97th Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and Measures, 38769-38770 [2012-16014]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 126 (Friday, June 29, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38769-38770]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-16014]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology


97th Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights and 
Measures

AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The 97th Annual Meeting of the National Conference on Weights 
and Measures (NCWM) will be held July 15-19, 2012. This notice contains 
information about significant items on the NCWM Committee agendas which 
will be considered at the meetings, but does not include all agenda 
items. As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.

DATES: The meeting will be held on July 15-19, 2012.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Holiday Inn by the Bay, 88 
Spring Street, Portland, Maine 04101.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Carol Hockert, Chief, NIST, Office 
of Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD 
20899-2600; by telephone (301) 975-5507; or by email at 
Carol.Hockert@nist.gov. The meetings are open to the public, but a paid 
registration is required. Please see NCWM Publication 16 ``National 
Conference on Weights and Measures Committee Reports for the 97th 
Annual Meeting'' on the Web (https://www.ncwm.net or https://www.nist.gov/pml/wmd) to view the meeting agendas, registration forms, 
and hotel 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 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 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.
    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 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 oral or written 
comments, and where they will finalize recommendations for NCWM 
consideration and possible adoption at its voting sessions, which are 
scheduled for July 18-19, 2012. The Committees may withdraw or 
carryover 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.'' 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:

Item 320-4, UR.1.2. Grain Hopper Scales

    The Committee will consider a proposal to add language to NIST 
Handbook 44 to clarify the requirement that hopper scales manufactured 
as of January 1, 1986, used to weigh grain, must be Accuracy Class III 
weighing devices. The submitter of this proposal believes that this 
revision is needed to help ensure that weights and measures officials 
uniformly apply the handbook's tolerances and other technical and use 
requirements to grain hopper scales.

Item 321-1, Belt-Conveyor Scale Systems

    The Committee will consider a proposal to add language to NIST 
Handbook 44 to add a new specification requiring these scales to have 
an automatic zero ready indicating device. The proposal also includes a 
requirement that users maintain equipment in accordance with the 
manufacturer's instructions and that a zero balance condition be 
established immediately prior to weighing a commodity for a commercial 
transaction.

Liquid Measuring Devices

    Some gasoline and fuel retailers offer a variety of discounts to 
consumers on fuel prices in connection with marketing services and 
dispensing product. The Committee will consider the following proposal 
to modify Section 3.30. Liquid-Measuring Devices. The intent of this 
proposal is to require that retailers provide consumers with adequate 
transaction information to assist them in making value comparisons and 
ensure transparency when fuel purchases are discounted after a 
delivery.
    Item 330-1 includes seven proposed requirements:

S.1.6.4.1. Unit Price

    This proposal would modify device specifications to recognize 
current marketing practices of offering pre or post delivery discounts 
on fuel prices and require the final unit price information to be 
displayed.

S.1.6.5.4. Selection of Unit Price

    This proposal would allow device manufacturers greater flexibility 
in the design and operation of customer operated controls on motor-fuel 
dispensers by recognizing the use of new technology in the selection of 
a unit price.

S.1.6.6. Agreement Between Indications

    This proposal would exempt ``total money values'' displays on the 
dispenser and auxiliary equipment (such as the display on a remote 
control console in an operator's kiosk) from agreement requirements 
when retailers

[[Page 38770]]

offer post delivery discounts for a fuel sale.

S.1.6.7. Recorded Representations

    This proposal would ensure that, except in fleet sales or under 
price contracts or where post-delivery discounts are provided, fuel 
dispensers will provide receipts with sufficient price and other 
information to allow customers to understand and verify the accuracy of 
price discounts. The requirement will also recognize the use of either 
digitally transmitted or printed receipts.

S.1.6.8. Recorded Representations for Transactions Where a Post-
Delivery Discount(s) Is Provided

    In cases where post delivery discounts on fuel purchases are 
offered, this proposal would require specific information be printed on 
receipts made available to consumers so they can verify the accuracy of 
the transaction and receive a printed record.

UR.3.2. Unit Price and Product Identity

    This proposal is intended to clarify the requirements for 
displaying or posting the final unit price of a fuel offered at a 
discount and periods where the highest unit price shall be displayed.

UR.3.3. Computing Device

    This proposal would require that customer receipts include adequate 
information to allow the customer to understand and verify any post 
delivery discounts the retailer provides in connection with a fuel 
sale.

Electronic Livestock, Meat and Poultry Carcass Evaluation Systems

Item 359-1, Tentative Status of Code 5.59. Electronic Livestock, Meat, 
and Poultry Evaluation Systems and/or Devices

    The Committee will consider the adoption of a proposal to make 
tentative Code 5.59. in Handbook 44 enforceable so that it can be used 
to control the accuracy and the use of electronic carcass evaluation 
equipment. The equipment in this code is used commercially in livestock 
procurement operations to determine the value of the animals being 
purchased. Currently, there is no independent, third party verifying 
the accuracy of these devices. In 2010, 106.9 million hogs weighing 
21.8 billion pounds with a total value of $15.7 billion were 
commercially purchased. Of these purchases, about 80 percent were made 
on a carcass yield weight basis using an electronic carcass evaluation 
device. In addition, electronic evaluation devices are used to measure 
composition or quality constituents in individual cuts of meat for 
further sale to consumers. Studies have shown that improper use of 
electronic carcass evaluation equipment can change the value of 
livestock, meat, and poultry.

NCWM Laws and Regulations Committee

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

Uniform Regulation for the Method of Sale of Commodities

Item 232-1, Method of Sale Regulation--Section 2.13.4. Declaration of 
Weight (Polyethylene)
    The Committee will consider a proposal to revise the density values 
used to calculate the net weights on packages of polyethylene products 
to recognize that heavier density plastics are now used in the 
manufacture of some sheeting and bags. (See also Item 260-4, Handbook 
133, Chapter 4.7. Polyethylene Sheeting--Test Procedure--Footnote to 
Step 3.)
Item 232-2, Method of Sale Regulation--Section 2.19. Kerosene
    The Committee will consider a proposal to require that kerosene 
sold from bulk storage at the retail level be solely on the basis of 
the gallon or liter (note: Kerosene sold in packaged form is already 
required under packaging and labeling regulations to be sold by fluid 
volume).
Item 232-4, Method of Sale Regulation--Section 2.33. Vehicle Motor Oil
    The Committee will consider a proposal to adopt a method of sale 
that includes product labeling, invoicing, and other requirements for 
motor oil sold to consumers as part of the oil change service. (See 
also Item 237-4, Handbook 130 Uniform Engine Fuels and Automotive 
Lubricants Regulation, Section 3.13.1. Labeling of Vehicle Motor Oil.)
Item 232-6, Packaged Printer Ink and Toner Cartridges
    A newly formed task group will develop proposals for methods of 
sale, labeling requirements and test procedures for packaged printer 
ink and toner cartridges. The NCWM has assigned the group the task of 
developing proposed regulations that would require manufacturers of 
these products to declare net weight statements on both toner and 
packaged printer ink cartridges. The goal in developing these 
requirements is to provide consumers with information on the net 
quantity of contents of these products so that value comparisons can be 
made, and the stated quantities can be verified by weights and measures 
officials. The task group will meet on Sunday, July 15, 2012, at the 
NCWM Annual Meeting.

Uniform Engine Fuels and Automotive Lubricants Regulation

Item 237-9, Requirements for Hydrogen, and Item 237-10, Definition for 
Hydrogen Fuel for Internal Combustion Engines and Fuel Cell Vehicles

    The Committee will consider two proposals to adopt a national 
quality standard for commercial hydrogen fuel and to add hydrogen 
related definitions to the uniform engine fuel regulation. Both 
proposals would apply to hydrogen fuel sold through dispensing 
equipment for use in fuel cells and internal combustion engine 
vehicles. The first proposal would adopt the most recent version of SAE 
International's Standard J2719 ``Hydrogen Fuel Quality for Fuel Cell 
Vehicles'' by reference to establish quality requirements for hydrogen 
fuel, and the second proposal would define the hydrogen-related terms 
of ``fuel cell,'' ``hydrogen fuel,'' and ``internal combustion 
engine.'' (see also Item 232-7, Handbook 130 Uniform Regulation for the 
Method of Sale Commodities, Section 2.32.1. Definitions for Hydrogen 
Fuel.)

    Dated: June 23, 2012.
Willie E. May,
Associate Director for Laboratory Programs.
[FR Doc. 2012-16014 Filed 6-28-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P