27046 Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Proposed Rules

public comment from the broadest range

of stakeholders, the comment period on

the proposed rule is being extended for

an additional 60 days from the original

July 16, 2001 deadline to September 14,

2001.

DATES: The comment period has been

extended and now expires on

September 14, 2001. Comments received

after this date will be considered if it is

practical to do so, but the Commission

is able to ensure consideration only for

comments received before this date.

ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to:

Secretary, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, D.C. 20555–

0001. ATTN: Rulemakings and

Adjudications Staff.

Hand delivered comments should also

be addressed to the Secretary, U.S.

Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and

delivered to: 11555 Rockville Pike,

Rockville, MD, between 7:30 am and

4:15 pm Federal workdays.

You may also provide comments via

the NRC’s interactive rulemaking

website (http://ruleforum.llnl). This site

also provides the availability to upload

comments as files (any format), if your

web browser supports that function. For

information about the interactive

rulemaking site, contact Ms. Carol

Gallagher, (301) 415–5905; e-mail

CAG@nrc.gov.

Certain documents relating to this

rulemaking, including comments

received, may be examined at the NRC

Public Document Room, 11555

Rockville Pike, Room O1–F21,

Rockville, MD. The same documents

may also be viewed and downloaded

electronically via the rulemaking

website, http://ruleforum.llnl.gov.

Documents created or received at the

NRC after November 1, 1999 are also

available electronically at the NRC’s

Public Electronic Reading Room on the

Internet at http://www.nrc.gov/NRC/

ADAMS/index.html. From this site, the

public can gain entry into the NRC’s

Agencywide Document Access and

Management System (ADAMS), which

provides text and image files of NRC’s

public documents. For more

information, contact the NRC Public

Document Room (PDR) Reference staff

at 1–800–397–4209, 301–415–4737 or

by email to pdr@nrc.gov.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Geary S. Mizuno, Office of the General

Counsel, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory

Commission, Washington, DC 20555–

0001, telephone (301) 415–1639, e-mail

GSM@nrc.gov.

Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 10th day

of May, 2001.

For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Annette L. Vietti-Cook,

Secretary of the Commission.

[FR Doc. 01–12338 Filed 5–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7590–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF STATE

22 CFR Part 62

[Public Notice 3639]

Exchange Visitor Program

AGENCY: Department of State.

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for

comment.

SUMMARY: This proposed rule would

amend existing regulations governing

the au pair exchange program. These

amendments would create a subcategory of au pair exchange

participation under which the au pair

participant would provide fewer hours

of child care for the host family while

the required educational component

that the au pair must complete would

increase from not less than six semester

hours of academic credit or its

equivalent per year to not less than

twelve semester hours of academic

credit or its equivalent per year.

DATES: Comments regarding this

proposed rule will be accepted until

June 15, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Comments regarding this

proposed rule should be submitted in

duplicate and addressed as follows: U.S.

Department of State, Bureau of

Educational and Cultural Affairs, 301

Fourth Street, SW., Room 852,

Washington, DC 20547.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stanley S. Colvin, U.S. Department of

State, 301 Fourth Street, SW., Room

852, Washington, DC 20547; telephone

(202) 619–6828.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: These

regulations govern Departmentdesignated au pair programs under

which foreign nationals are afforded the

opportunity to live with an American

host family and participate directly in

the home life of the host family while

providing child care services and

attending a U.S. post-secondary

educational institution. The

Department’s goal in proposing

amendment of these existing regulations

is to provide an opportunity for

participation by foreign nationals who

wish to pursue their academic studies

more vigorously. To this end, the

Department proposes to reduce the

amount of child care services the

potential au pair participant will

provide to not more than 30 hours per

week while increasing the amount of

academic credit the au pair will pursue

to not less than twelve semester hours

or its equivalent. At the suggestion of

Department-designated au pair

sponsors, the Department proposes to

identify this form of au pair

participation as EduCare. Existing

provisions for au pair participation

based upon up to 45 hours of child care

services and the pursuit of not less than

six semester hours of academic credit or

its equivalent remain unchanged.

To accomplish this dual objective, the

Department is advised by its designated

au pair program sponsors that potential

EduCare au pair participants should be

placed with host families that need

before and after school child care

services for their school age children.

Accordingly, the Department proposes

that potential EduCare au pair

participants not be placed with families

having pre-school children unless

alternative, full-time arrangements are

in place for the supervision of such preschool children. As the potential

EduCare au pair participant will be

more actively pursuing his or her

academic studies, the Department is

also proposing a reduction in the

number of hours that the au pair will

provide child care services from not

more than 45 hours per week to not

more than 30 hours per week. This

reduction in the number of hours of

child care services provided dictates a

corresponding reduction in the weekly

wage paid to an EduCare au pair

participant. An au pair participating in

the EduCare program would still be paid

in accordance with the provisions of the

Fair Labor Standards Act. However, as

a matter of administrative convenience

for both Department-designated

sponsors and participating host families,

the Department proposes that the

weekly wage for EduCare au pair

participants be calculated as a

percentage of the weekly wage paid to

all other au pair participants.

The Department invites comment

regarding this proposed rule

notwithstanding the fact that it is under

no legal obligation to do so. The

oversight and administration of the

Exchange Visitor Program are deemed to

be a foreign affairs function of the

United States Government. The

Administrative Procedures Act, 5 U.S.C.

553(a)(1) (1994), specifically exempts

foreign affairs functions from the

rulemaking requirements of the Act.

List of Subjects in 22 CFR Part 62

Cultural exchange programs.

Accordingly, 22 CFR Part 62 is

proposed to be amended as follows:

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 95 / Wednesday, May 16, 2001 / Proposed Rules 27047

PART 62—EXCHANGE VISITOR

PROGRAM

1. The Authority citation for Part 62

continues to read as follows:

Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J), 1182,

1184, 1258; 22 U.S.C. 1431–1442, 2451–2460;

Foreign Affairs Reform and Restructuring Act

of 1998, Pub. L. 105–277, 112 Stat. 2681 et

seq.; Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1977, 3

CFR, 1977 Comp. p. 200; E.O. 12048 of

March 27, 1978; 3 CFR, 1978 Comp. p. 168.

2. Section 62.31 is amended by

revising paragraphs (a), (c)(1) through

(c)(3), (e) introductory text, (e)(3) and

(e)(5), (j), and (k) to read as follows:

§ 62.31 Au pairs.

(a) Introduction. This section governs

Department of State-designated

exchange visitor programs under which

foreign nationals are afforded the

opportunity to live with an American

host family and participate directly in

the home life of the host family. All au

pair participants provide child care

services to the host family and attend a

U.S. post-secondary educational

institution. Au pair participants provide

up to forty-five hours of child care

services per week and pursue not less

than six semester hours of academic

credit or its equivalent during their year

of program participation. Au pairs

participating in the EduCare program

provide up to thirty hours of child care

services per week and pursue not less

than twelve semester hours of academic

credit or its equivalent during their year

of program participation.

* * * * *

(c) * * *

(1) Limit the participation of foreign

nationals in such programs to not more

than one year;

(2) Limit the number of hours an

EduCare au pair participant is obligated

to provide child care services to not

more than 10 hours per day or more

than 30 hours per week and limit the

number of hours all other au pair

participants are obligated to provide

child care services to not more than 10

hours per day or more than 45 hours per

week;

(3) Require that EduCare au pair

participants register and attend classes

offered by an accredited U.S. postsecondary institution for not less than

twelve semester hours of academic

credit or its equivalent and that all other

au pair participants register and attend

classes offered by an accredited U.S.

post-secondary institution for not less

than six semester hours of academic

credit or its equivalent;

* * * * *

(e) Au pair placement. Sponsors shall

secure, prior to the au pair’s departure

from the home country, a host family

placement for each participant.

Sponsors shall not:

* * * * *

(3) Place an au pair with a host family

having children under the age of two,

unless the au pair has at least 200 hours

of documented infant child care

experience. An au pair participating in

the EduCare program shall not be placed

with a family having pre-school

children in the home unless alternative

full-time arrangements for the

supervision of such pre-school children

are in place;

* * * * *

(5) Place an au pair with a host family

unless a written agreement between the

au pair and the host family detailing the

au pair’s obligation to provide child care

has been signed by both the au pair and

the host family prior to the au pair’s

departure from his or her home country.

Such agreement shall clearly state

whether the au pair is an EduCare

program participant or not. Such

agreement shall not limit the obligation

to provide child care services to not

more than 10 hours per day or more

than 45 hours per week unless the au

pair is an EduCare participant. Such

agreement shall limit the obligation of

an EduCare participant to provide child

care service to not more than 10 hours

per day or more than 30 hours per week.

* * * * *

(j) Wages and hours. Sponsors shall

require that au pair participants:

(1) Are compensated at a weekly rate

based upon 45 hours of child care

services per week and paid in

conformance with the requirements of

the Fair Labor Standards Act as

interpreted and implemented by the

United Stated Department of Labor.

EduCare participants shall be

compensated at a weekly rate that is

75% of the weekly rate paid to nonEduCare participants;

(2) Do not provide more than 10 hours

of child care per day, or more than 45

hours of child care in any one-week.

EduCare participants may not provide

more than 10 hours of child care per day

or more than 30 hours of child care in

any one week;

(3) Receive a minimum of one and

one half days off per week in addition

to one complete weekend off each

month; and

(4) Receive two weeks of paid

vacation.

(k) Educational component. Sponsors

shall require that during their period of

program participation, all EduCare au

pair participants are enrolled in an

accredited U.S. post-secondary

institution for not less than twelve

semester hours of academic credit or its

equivalent and that all other au pair

participants are enrolled in an

accredited U.S. post-secondary

institution for not less than six semester

hours of academic credit or its

equivalent. As a condition of program

participation, host family participants

must agree to facilitate the enrollment

and attendance of the au pair in an

accredited U.S. post-secondary

institution and to pay the cost of such

academic course work in an amount not

to exceed $1,000 for EduCare au pair

participants and in an amount not to

exceed $500 for all other au pair

participants.

* * * * *

Dated: March 23, 2001.

Helena Kane Finn,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational

and Cultural Affairs, Department of State.

[FR Doc. 01–12375 Filed 5–15–01; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4710–05–P

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[AL–057–200105; FRL–6980–5]

Approval and Promulgation of

Implementation Plans: Alabama:

Nitrogen Oxides Budget and

Allowance Trading Program

AGENCY: Environmental Protection

Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve

a State Implementation Plan (SIP)

revision submitted by the State of

Alabama on March 12, 2001. This

revision responds to the EPA’s

regulation entitled, ‘‘Finding of

Significant Contribution and

Rulemaking for Certain States in the

Ozone Transport Assessment Group

Region for Purposes of Reducing

Regional Transport of Ozone,’’

otherwise known as the ‘‘NOX SIP Call.’’

This revision establishes and requires a

nitrogen oxides (NOX) allowance trading

program for large electric generating and

industrial units, and reductions for

cement kilns, beginning in 2004. The

intended effect of this SIP revision is to

reduce emissions of NOX in order to

help attain the national ambient air

quality standard for ozone. EPA is

proposing to approve Alabama’s NOX

Reduction and Trading Program because

it meets the requirements of the Phase

I NOX SIP Call that will significantly

reduce ozone transport in the eastern

United States. EPA has deemed the