[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 112 (Friday, June 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28026-28027]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-13869]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures 94th Annual Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Meeting notice.

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SUMMARY: The Annual Meeting of the 94th National Conference on Weights 
and Measures, Incorporated (NCWM) will be held July 12 to 16, 2009, in 
San Antonio, Texas. Publication of this notice on the NCWM's behalf is 
undertaken as a public service; NIST does not endorse, approve, or 
recommend any of the proposals contained in this notice or in the 
publications of the NCWM mentioned below. The meetings are open to the 
public but registration is required. Registration information is stated 
in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section below.

DATES: The meeting will be held on July 12-16, 2009.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Marriott Plaza, 555 S. Alamo 
Street, San Antonio, Texas.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carol Hockert, Chief, NIST, Weights 
and Measures Division, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899-2600 or by telephone (301) 975-5507 or at [email protected]. 
Please see the NCWM Publication 16, which contains detailed meeting 
agendas and registration information at http://www.ncwm.net on the 
Internet.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The NCWM is an organization of weights and 
measures officials of the States, counties, and cities of the United 
States, Federal agencies, and private sector representatives. These 
meetings bring together government officials and representatives of 
business, industry, trade associations, and consumer organizations on 
subjects related to the field of weights and measures technology, 
administration, and enforcement. NIST participates to promote 
uniformity among the States in laws, regulations, methods, and testing 
equipment that comprise the regulatory control of commercial weighing 
and measuring devices and other practices used in trade and commerce.
    The following are brief descriptions of some of the agenda items 
that will be considered along with other issues at the meeting. 
Comments will be taken on these and other issues during public comment 
sessions and many items will be considered for NCWM adoption. At this 
stage, the items are proposals. The Committees may also accept comments 
and where they will finalize recommendations for NCWM consideration and 
possible adoption during its voting sessions on July 15 or 16, 2009. 
The Committees may withdraw or carry over items that need additional 
development.
    The Specifications and Tolerances Committee (S&T Committee) will 
consider proposed amendments to NIST Handbook 44, ``Specifications, 
Tolerances, and other Technical Requirements for Weighing and Measuring 
Devices (NIST Handbook 44).'' Those items address weighing and 
measuring devices used in commercial applications, that is, devices 
that are normally used to buy from or sell to the public or used for 
determining the quantity of product sold among businesses.
    Issues on the agenda of the NCWM Laws and Regulations Committee 
(L&R Committee) relate to proposals to amend 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.''
    This notice contains information about significant items on the 
NCWM Committee agendas, but does not include all agenda items. As a 
result, the following items are not consecutively numbered. A copy of 
the complete agenda along with detailed background information is 
available at http://www.ncwm.net/events/index.cfm?fuseaction=meeting_archives.

Specifications and Tolerances Committee

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 44:

Scales Code

    Item 320-1A and B--the S&T Committee is recommending adoption of 
several amendments to the current specifications for the mechanisms 
used on scales to set zero and tare values. Revisions to the definition 
for a tare mechanism are also proposed for the purpose of clarifying 
the requirements and increasing uniformity in their application.

Liquid-Measuring Devices Code

    Item 330-1--Temperature Compensation for Liquid-Measuring Devices 
Code: This is not a voting item at this meeting but the S&T Committee 
will accept comments on a proposal to add provisions to Handbook 44 to 
allow retail motor fuel dispensers to be equipped with the automatic 
means to deliver product with the volume

[[Page 28027]]

adjusted to a reference temperature. (See also Item 232 under the L&R 
Committee which is presented below.)
    Item 336--Water Meters: The S&T Committee has recommended adoption 
of Item 336-1, which includes proposed amendments to specifications 
related to the design of water meters and will accept comments on other 
proposals under this section that address meter repeatability, test 
procedures, and drafts (i.e., the volumes used in testing and number of 
measurements made during an examination of a meter).

The Laws and Regulations Committee

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 130:

Method of Sale of Commodities Regulation

Item 232--Automatic Temperature Compensation (ATC)
    The L&R Committee will offer two ATC proposals for adoption. Both 
proposals require consumers to be notified that the fuel quantity is 
being temperature compensated so they can make value comparisons 
between sellers, and it will impose other controls on the use of ATC by 
sellers.
    Item 232-1 would allow the voluntary use of automatic temperature 
compensation in the sales of engine fuels at retail and other levels of 
trade beginning January 1, 2010, but will require all fuels to be sold, 
offered, or exposed for sale on a temperature compensated basis by 
January 1, 2020.
    Item 232-2 would allow sellers to use automatic temperature 
compensation in sales of engine fuels at retail and other levels of 
trade on a voluntary basis beginning January 1, 2010, but does not 
include a requirement that all fuels be sold, offered, or exposed for 
sale on a temperature compensated basis by any deadline.

    Note: If Item 232-1 is adopted by the NCWM Item 232-2 will be 
withdrawn. However, if Item 232-1 is not adopted by the NCWM, the 
committee will present Item 232-2 to the NCWM for consideration.

    Item 232-3--Wood Flavoring Chips: The L&R Committee is recommending 
adoption of an amendment to the current method of sale regulation on 
flavoring chips by adding guidance on the appropriate units of measure 
to be used on small packages.
    Item 270-4--Method of Sale and Engine Fuel Quality Requirements for 
Hydrogen: The L&R Committee will accept comments on a proposal to 
establish a uniform method of sale and quality standards for hydrogen 
when it is offered for sale at the retail level as a vehicle fuel.
    The following item is a proposal to amend NIST Handbook 133:
    Item 260-1--The L&R Committee will consider several revisions to 
NIST Handbook 133 ``Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods'' to 
provide guidance for making allowances for moisture loss from packaged 
goods and to notify inspectors not to use the wet tare test procedures 
when verifying the net quantity of contents of packages of meat and 
poultry that bear a seal of inspection from the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service. The provision 
regarding wet tare is needed because USDA adopted, except for the wet 
tare procedure and other handbook sections not relevant to meat and 
poultry products, the 4th Edition of the Handbook 133 in September 
2008. Other amendments have been proposed that will correct errors and 
omissions that have been identified since NIST Handbook 133 was last 
published in 2005.

    Dated: June 4, 2009.
Patrick Gallagher,
Deputy Director.
[FR Doc. E9-13869 Filed 6-11-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P