[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 125 (Friday, June 28, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38946-38949]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15544]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures 98th Annual Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The 98th Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights 
and Measures (NCWM) will be held in Louisville, Kentucky, from July 14 
to 18, 2013. This notice contains information about significant items 
on the NCWM Committee agendas, but does not include all agenda items. 
As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.

DATES: The meeting will be held July 14 to 18, 2013.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Seelbach Hilton Louisville, 
500 Fourth Avenue, Louisville, Kentucky 40202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Carol Hockert, Chief, NIST, Office 
of Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899-2600. You may also contact Ms. Hockert at (301) 975-5507 or by 
email at [email protected]. The meetings are open to the public, 
but a paid registration is required. Please see NCWM Publication 16 
``Annual Meeting Agenda'' (www.ncwm.net) to view the

[[Page 38947]]

meeting agendas, registration forms and hotel reservation information.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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 or other information 
contained in this notice or in the publications of the NCWM.
    The NCWM is an organization of weights and measures officials of 
the states, counties, and cities of the United States, federal 
agencies, and representatives from the private sector. 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 encourage 
cooperation between federal agencies and the states in the development 
of legal metrology requirements. NIST also promotes uniformity in state 
laws and regulations as well as test methods and equipment that are 
used in the regulatory control of commercial weighing and measuring 
devices, packaged goods, and other trade and business practices.
    The following are brief descriptions of some of the significant 
agenda items that will be considered at the NCWM Annual Meeting. 
Comments will be taken on these and other issues during several public 
comment sessions. At this stage, the items are proposals. This meeting 
also includes work sessions in which the Committees may also accept 
comments, and where they will finalize recommendations for possible 
adoption at this meeting. The Committees may also withdraw or carryover 
items that need additional development. Some of the items listed below 
provide notice of projects under development by groups working to 
develop specifications, tolerances, and other requirements for devices 
used in retail sales of electricity for recharging vehicles and in sub-
metering applications, and the use of Global Positioning System (GPS) 
devices for fare determinations in the vehicle-for-hire industry (e.g., 
taxis and limousines). Also included is a notice about efforts to 
establish a method of sale for pressurized containers including those 
that use bag-on-valve technology to dispense product. These notices are 
intended to make interested parties aware of these development projects 
and to make them aware that reports on the status of the project will 
be given at the Annual Meeting. The notices are also presented to 
invite the participation of manufacturers, experts, consumers, users 
and others who may be interested in these efforts.
    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.'' Those items address weighing and measuring devices used in 
commercial applications, that is, devices that are 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.''

NCWM Specifications and Tolerances Committee

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 44:

Scales

Item 320-1 S.6.4. Railway Track Scales and Appendix D--Definitions--
Voting Item

    Railway track scales are used throughout the country for the 
determination of freight charges and for commercial transactions for a 
wide variety of commodities (e.g., coal, grains, and chemicals) 
totaling billions of dollars each year. The purpose of this proposal is 
to amend NIST Handbook 44 to recognize changes to the definition of how 
nominal capacity is determined for railway track scales. The proposed 
definition was developed by Committee 34--Scales, of the American 
Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association and approved for 
inclusion in the American Association of Railroads (AAR) Scale 
Handbook. Adoption of the proposed revision will ensure that NIST 
Handbook 44 is consistent with the AAR Scale Handbook.

Vehicle Tank Meters

Item 331-2 T.4. Product Depletion Test--Voting Item

    The vehicle tank meters mounted on multi-compartment tank trucks 
are used to deliver a wide variety of fuels and other products to 
businesses and consumers (e.g., diesel fuel and home heating fuel). A 
product depletion test is conducted to ensure that the performance 
accuracy of a meter remains within tolerance when air is accidentally 
introduced into the metering system when, for example, one compartment 
in the tank truck empties of product and product delivery continues 
uninterrupted from another compartment. This proposal would amend NIST 
Handbook 44 to base the product depletion test tolerances on the 
meter's maximum flow rate (a marking required on all meters), rather 
than the marked meter size (this marking is required for meters 
manufactured in 2009 or later). The purpose of this proposal is to 
ensure consistent application of the tolerances to product depletion 
tests whether conducted on older or newer meters. It will also 
eliminate an unintentional gap that allows an unreasonably large 
tolerance to be applied to small meters.

Mass Flow Meters

Item 337-1 Appendix D--Definitions: Diesel Liter and Diesel Gallon 
Equivalents of Natural Gas--Information Item

    In 1994 both liter and gallon ``equivalents'' for gasoline were 
established by the NCWM to provide a means for consumers to make value 
and fuel economy comparisons between compressed natural gas (CNG) and 
gasoline, and to promote broader acceptance and use of CNG as a vehicle 
fuel. These ``equivalents'' are based on a specific weight (mass) per 
volume, called the gasoline liter equivalent (GLE) and gasoline gallon 
equivalent (GGE), and are calculated using an estimate of the 
``average'' equivalent energy content--a number provided by industry. 
The current proposal would establish a ``diesel liter equivalent 
(DLE)'' and a ``diesel gallon equivalent (DGE)'' and equivalent weight 
(mass) values for these units when they are used in retail vehicle 
refueling applications. The purpose of these units is to inform 
consumers (e.g., truck operators) that a DLE or DGE of ``compressed'' 
or ``liquefied'' natural gas contains approximately the same amount of 
energy they would receive if they purchased a liter or gallon of diesel 
fuel. Comments received from weights and measures officials, consumers, 
and industry representatives question the usefulness of expanding the 
use of artificially defined ``energy equivalent units'' primarily on 
the basis that they are not traceable to national measurement 
standards. Another concern frequently expressed over the use of an 
artificial unit, even by users of the GGE originally developed in the 
1990s, is that they do not accurately represent the energy content in 
any fuel because it varies based on factors such as the source of the 
CNG. Commenters

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also noted that consumers consider many factors, including relative 
fuel efficiencies and cost, prior to deciding to purchase a vehicle 
powered by fuel such as CNG or LPG or to convert an existing vehicle to 
use an alternative fuel. Given the significant capital investment 
involved in this decision, the need to routinely make ongoing 
comparisons at the dispenser is questionable. Additionally, it was 
suggested that, with the introduction of other alternative fuels such 
as electricity and hydrogen into the marketplace, consumers who do wish 
to make ongoing comparisons will not be served by establishing an 
``equivalent unit'' for only one fuel. Consumers might be better served 
by consulting with comparison information on U.S. Department of Energy 
and industry Web sites; such Web sites can provide ``equivalent'' 
values that are updated to reflect current product supplies for 
multiple different alternative fuel types as well as other educational 
information on fuel economies. See also Item 337-2, S.1.2. Compressed 
Natural Gas Dispensers, S.1.3.1.1. Compressed Natural Gas Used as an 
Engine Fuel, and S.5.2. Marking of Gasoline Volume Equivalent 
Conversion Factor, and Item 232-1, Section 2.27.

Retail Sales of Natural Gas Sold as a Vehicle Fuel in the Laws and 
Regulations Committee Agenda

Item 360-5 National Working Group on Taximeters--Taximeter Code 
Revisions and Global Positioning System-Based Systems for Time and 
Distance Measurement--Information Item

    This item is presented to raise public awareness of the work that 
is underway in a NIST led working group to amend Section 5.54. 
``Taximeters'' to incorporate specifications, tolerances, user and 
other technical requirements for devices with measuring technologies 
and systems that utilize Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) systems and 
associated software to compute fares or fees based upon distance and/or 
time measurements. The working group will also consider GPS systems and 
applications (e.g., smart phone applications) designed to compute fares 
based upon distance and/or time measurements that are being introduced 
into the vehicle for-hire industry (e.g., taxicabs, limousines) across 
the country. Appropriate technical and accuracy requirements for these 
devices must be developed for manufacturers and users of these devices, 
and for weights and measures officials. These requirements assure 
consumers of accurate fares associated with the transportation services 
and enable consumers to make value comparisons between competing 
services.

NCWM Laws and Regulations Committee (L & R Committee)

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 130 or 
NIST Handbook 133:

NIST Handbook 130--Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of 
Commodities

Item 231-2 Section 10.3. Aerosols and Similar Pressurized Containers--
Information Item

    This item would establish a method of sale (i.e., the product must 
be offered for sale by either weight or fluid volume but not both) for 
packages utilizing Bag on Valve (BOV) technology. A BOV container is a 
pressurized package where a propellant is not expelled with the product 
when the valve is activated. BOV packaging has been in the marketplace 
for several decades and is used to sell the same types of products that 
are offered for sale in aerosol containers (e.g., sunscreen, wound 
washes, shaving cream, and car products). Some BOV packages have their 
net contents declared in terms of fluid volume while others are labeled 
by net weight. Section 10.3. Aerosols and Similar Pressurized 
Containers of the Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of 
Commodities require aerosols and similar pressurized containers to 
disclose their net quantity in terms of weight. BOV containers (net 
contents in fluid volume) are being used to sell the same type of 
products dispensed from aerosol containers (net contents in weight) and 
consumers are unable to make value comparisons. This proposal being 
considered to replace the current wording in Section 10.3., and it 
would require packages using BOV technology to have the net quantity of 
contents declared in terms of weight.
    10.3. Aerosols and Similar Pressurized Containers.--The declaration 
of quantity on an aerosol package, including Bag on Valve (BOV) 
technology, and other similar pressurized packages shall disclose the 
net quantity of the commodity (including propellant), in terms of 
weight, that will be expelled when the instructions for use as shown on 
the container are followed.

Item 232-4 Packaged Printer Ink and Toner Cartridges--Voting Item

    The L&R Committee is recommending adoption of a proposal to 
establish a method of sale for printer ink and toner cartridges to 
ensure that consumers are informed about the net quantity of contents 
of packages to enable value comparisons. The intent of this proposal is 
to require manufacturers (and aftermarket refillers) to declare net 
quantities to facilitate both value comparison and verification by 
weights and measures officials, and to ensure equity between buyer and 
seller and fair competition between sellers, manufacturers and 
refillers. The following proposal to amend the Uniform Method of Sale 
of Commodities Regulation is under consideration:
    2.XX. Printer Ink and Toner Cartridges Labeling.
    2.XX.1. Definitions.
    2.XX.1.1. Printer ink cartridges.--Any cartridge or module that 
contains ink or a similar substance in liquid form employed in the 
printing and/or copying of documents, papers, pictures, etc., that is 
used in a printing device and designed to be replaced when no longer 
able to supply its contents in printing and/or copying.
    2.XX.1.2. Toner cartridges.--Any cartridge or module that contains 
toner, powder, or similar non-liquid substance employed in the copying 
or printing of documents, papers, pictures, etc. that is used in a 
printing and/or copying device and designed to be replaced when no 
longer able to supply its contents in printing and/or copying.
    2.XX.2. Method of Sale and Labeling.
    2.XX.2.1. Method of sale, Printer Ink Cartridges.--All printer ink 
cartridges kept, offered, or exposed for sale or sold shall be sold in 
terms of the count.
    2.XX.2.2. Method of Sale, Toner Cartridges.--All toner cartridges 
kept, offered, or exposed for sale or sold shall be sold in terms of 
the count.

Item 232-5 Retail Sales of Electricity for Vehicle Recharging--Uniform 
Regulation on the Method of Sale of Commodities--Voting Item

    A national working group led by NIST is developing requirements for 
the retail sales of electricity for vehicle recharging. The working 
group is comprised of device manufacturers, users, regulators, and 
others involved in vehicle recharging. This item contains a proposed 
method of sale for retail sales of electricity for vehicle recharging. 
Among the issues the proposal addresses, in addition to method of sale 
requirements, are information posting requirements (e.g., information 
on service fees, charging rates and how to contact the party 
responsible for the device). Because this item provides critical 
guidance to an emerging transportation industry, the complete text of 
the proposal is presented in this

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notice. The following method of sale will be considered for adoption at 
this meeting.
    2.XX. Retail Sales of Electricity Sold as a Vehicle Fuel.
    2.XX.1. Definitions.
    2.XX.1.1. Electricity Sold as Vehicle Fuel.--Electrical energy 
transferred to and/or stored onboard an electric vehicle primarily for 
the purpose of propulsion.
    2.XX.1.2. Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE).--The 
conductors, including the ungrounded, grounded, and equipment grounding 
conductors; the electric vehicle connectors; attachment plugs; and all 
other fittings, devices, power outlets, or apparatuses installed 
specifically for the purpose of measuring, delivering, and computing 
the price of electrical energy delivered to the electric vehicle.
    2.XX.1.3. Fixed Service.--Service that continuously provides the 
nominal power that is possible with the equipment as it is installed.
    2.XX.1.4. Variable Service.--Service that may be controlled 
resulting in periods of reduced, and/or interrupted transfer of 
electrical energy.
    2.XX.1.5. Nominal Power.--Refers to the ``intended'' or ``named'' 
or ``stated'' as opposed to ``actual'' rate of transfer of electrical 
energy (i.e., power).
    2.XX.2. Method of Retail Sale.--All electrical energy kept, 
offered, or exposed for sale and sold at retail as a vehicle fuel shall 
be in units in terms of the megajoule (MJ) or kilowatt-hour (kWh). In 
addition to the fee assessed for the quantity of electrical energy 
sold, fees may be assessed for other services; such fees may be based 
on time measurement and/or a fixed fee.
    2.XX.3. Retail Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSE) Labeling.
    (a) A computing EVSE shall display the unit price in whole cents 
(e.g., $0.12) or tenths of one cent (e.g., $0.119) on the basis of 
price per megajoule (MJ) or kilowatt-hour (kWh). In cases where the 
electrical energy is unlimited or free of charge, this fact shall be 
clearly indicated in place of the unit price.
    (b) For fixed service applications, the following information shall 
be conspicuously displayed or posted on the face of the device:
    (1) the level of EV Service expressed as the nominal power transfer 
(i.e., nominal rate of electrical energy transfer), and
    (2) the type of electrical energy transfer (e.g., AC, DC, wireless, 
etc.).
    (c) For variable service applications, the following information 
shall be conspicuously displayed or posted on the face of the device:
    (1) the type of service (i.e., ``Variable'');
    (2) the minimum and maximum power transfer that can occur during a 
transaction, including whether service can be reduced to zero;
    (3) the conditions under which variations in electrical energy 
transfer will occur; and
    (4) the type of electrical energy transfer (e.g., AC, DC, wireless, 
etc.).
    (d) Where fees will be assessed for other services in direct 
connection with the fueling of the vehicle, such as fees based on time 
measurement and/or a fixed fee, the additional fees shall be displayed.
    (e) The EVSE shall be labeled in accordance with 16 CFR, PART 309--
FTC Labeling Requirements for Alternative Fuels and Alternative Fueled 
Vehicles.
    (f) The EVSE shall be listed and labeled in accordance with the 
National Electric Code[supreg] (NEC) NFPA 70, Article 625 Electric 
Vehicle Charging Systems (www.nfpa.org).
    2.XX.4. Street Sign Prices and Other Advertisements.

Where electrical energy unit price information is presented on street 
signs or in advertising other than on the EVSE:
    (a) The electrical energy unit price shall be in terms of price per 
megajoule (MJ) or kilowatt-hour (kWh) in whole cents (e.g., $0.12) or 
tenths of one cent (e.g., $0.119). In cases where the electrical energy 
is unlimited or free of charge, this fact shall be clearly indicated in 
place of the unit price.
    (b) In cases where more than one electrical energy unit price may 
apply over the duration of a single transaction to sales to the general 
public, the terms and conditions that will determine each unit price 
and when each unit price will apply shall be clearly displayed.
    (c) For fixed service applications, the following information shall 
be conspicuously displayed or posted:
    (1) The level of EV Service expressed as the nominal power transfer 
(i.e., nominal rate of electrical energy transfer), and
    (2) the type of electrical energy transfer (e.g., AC, DC, wireless, 
etc.).
    (d) For variable service applications, the following information 
shall be conspicuously displayed or posted:
    (1) The type of delivery (i.e., ``Variable'');
    (2) the minimum and maximum power transfer that can occur during a 
transaction, including whether service can be reduced to zero;
    (3) the conditions under which variations in electrical energy 
transfer will occur; and
    (4) the type of electrical energy transfer (e.g., AC, DC, wireless, 
etc.).

Where fees will be assessed for other services in direct connection 
with the fueling of the vehicle, such as fees based on time measurement 
and/or a fixed fee, the additional fees shall be included on all street 
signs or other advertising.
    All stakeholders, including vehicle and device manufacturers, 
consumers, public utility commissions, weights and measures officials, 
smart grid experts, and all others interested in the development of a 
method of sale and other requirements for devices used to recharge 
electric vehicles are invited to participate in the workgroup.

    Dated: June 24, 2013.
Willie E. May,
Associate Director for Laboratory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2013-15544 Filed 6-27-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P