments beyond

those prescribed by Pub. L. 105–117.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This proposal contains new collection

of information requirements for

purposes of the Paperwork Reduction

Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501–3520. The

proposed collection of information is

mandated by section 1 of Pub. L. 105–

117, 111 Stat. 2384, but this proposal

seeks to minimize such collection

requirements.

This NPRM would add additional

information collection requirements to

the Office of Management and Budget

(OMB) approved information collection

budget for OMB control number 2105–

0508. Displacing agencies would require

each person who is to be displaced by

a Federal or federally assisted project, as

a condition of eligibility for relocation

payments or advisory assistance, to

certify that he or she is lawfully present

in the United States. This certification

could normally be provided as a part of

the existing relocation claim

documentation used by displacing

agencies.

The FHWA estimates that during 1996

there were approximately 6,900 persons

displaced as a result of DOT programs

or projects. Since the FHWA believes

that each displaced person should know

whether they are a citizen or are

lawfully present in the United States,

the FHWA estimates that the proposed

certification would take no more than

10 seconds per person.

Accordingly, the FHWA estimates the

public recordkeeping burden of this

proposed collection of information to be

20 hours for each year of

implementation.

Organizations and individuals

desiring to submit comments only on

the information collection requirements

must direct them to the Office of

Information and Regulatory Affairs,

OMB, Room 10235, New Executive
32178 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Proposed Rules

Office Building, Washington, DC 20503;

Attention: Desk Officer for Federal

Highway Administration. Also, please

send a copy of any comments forwarded

to the OMB to FHWA, too.

Regulation Identification Number

A regulation identification number

(RIN) is assigned to each regulatory

action listed in the Unified Agenda of

Federal Regulations. The Regulatory

Information Service Center publishes

the Unified Agenda in April and

October of each year. The RIN contained

in the heading of this document can be

used to cross reference this action with

the Unified Agenda.

List of Subjects in 49 CFR Part 24

Real property acquisition, Relocation

assistance, Reporting and recordkeeping

requirements, Transportation.

In accordance with the foregoing, the

FHWA proposes to amend part 24 of

title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, as

set forth below.

PART 24—[AMENDED]

1. The authority citation for 49 CFR

part 24 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.; 49 CFR

1.48(cc).

2. Section 24.2 is amended by

removing the alphabetical paragraph

designations from all definitions; by

adding a new term Alien not lawfully

present in the United States; by revising

paragraph (1) introductory text of the

definition of Displaced person and

adding a paragraph (2)(xii); and revising

the definition of State to read as follows:

§ 24.2 Definitions.

* * * * *

Alien not lawfully present in the

United States. The phrase ‘‘alien not

lawfully present in the United States’’

means an alien who is not ‘‘lawfully

present’’ in the United States as defined

in 8 CFR 103.12 and includes:

(1) An alien present in the United

States who has not been admitted or

paroled into the United States pursuant

to the Immigration and Nationality Act

and whose stay in the United States has

not been authorized by the United

States Attorney General, and

(2) An alien who is present in the

United States after the expiration of the

period of stay authorized by the United

States Attorney General or who

otherwise violates the terms and

conditions of admission, parole or

authorization to stay in the United

States.

* * * * *

Displaced person—

(1) General. The term ‘‘displaced

person’’ means, except as provided in

paragraph (2) of this definition, any

person who moves from the real

property or moves his or her personal

property from the real property: (This

includes a person who occupies the real

property prior to its acquisition, but

who does not meet the length of

occupancy requirements of the Uniform

Act as described at §§ 24.401(a) and

24.402(a)): * * *

* * * * *

(2) * * *

(xii) A person who is not lawfully

present in the United States and who

has been determined to be ineligible for

relocation benefits in accordance with

§ 24.208.

* * * * *

State. Any of the several States of the

United States or the District of

Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto

Rico, any territory or possession of the

United States, or a political subdivision

of any of these jurisdictions.

* * * * *

3. In part 24, in the list below, for

each section indicated in the left

column, remove the word or words

indicated in the middle column

wherever they appear in the section,

and add the word or words indicated in

the right column:

Section Remove Add

24.102(k) ................................................................ 24.2(w) ........................................................... 24.2.

24.103(c) ................................................................ 24.2(s) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.105(c) ................................................................ 24.2(s) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.202 ..................................................................... 24.2(g) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.203(b) ................................................................ 24.2(k) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.204(a) ................................................................ 24.2(d) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.205(c)(2): (ii)(B) ................................................. 24.2(d) and (f) ................................................ 24.2.

24.301 intro paragraph ........................................... 24.2(g) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.303(a) ................................................................ 24.2(g) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.304 intro paragraph ........................................... 24.2(t) ............................................................. 24.2.

24.306(a)(6) ............................................................ 24.2(e) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.306(c) ................................................................ 24.2(i) ............................................................. 24.2.

24.307(a) ................................................................ 24.2(aa) and (bb) ........................................... 24.2.

24.401(c)(4)(ii) ........................................................ 24.2(f) ............................................................. 24.2.

24.403(a) ................................................................ 24.2(d) ............................................................ 24.2.

24.403(b) ................................................................ 24.2(f) ............................................................. 24.2.

24.404(c)(2) ............................................................ 24.2(d)(2) ....................................................... 24.2.

Appendix A under the heading of Section 24.2

Definitions:

First Parag ....................................................... Section 24.2(d)(2) .......................................... Removed.

§ 24.2(d)(2) ..................................................... 24.2.

Fourth Parag ................................................... Section 24.2(d)(7) .......................................... Paragraph (7) under this definition.

Seventh Parag ................................................ Section 24.2(g)(2) .......................................... Removed.

Seventh Parag ................................................ Section 24.2(g)(2)(iv) ..................................... Paragraph (2)(iv) under this definition.

Ninth Parag ..................................................... Section 24.2(k) ............................................... Removed.

Appendix A under the heading of Section 24.404

Replacement Housing of Last Resort:

First Parag. ...................................................... 24.2(p) ............................................................ 24.2.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 113 / Friday, June 12, 1998 / Proposed Rules 32179

4. Part 24 is amended by

redesignating § 24.208 as § 24.209 and

by adding a new § 24.208 to read as

follows:

§ 24.208 Aliens not lawfully present in the

United States.

(a) Each person seeking relocation

payments or relocation advisory

assistance shall, as a condition of

eligibility, certify that he or she is

either:

(1) A citizen or national of the United

States, or

(2) An alien who is lawfully present

in the United States.

(b) The displacing agency shall

consider the certification provided

pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section

to be valid, unless the displacing agency

determines in accordance with

paragraph (d) that it is invalid based on

a review of an alien’s documentation or

other information that the agency

considers reliable and appropriate.

(c) Any review by the displacing

agency of the certifications provided

pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section

shall be conducted in a

nondiscriminatory fashion. Each

displacing agency will apply the same

standard of review to all such

certifications it receives, except that

such standard may be revised

periodically.

(d) If, based on a review of an alien’s

documentation or other credible

evidence, a displacing agency has

reason to believe that a person’s

certification is invalid (for example a

document reviewed does not on its face

reasonably appear to be genuine), and

that, as a result, such person may be an

alien not lawfully present in the United

States, it shall obtain the following

information before making a final

determination.

(1) If the agency has reason to believe

that the certification of a person who

has certified that he or she is an alien

lawfully present in the United States is

invalid, the displacing agency shall

obtain verification of the alien’s status

from the local Immigration and

Naturalization Service (INS) Office. A

list of local INS offices was published in

the Federal Register on November 17,

1997 at 62 FR 61350. Any request for

INS verification shall include the alien’s

full name, date of birth and alien

number, and a copy of the alien’s

documentation.

(2) If the agency has reason to believe

that the certification of a person who

has certified that he or she is a citizen

or national is invalid, the displacing

agency shall request evidence of United

States citizenship or nationality from

such person and, if considered

necessary, verify the accuracy of such

evidence with the issuer.

(e) No relocation payments or

relocation advisory assistance shall be

provided to a person who is determined

to be not lawfully present in the United

States, unless such person can

demonstrate to the displacing agency’s

satisfaction that the denial of relocation

benefits will result in exceptional and

extremely unusual hardship to such

person’s spouse, parent, or child who is

a citizen of the United States, or is an

alien lawfully admitted for permanent

residence in the United States.

(f) For purposes of paragraph (e) of

this section, ‘‘exceptional and extremely

unusual hardship’’ to such spouse,

parent, or child of the person not

lawfully present in the United States

means that the denial of relocation

payments and advisory assistance to

such person will directly result in:

(1) A significant and demonstrable

adverse impact on the health or safety

of such spouse, parent, or child;

(2) A significant and demonstrable

adverse impact on the continued

existence of the family unit of which

such spouse, parent, or child is a

member; or

(3) Any other impact that the lead

agency determines will have a

significant and demonstrable adverse

impact on such spouse, parent, or child.

(g) The certification referred to in

paragraph (a) of this section may be

included as part of the claim for

relocation payments described in

§ 24.207.

Issued on: June 5, 1998.

Kenneth R. Wykle,

Federal Highway Administrator.

[FR Doc. 98–15608 Filed 6–11–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–22–P

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration

49 CFR Part 571

[Docket No. 96–43, Notice 4]

International Regulatory

Harmonization, Motor Vehicle Safety;

Motor Vehicles and Motor Vehicle

Equipment

AGENCY: National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration (NHTSA), DOT.

ACTION: Notice of public meeting.

SUMMARY: This notice is to advise

interested parties that the NHTSA

Administrator, Dr. Ricardo Martinez,

will conduct a public meeting on June

17, 1998. The meeting has several

purposes. One is to provide a brief

summary of the progress of negotiations

concerning the draft Agreement on

Global Technical Regulations for

harmonizing and developing global

technical regulations that promote ever

higher levels of environmental

protection, safety, energy efficiency and

anti-theft performance of wheeled

vehicles, equipment and parts which

can be fitted and/or be used on wheeled

vehicles. The Agreement is expected to

be open for signature during the One

Hundred and Fifteenth Session of the

United Nations Economic Commission

for Europe’s Working Party on the

Construction of Vehicles (UN/ECE/

WP.29) to be held June 22–26, 1998, in

Geneva, Switzerland. The other and

more important purpose of the meeting

is to outline and then invite discussion

of possible measures that NHTSA can

use for promoting effective public

participation, here in the United States,

and in Geneva, in the implementation of

the Agreement.

DATES: The public meeting will be held

on Wednesday, June 17, 1998, at the

address given below, and will begin at

4:00 p.m. and end at 5:30 p.m.

ADDRESSES: The public meeting will be

held in Room 6332–36 of the Nassif

Building, 400 Seventh St, SW.,

Washington, DC 20590.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Ms. Julie Abraham, Acting Director,

Office of International Harmonization,

National Highway Traffic Safety

Administration, 400 Seventh Street SW.,

Washington, DC 20590. Tel.: (202) 366–

2114, and Fax: (202) 366–2106.

Persons planning to attend the

meeting are requested to contact Ms.

Julie Abraham by June 16, 1998.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On

October 12, 1997, the Department of

State authorized NHTSA and the U.S.

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

to conclude an agreement under the

auspices of the UN/ECE concerning the

establishment of global technical

regulations relating to vehicles and

related equipment and parts. on March

12, 1998, the U.S., Japan and the EC

reached agreement on a text which was

presented to the members of WP.29 for

comments and final negotiations during

the June 1998 Session of WP.29. It is

anticipated that the text will be

finalized and officially opened for

signature on June 25, 1998 by all

countries that are members of the UN.

The negotiations concerning the text

of the Agreement have been and will

continue to be guided by principles set

forth by Dr. Martinez as requirements

that need to be met for the agency to

become involved in any international