[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 5, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 224-226]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-33128]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures 101st Interim Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The 101st Interim Meeting of the National Conference on 
Weights and Measures (NCWM) will be held in San Diego, California, from 
Sunday, January 10, 2016, through Wednesday, January 13, 2016. 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 on Sunday, January 10, 2016, through 
Tuesday, January 12, 2016, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Pacific time, 
and on Wednesday, January 13, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Pacific 
time. The meeting schedule is available at www.ncwm.net.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Westin San Diego Gaslamp 
Quarter, 910 Broadway Circle, San Diego, California 92101.

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 Web site 
(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

[[Page 225]]

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 Specification and Tolerances 
Committee (S & T Committee) and the Laws and Regulations Committee (L & 
R Committee) may also accept comments, and where recommendations will 
be developed for consideration and possible adoption at the NCWM 2016 
Annual Meeting. The Committees may 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 transportation network 
systems 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 NCWM 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 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 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.''

S&T Committee

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 44:
    LPG and Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid-Measuring Devices Item 332-2. 
S.1.4.3. Provisions for Power Lost, S.1.5.1.1. Unit Price, S.1.5.1.2. 
Product Identity, S.1.6. For Retail Motor Vehicle Fuel Devices Only, 
S.1.7. For Wholesale Devices Only, UR. 2.7. Unit Price and Product 
Identity, and UR.2.8.

Computing Device

    Retail motor-fuel dispensers used to dispense refined fuels such as 
gasoline and diesel are regulated under the Liquid-Measuring Devices 
(LMD) Code in NIST Handbook 44. The LMD Code has been repeatedly 
revised over the past 20 years to reflect changes in technology and 
marketing practices surrounding the sale of these fuels; however, 
corresponding changes have not always been made to the LPG and Ammonia 
Liquid-Measuring Devices Code: The proposed changes under this item are 
designed to align the LPG and Ammonia Liquid-Measuring Devices Code 
with the LMD code and help promote uniformity in device requirements 
and practices and ensure a level playing field among competing 
businesses.

Mass Flow Meters

Item 337-2 Appendix D--Definitions: Diesel Liter and Diesel Gallon 
Equivalents of Natural Gas

    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. 
For several years, the NCWM Specifications and Tolerances (S&T) and 
Laws and Regulations (L&R) Committees have deliberated on proposals to 
establish and/or revise requirements for the method of sale and 
commercial measurement of LNG and CNG. The purpose of this item is to 
define acceptable units of measurement and identify requirements for 
equipment used to commercially measure these products.

Hydrogen Gas-Metering Devices

Item 339-2 Table T.2. Accuracy Classes and Tolerances for Hydrogen Gas-
Measuring Devices

    The NIST Handbook 44, Hydrogen-Gas Measuring Devices code was added 
to NIST Handbook 44 in 2010 as a ``Tentative Code.'' As is often the 
case with a tentative code, it is expected that adjustments will need 
to be made to the code prior to changing its status to ``permanent'' as 
experience is gained by industry and regulatory offices on the 
operation, testing, and use of the devices covered by that code.
    The tolerances currently specified in the NIST Handbook 44, 
Hydrogen-Gas Measuring Devices code are 1.5% for Acceptance 
Tolerance and 2.0% for Maintenance Tolerance. According to 
the submitter of this proposal, no hydrogen-gas dispenser manufacturers 
can meet the tolerances currently specified in the tentative code. This 
item proposes establishing multiple accuracy classes in which 
Acceptance Tolerances would range from 1.5% to 5.0% and Maintenance Tolerances would range from 2.0% 
to 10.0%. The proposal places limits on the installation of 
certain accuracy classes after specified dates. After January 1, 2020, 
newly installed devices will be required to meet the current, more 
stringent tolerances; however, larger tolerances may continue to apply 
to devices installed prior to that date. This proposal would also 
permit devices of different accuracies to be used in the same 
application.

Taximeters

Item 354-5 U.S. National Work Group on Taximeters (USNWG)--Taximeter 
Code Revisions and Global Positioning System (GPS)-Based Systems for 
Time and Distance Measurement and

Item 354-6 Transportation Network Systems--Draft Code

    For several years, the NIST USNWG on Taximeters has discussed 
possible approaches for amending the NIST Handbook 44, Taximeters Code 
to specifically recognize GPS-based time and distance measuring systems 
that are used to assess charges for transportation services such as 
taxicabs and limousines. Appropriate specifications, tolerances, and 
other technical requirements for these devices must be developed for 
manufacturers and users of these devices, as well for weights and 
measures officials. Such requirements help ensure accuracy and 
transparency for customers and a level playing field for transportation 
service companies, enabling consumers to make value

[[Page 226]]

comparisons between competing services. In the fall of 2015, the 
California Division of Measurement Standards submitted a proposal 
through multiple regional weights and measures associations to 
establish a separate NIST Handbook 44 code to address ``Transportation 
Network Services.'' The S&T Committee will examine these proposals and 
the result of recent discussions from a November 2015 USNWG meeting to 
assess how to best address these systems.

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 232-7 Section 2.23. Animal Bedding

    The L&R Committee will consider a proposal to recommend adoption of 
a uniform method of sale for animal bedding that will enhance the 
ability of consumers to make value comparisons and will ensure fair 
competition. 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. 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 260-5, Section 3.15. 
Test Procedure for Verifying the Usable Volume Declaration on Packages 
of Animal Bedding.

NIST Handbook 133--Chapter 3

Items 260-3 and 260-4 Section 3.14. Firewood--(Volumetric Test 
Procedures for Packaged Firewood with a Labeled Volume of 113 L [4 
ft\3\] or Less)

    The current test procedure in NIST Handbook 133, Section 3.14., 
Firewood--(Volumetric Test Procedure for Packaged Firewood with a 
Labeled Volume of 113 L [4 ft\3\] or Less) has provided different test 
results when applied in various state inspections. If adopted, this 
proposal would clarify the test procedure and improve the accuracy of 
length determinations when determining the volume of wood in bags, 
bundles and boxes. Improving the test procedures will help ensure that 
consumers can make value comparisons and reduce unfair competition. 
Also Item 232-4, NIST Handbook 130, Method of Sale of Sale of 
Commodities Regulation, Section 2.4. Fireplace and Stove Wood, is being 
considered for revision to recognize traditional industry labeling 
practice and eliminate language that appears to conflict with the 
requirements of the Uniform Packaging and Labeling Regulation.

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 272(b).

Richard Cavanagh,
Acting Associate Director for Laboratory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2015-33128 Filed 1-4-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P