[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 126 (Friday, July 1, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38106-38108]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-13092]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


Meetings: Weights and Measures National Conference

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Announcement of public meeting of the National Conference on 
Weights and Measures.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Annual Meeting of the National 
Conference on Weights and Measures will be held July 10 through 14, 
2005, at the Hilton in Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL. This meeting is 
open to the public. Meeting registration and hotel information can be 
found on the NCWM Web site (http://www.ncwm.net). The National 
Conference on Weights and Measures is an organization of weights and 
measures enforcement officials of the states, counties, and cities of 
the United States, and private sector representatives. The Annual 
Meeting of the Conference brings together enforcement officials, other 
government officials, and representatives of business, industry, trade 
associations, and consumer organizations to discuss

[[Page 38107]]

and vote upon subjects related to the field of weights and measures 
technology and administration. Pursuant to (15 U.S.C. 272(b)(6)), the 
National Institute of Standards and Technology supports the National 
Conference on Weights and Measures in order to promote uniformity among 
the States in the complexity of laws, regulations, methods of 
inspection, and testing of equipment that comprises regulatory control 
by the states of commercial weighing and measuring.

DATES: July 10-14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: The Hilton in Walt Disney World, Orlando, FL.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Conference on Weights and 
Measures (NCWM) has the following topics scheduled for discussion and 
vote at the Annual Meeting in July. This meeting is comprised of work 
sessions of the NCWM Committees to discuss and modify, if necessary, 
and to present items for vote on recommendations that are considered 
sufficiently developed. Please see NCWM Publication 16, which is 
available on the NIST Web site (http://www.nist.gov/owm) and the NCWM 
Web site (http://www.ncwm.net) for additional information. Written 
comments may be submitted to the Chief, NIST Weights and Measures 
Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2600, or 
via email at [email protected].
    The following provides a brief description of the voting items. 
Additional information items and subjects for further development will 
be presented to receive additional input. The NCWM Specifications and 
Tolerances Committee addresses proposed changes or amendments to NIST 
Handbook 44, ``Specifications, Tolerances, and other Technical 
Requirements for Weighing and Measuring Devices.'' The items address 
commercial weighing and measuring devices that may be used in 
commercial measurement applications, that is, devices that are normally 
used to buy from or sell to the general public or used for determining 
the quantity of products sold among businesses. Issues on the agenda of 
the NCWM Laws and Regulations Committee relate to NIST Handbook 130, 
``Uniform Laws and Regulations in the area of legal metrology and 
engine fuel quality,'' and NIST Handbook 133, ``Checking the Net 
Contents of Packaged Goods.''

NCWM Specifications and Tolerances Committee (Items Scheduled for a 
Vote)

General Code

    Item 310-2: Clarify the tolerances to be applied during the type 
evaluation of weighing and measuring instruments; that is, special test 
tolerances do not apply to instruments undergoing type evaluation.

Scales Code

    Item 320-1: Clarify the requirement's original intent for marking 
zero indications on scales and point-of-sale systems, where a zero-
balance condition is represented by other than a digital zero 
indication.
    Item 320-2: The recommendation is to drop the ``'' mark as 
an acceptable symbol for ``pound'' on a receipt printed by a point-of-
sale system, i.e., a cash register interfaced with a scale.
    Item 320-3: Add a new user requirement to the Scales Code to 
address the proper interface of computing scales with electronic cash 
registers (ECR).
    Item 320-4: Change the zero-tracking requirement (the amount of 
weight that can automatically be rezeroed) for class III scales 
manufactured after January 1, 2006, to be consistent with the 
international standard recommended by the International Organization of 
Legal Metrology (OIML).
    Item 320-5: Provide guidelines on the placement of the required 
nominal capacity and scale division information on scales.
    Item 320-8: Align the U.S. requirements for the time dependence 
(creep) test for scales and load cells with the OIML requirements.
    Item 320-9: Include in NIST Handbook 44 the list of acceptable 
international symbols for marking operational controls, indications and 
features on scales.

Belt-Conveyor Scale Systems

    Item 321-1: Add a requirement for users of belt-conveyor scales to 
prevent the reweighing of material that has already been weighed, but 
which may have fallen off the belt-conveyor before delivery to the 
customer.

Liquid-Measuring Devices

    Item 330-1: Add a nonretroactive requirement to address ``computer 
jump'' on gasoline and diesel fuel dispensers as the price of gasoline 
and diesel fuel continues to increase.
    Item 330-2: The recommended changes specify the flow rates for 
retail motor fuel (gasoline and diesel fuel) dispensers at which 
special tests are to be conducted at low flow rates. The flow rates for 
the special tests are specified for dispensers marked and those not 
marked with minimum flow rates.

Vehicle-Tank Meters

    Item 331-2: Clarify that the unit price on a vehicle-tank meter 
does not have to be displayed continuously on a price-computing meter 
register. However, the unit price must be clearly displayed and 
understood by the operator and an observer of the delivery.
    Item 331-3: The recommendation is to adopt a nonretroactive 
requirement for an automatic zero-set-back interlock on electronic 
vehicle-tank meters to force meters to be set back to zero for each 
delivery. Aircraft fueling is excluded from the requirement.
    Item 331-4: Modify the ``split-compartment'' test for vehicle-tank 
meters and rename the test as a ``product depletion'' test. A specific 
tolerance is specified for the performance of the vapor (air) 
eliminator system.

Other Items

    Item 360-1: Add a tentative code for livestock, meat, and poultry 
evaluation systems used to measure the fat content on carcasses and 
other quality characteristics that affect the price paid for the 
commodities. The proposed tentative code is based upon four recently 
completed ASTM standards that have been developed over the past three 
years.
    Item 360-2: Amend the Fundamental Considerations in Handbook 44 to 
recognize additional standards that are acceptable for field standards 
and update the terminology and references for field standards, 
reference and secondary standards, corrections, and uncertainties. 
These changes are related to items 221-1 and 234-1 on the agenda of the 
Laws and Regulations Committee.

NCWM Laws and Regulations Committee (Items Scheduled for a Vote)

    Item 221-1: Amend the Uniform Weights and Measures Law to modify 
definitions for different types of physical standards to be consistent 
with current international terminology and add definitions regarding 
traceability, accreditation, calibration, uncertainty, and other 
technical terms to recognize current roles of accredited laboratories. 
Additionally, amendments to the Uniform Weights and Measures Law are 
proposed to allow the recognition of calibrations performed by 
accredited laboratories and to broaden references to documentary 
standards to allow the recognition and use of documentary standards 
developed by other national and international standards developing 
organizations.
    Item 234-1: Amend the Uniform Regulation for the Voluntary

[[Page 38108]]

Registration of Servicepersons and Service Agencies regarding the 
references to the physical standards that are used and to expand the 
reference to national and international documentary standards that may 
be acceptable for the physical standards used by these service 
agencies. The proposed changes would also broaden the range of 
laboratories that could verify compliance of the physical standards to 
these documentary standards.
    Item 237-1: This recommendation specifies how biodiesel fuels shall 
be identified on retail dispensers of the products, and specifies the 
documentation required to be provided to the retailer at the time of 
delivery of the biodiesel fuels and blends.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Henry V. Oppermann, Chief, NIST, 
Weights and Measures Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, 
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2600. Telephone (301) 975-4004, or email: 
[email protected].

    Dated: June 24, 2005.
Hratch G. Semerjian,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 05-13092 Filed 6-30-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P