[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 191 (Tuesday, October 4, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-24465] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: October 4, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Institute of Standards and Technology [Docket No. 940967-4267] National Voluntary Conformity Assessment System Evaluation (NVCASE) Program AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce. ACTION: Notice, Request for public comments. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This is to advise the public that the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has received a request from the National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) to have its recreational craft certification program recognized under the NIST National Voluntary Conformity Assessment System Evaluation (NVCASE) Program. DATES: Comments on this request must be received by November 3, 1994. ADDRESSES: Comments should be submitted in writing to Mr. Robert L. Gladhill, Program Manager, NVCASE, National Institute of Standards and Technology, Administration Building, room A-629, Gaithersburg, MD 20899 or by telefax at 301-963-2871. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Either Mr. John L. Donaldson, Chief, Standards Code and Information, or Robert L. Gladhill, NVCASE Program Manager, in writing at NIST, Admin A629, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, by telephone at 301-975-4029 or by telefax at 301-963-2871. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The U.S. boating industry manufactures more than 50% of all recreational boats sold throughout the world, a considerable portion of which are sold in the European market. In order to continue to sell in the European Union (EU) market, the U.S. recreational boat manufacturing industry will soon be required to satisfy new regulatory requirements established under EU Directive 94/ 25/EEC relating to recreation craft. Manufactures will also be required to attest to the conformity of their products with the requirements. The NMMA operates a program to certify that recreational boats, boating accessories and components meet specified requirements. If its certification operations are accredited by NIST under the NVCASE program, NMMA will be able to provide the required certifications and thereby facilities exports of U.S. products to the EU market. the NVCASE procedures at 15 CFR Part 286 require NIST to seek public consultation when it receives requests for evaluation. This notice therefore is a solicitation for comments on the NMMA request. Contingent upon the comments received, NIST will schedule a public workshop to define general and specific criteria for conducting the requested evaluation. The letter from the NMMA follows: July 14, 1994. Mr. Robert L. Gladhill, Manager, NVCASE Program, Admin A629, NIST Gaithersburg, MD 20899 Dear Bob: We hereby submit to you our formal request to have the NMMA certification program recognized by your NVCASE program. As you know we have been one of your earliest supporters and as early as 1991 the U.S. Coast Guard supported our efforts in a letter to NIST. This has become especially urgent now because a Directive related to recreational craft has been adopted by the EC in Europe with an implementation date of June 1996. This Directive refers to both the completed boat and components, which the boat manufacturer usually orders a year before his next model year. Thus a boat manufacturer would place his orders for engines and other components at the trade shows in October of 1994. He would then commence building the boats during 1995 for the 1996 models which must comply with the Directive. The NMMA certification is for recreational craft, the Directive is specifically for craft from 2.5 to 24 meters length. The US Coast Guard has the responsibility for the safety aspect of these products. This certification would be limited to product certification, in the Directive referred to as modules Aa and B+C, and thus would entail conformity assessment. At this time we do not plan on getting involved in the quality assessment. NMMA is a member of the Recreational Marine Agreement Group recently recognized by the EOTC, whose members follow the same procedures for product certification. There are some 30 ISO standards related to small craft that will be used for this certification. These ISO standards are in various stages of becoming adopted by CEN in Europe. Recreational craft has been established as a top priority item for the Mutual Recognition Agreement discussion between US and EC. These discussions have been conducted with the anticipation of NMMA being accredited by NVCASE. Further, the USCG communication of 1991 suggested that NMMA become accredited by your program. Of additional importance is the short time schedule for accreditation so components can be certificated by the end of this year. If we were to go via any other organization, it is highly unlikely NMMA would get the needed accreditation in time. The US presently has a positive balance of trade in this industry, but if we do not have our products in place, when this Directive goes into effect, we will have a severe setback, which may affect the US boat manufacturer's profitability and possibly employment. The NMMA certificates 75-80% of all boats sold in the US. Many of the manufacturers of these boats rely on export to be profitable. The participating manufacturers would probably be over 200 initially. We request that you proceed with the accreditation level for NMMA as a product certification body as soon as possible. Please let us know if there is any help we can provide. Sincerely, G. Medford Smith, Technical Director. Interested persons should submit comments in writing to the above address. All comments received in response to this notice will become part of the public record and will be available for inspection and copying at the Commerce Department Records and Inspection facility, room 6020, Hoover Building, Washington, DC 20230. Dated: September 28, 1994. Samuel Kramer, Associate Director. [FR Doc. 94-24465 Filed 10-3-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-13-M