[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 4 (Wednesday, January 7, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 865-867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-00020]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures 100th Interim Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The 100th Interim Meeting of the National Conference on 
Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held in Daytona Beach, Florida, 
from Sunday, January 18, 2015 through Wednesday, January 21, 2015. 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 from Sunday, January 18, 2015 through 
Wednesday, January 21, 2015, meeting schedule is available at 
www.ncwm.net.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Hilton Daytona Beach 
Oceanfront Resort 100 North Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, Florida 
32118.

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 meeting is open to the public, but 
a paid registration is required. Please see NCWM Publication 15 
``Interim Meeting Agenda'' (www.ncwm.net) to view the 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 among 
the states in laws, regulations, methods, and testing equipment that 
comprise the regulatory control of commercial weighing and measuring 
devices, packaged goods, and other trade and commerce issues.
    The following are brief descriptions of some of the significant 
agenda items that will be considered at the NCWM Interim 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 recommendations will be developed for consideration 
and possible adoption at the NCWM 2015 Annual Meeting. The Committees 
may withdraw or carryover items that need additional development. The 
100th Annual Meeting of the NCWM will be held July 19 to 23, 2015, at 
The Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel, 1 Dock Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106.
    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 the retail sales of engine 
fuels and the establishment of approximate gallon and liter equivalents 
to diesel fuel that would be used in marketing both compressed and 
liquefied natural gas. 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 Interim 
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 products or 
services 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 (including weigh-in-motion vehicle scales for use in the 
enforcement of highway load limits)

Item 320-4 Weigh-in-Motion Vehicle Scales for Use in Highway Weight 
Enforcement

    The S&T Committee will consider recommending adoption of a new code 
to be included in NIST Handbook 44 that will include the 
specifications, tolerances, and other technical

[[Page 866]]

requirements for the vehicle scales used by highway weight enforcement 
agencies to determine the axle weights and gross weights of trucks and 
other large highway vehicles while they are in motion. The proposed 
code includes recommended tests and tolerances for static and dynamic 
weighing modes as well as user requirements that will ensure devices 
are maintained properly, allowing weighing results to be used to carry 
out highway weight enforcement programs across the nation.

Belt-Conveyor Scale Systems

Item 321-1 Belt-Conveyor Scale Systems

    Belt-conveyor scales are used in a wide variety of applications for 
weighing coal, grain, ore, and many other raw materials or products. 
Currently, only scales that are fully integrated into a conveyor system 
are permitted under NIST Handbook 44. The S&T Committee will consider 
adoption of new definitions and proposals to broaden the scope of the 
requirements to allow fully ``self-contained weigh-belt systems'' to be 
covered by the specifications, tolerances, and other technical 
requirements in NIST Handbook 44 so these devices may be utilized in 
commercial transactions.

Automatic Bulk Weighing Systems

Item 322-1 N.1. Testing Procedures

    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal to change the test 
procedures and tolerances for automatic bulk weighing systems to 
reflect that these devices are generally operating in a ``dynamic'' 
mode when commercial weight determinations are made. When these devices 
weigh in a ``dynamic'' mode, the accuracy of the weighment can be 
affected by many additional factors (e.g., vibration, mechanical timing 
of the systems' filling and emptying mechanisms); this may result in 
differences when compared to the weight determinations obtained in 
``static'' weighing mode. The proposed procedures require ``as used'' 
testing to verify the accuracy of these devices. Requiring ``as used'' 
testing would improve the weighing accuracy of these devices and bring 
this code into agreement with requirements in other NIST Handbook 44 
codes where dynamic weighing is allowed.

Liquid Measuring Devices

Item 330-2 S.2.2. Categories of Device and Methods of Sealing

    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal that would allow device 
manufacturers to supply required security and configuration related 
data in ``event loggers'' (i.e., digital systems that keep track of the 
number of times a calibration event occurs) to weights and measures 
officials and service personnel utilizing digital communications (e.g., 
cellular or Internet connections) or other electronic means (e.g., USB 
flash memory drive) in lieu of providing a printed record. This 
information is used to ascertain how many and what type of calibrations 
and configuration changes were made to a weighing and measuring device 
since the last official inspection or service. The S&T Committee will 
evaluate the costs, practicality, and other aspects of the proposal in 
addition to considering the data security and privacy concerns that may 
arise if this proposal is adopted.

Item 330-3 N.4.1.3. Normal Tests on Wholesale Multi-Point Calibration 
Devices

    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal to update the Liquid-
Measuring Devices Code to include test procedures that recognize 
technological advances in meter calibration and improve the accuracy of 
meters used to measure petroleum, chemicals, and other liquids. The 
intent of the proposal is to prescribe test procedures for meters with 
multi-point calibration (i.e., their measurement accuracy is adjusted 
to account for variations in volume, which result from the meter being 
operated at different flow rates). The S&T Committee will also consider 
requirements that will govern how users utilize the optional features 
found on these systems. See also Item 331-1 which addresses these 
features on vehicle-tank meters used to measure products such as home 
heating fuel and other fuel deliveries.

Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid-Measuring Devices

Item 332-2 N.3. Test Drafts--Use of Transfer Standards for Calibration 
and Verification

    The S&T Committee will consider a proposal to recognize the use of 
calibrated transfer standards (also called ``master meters'') in the 
verification and calibration of Liquefied Petroleum Gas and Anhydrous 
Ammonia Liquid-Measuring Devices. Currently, most official tests of 
these devices are conducted using volumetric test measures or using 
gravimetric testing. Adoption of this proposal, which includes 
requirements for a minimum test draft, would allow the use of ``master 
meters'' in both service-related and official testing. The S&T 
Committee will also consider expanding the use of transfer standards to 
other types of measuring devices, including those used to measure 
petroleum at terminals and retail outlets and to meters used to deliver 
home heating fuel and other products.

Mass Flow Meters

Item 337-1 Diesel Energy Equivalents for Compressed and Liquefied 
Natural Gas

    Natural gas is sold in the marketplace in both compressed (CNG) and 
liquefied (LNG) states as alternative fuel choices to gasoline and 
diesel fuel. The S&T Committee will consider proposed revisions to NIST 
Handbook 44 to define volume units for CNG and LNG in terms of the 
energy equivalents for a liter or gallon of diesel fuel. The 
availability of these values should enable consumers to compare the 
cost and mileage economy of different fuels so enable informed 
purchasing decisions when considering the use, purchase, or lease of 
vehicles equipped to operate on different fuels.

Taximeters (and GPS Devices When Used in Transportation Services)

Items 354-1, 354-2, 354-3, 354-4, and 354-5

    The S&T Committee will consider this group of proposals (listed 
above) which includes proposed revisions and updates to the Taximeter 
Code in NIST Handbook 44 to address changes in technology related to 
indicating and recording elements (i.e., printers) and operational 
features including the indications required to be presented to 
passengers.

Item 354-6 U.S. National Working Group on Taximeters and Global 
Positioning System-Based Systems for Time and Distance Measurement

    The S&T Committee will consider a progress report from a national 
working group that is studying the use of Global Positioning Systems 
and smart phone/web based applications in transportations services in 
order to develop proposed specifications, tolerances, and other 
technical requirements to ensure accuracy and transparency for 
passengers, drivers, and businesses for inclusion in NIST Handbook 44.

Other Items

Item 360-1 Proposed Definition for a ``Batching System''

    The S&T Committee will consider a proposed definition for 
``batching

[[Page 867]]

systems.'' These systems are used daily in a wide variety of industries 
to produce concrete (sold by the cubic yard) used in buildings, bridge 
and highway construction, and ``blacktop'' or asphalt pavement (sold by 
the short ton) used for road surfaces. Batching systems are also used 
in the production of animal food, agricultural seed and many other 
commodities. These systems (which can operate automatically or 
manually) often include multiple components such as weighing and 
measuring devices, which fall under different codes in NIST Handbook 
44. When these multiple-component systems are used, it is sometimes 
difficult to categorize the system as a whole as a scale, a measuring 
device, or an automatic weighing system. Confusion over what 
requirements to apply from the various codes sometimes occurs. The 
definition is intended to clarify that weights and measures officials 
and users may apply different NIST Handbook 44 codes to the components 
of a batching system without classifying the device as an ``automatic 
bulk weighing system'' because that code includes operational and other 
requirements that manufacturers may not design a system to meet. See 
also Items 320-1--A.1. General; 324-1--A.1. General; and 330-1--A.1. 
General.

Item 360-5 Electric Vehicle Fueling and Submetering

    The S&T Committee will consider recommending adoption of a draft 
code for use in electric vehicle charging and submetering for inclusion 
in NIST Handbook 44. The code was developed by a national working group 
that continues to further refine the specifications, tolerances, and 
other technical requirements to ensure accuracy and transparency for 
drivers of electric vehicles and power resellers. The S&T Committee 
will also consider proposed changes to the section 5.55. ``Timing 
Devices'' in NIST Handbook 44 to address requirements for the timing 
mechanisms that are likely to be used in some recharging systems to 
determine additional charges for other services (e.g., parking).
    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--Section on Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale 
of Commodities

Item 232-3 Animal Bedding

    Animal Bedding is generally defined as any material, except for 
baled straw, that is kept, offered or exposed for sale or sold to 
retail consumers for primary use as a medium for any pet or companion 
or livestock animal to nest or eliminate waste. The purpose of this 
proposal is to provide a uniform method of sale for animal bedding that 
will enhance the ability of consumers to make value comparisons and 
will ensure fair competition. If adopted, the proposal will require 
packers to advertise and sell packages of animal bedding on the basis 
of the expanded volume of the bedding. Most packages of animal bedding 
are compressed during packaging and the expanded volume is the amount 
of product that consumers will recover through unwrapping and 
decompressing the bedding according to the instructions provided by the 
packer. See also Item 260-3 for proposed Test Procedures for Verifying 
the Expanded Volume Declaration on Packages of Animal Bedding

NIST Handbook 133--``Checking the Net Contents of Packaged Goods''

Item 260-1 Chitterling Test Procedure

    This proposal will add a test procedure and purge allowance to NIST 
Handbook 133 so that the drainage equipment and methods used by state 
and local weights and measures officials are identical to those used by 
the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) in packing plants. Currently neither a purge 
allowance nor test procedure are contained in the handbook so state and 
local weights and measures inspectors use a modified test procedure 
developed for frozen seafood and information provided in a USDA 
response to a consumer inquiry to carry out inspections of these food 
products. This test procedure will also be used in verifying the amount 
of purge from beef tripe.

    Dated: December 30, 2014.
Willie E. May,
Acting Director.
[FR Doc. 2015-00020 Filed 1-6-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P