[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 133 (Tuesday, July 12, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45130-45132]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-16372]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


National Conference on Weights and Measures 101st Annual Meeting

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The 101st Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights 
and Measures (NCWM) will be held in Denver, Colorado, from Sunday, July 
24, 2016, through Thursday, July 28, 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, July 24, 2016, through 
Wednesday, July 27, 2016, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time, 
and on Thursday, July 28, 2016 from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Mountain 
Time. The meeting schedule is available at www.ncwm.net.

ADDRESSES: This meeting will be held at the Grand Hyatt Denver, 1750 
Welton Street, Denver, Colorado 80202-3999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Kenneth Butcher, NIST, Office of 
Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899-2600. You may also contact Mr. Butcher at (301) 975-4859 or by 
email at [email protected]. The meeting is open to the public, 
but a paid registration is required. Please see the 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 publications produced by the NCWM.
    The NCWM is an organization of weights and measures officials of 
the states, counties, and cities of the United States, and 
representatives from the private sector and federal agencies. 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 state 
laws, regulations, and testing procedures used in the regulatory 
control of commercial weighing and measuring devices, packaged goods, 
and for other trade and commerce issues.
    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 public comment 
sessions. 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.
    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,

[[Page 45131]]

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 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 S&T Committee

    The following items are proposals to amend NIST Handbook 44:

Automatic Bulk Weighing Systems

Item 322-2 N.1. Testing Procedures. and T. Tolerances
    The current testing procedures specified in the Automatic Bulk 
Weighing Systems (ABWS) Code are intended to be performed statically 
using field standard test weights or a combination of test weights and 
material substituted for test weights. Nowhere within the ABWS Code is 
it mentioned that a material test should be performed with the system 
in normal operational mode using material of known quantity as a 
reference standard. At the January 2016 NCWM Interim Meeting, the S&T 
Committee agreed to present for vote, at the upcoming Meeting, a 
proposal that makes optional (i.e., at the discretion of the official 
performing the test) a material test. The intent of this additional 
test is to allow the official to determine the accuracy of the device 
under actual operating conditions.

Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for Vehicle Enforcement Screening

Item 325-1 Section A. Application and Other Sections Throughout the 
Code To Address Commercial and Law Enforcement Applications
    In February 2016, the NCWM formed a new task group to consider a 
proposal to expand the tentative code for Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used 
for Vehicle Enforcement Screening in NIST Handbook 44 to include 
commercial and law enforcement applications. This proposed amendment is 
a ``Developing Item'' on the S&T Committee's 2016 agenda and will not 
be voted on at this meeting.
    The purpose of this notice is to make users and other stakeholders 
aware of the proposal to expand the scope of the existing code and the 
formation of the task group. The task group includes representatives of 
equipment manufacturers, the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal 
Highway Administration, truck weight enforcement agencies, state 
weights and measures offices, and others. For more information on this 
task group contact Mr. Richard Harshman, NIST Technical Advisor at 
(301) 975-8107 or [email protected].

LPG and Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid-Measuring Devices

Item 332-2 S.1.4.3. Provisions for Power Lost, S1.5.1.1. 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, U.R. 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 fair competition between 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.
    Also L&R Items 232-8, NIST Handbook 130, Method of Sale Regulations 
and Item 237-1, NIST Handbook 130, Uniform Engine Fuels and Automotive 
Lubricants Regulation are similar proposals being considered on this 
issue.

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.

[[Page 45132]]

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 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.

NCWM 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 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

Item 260-3 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 [4ft \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).

Kevin Kimball,
Chief of Staff.
[FR Doc. 2016-16372 Filed 7-11-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-13-P