Notice2023-19650
2023 Fall Meetings of the Regional Weights and Measures Associations
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 12, 2023
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Institute of Standards and Technology
Abstract
The fall 2023 meetings of the regional weights and measures associations will be held in September and October 2023. The Central Weights and Measures Association (CWMA) Interim meeting will be held September 11-14, 2023, in Dubuque, Iowa; the Western Weights and Measures Association (WWMA) Annual meeting will be held September 17- 21, 2023, in Sparks, Nevada; the Southern Weights and Measures Association (SWMA) Annual meeting will be held October 8-11, 2023 in Annapolis, Maryland; and the Northeastern Weights and Measures Association (NEWMA) Interim meeting will be held October 16-19, 2023, in Norwich, Connecticut. This notice contains information about significant items on the committee agendas of the four regional weights and measures associations but does not include all agenda items. As a result, the items are not consecutively numbered.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62548-62550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19650]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Institute of Standards and Technology
2023 Fall Meetings of the Regional Weights and Measures
Associations
AGENCY: National Institute of Standards and Technology, Commerce.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The fall 2023 meetings of the regional weights and measures
associations will be held in September and October 2023. The Central
Weights and Measures Association (CWMA) Interim meeting will be held
September 11-14, 2023, in Dubuque, Iowa; the Western Weights and
Measures Association (WWMA) Annual meeting will be held September 17-
21, 2023, in Sparks, Nevada; the Southern Weights and Measures
Association (SWMA) Annual meeting will be held October 8-11, 2023 in
Annapolis, Maryland; and the Northeastern Weights and Measures
Association (NEWMA) Interim meeting will be held October 16-19, 2023,
in Norwich, Connecticut. This notice contains information about
significant items on the committee agendas of the four regional weights
and measures associations but does not include all agenda items. As a
result, the items are not consecutively numbered.
DATES: The CWMA Interim meeting will be held September 11-14, 2023, and
the meeting schedule will be available on the CWMA website at <a href="https://www.cwma.net/events">https://www.cwma.net/events</a>. The WWMA Annual meeting will be held September 17-
21, 2023, and the meeting schedule will be available on the WWMA
website at <a href="https://westernwma.org/events">https://westernwma.org/events</a>. The SWMA Annual meeting will
be held October 8-11, 2023, and the meeting schedule will be available
on the SWMA website at <a href="https://www.swma.org/events">https://www.swma.org/events</a>. The NEWMA Interim
meeting will be held October 16-19, 2023, and the meeting schedule will
be available on the NEWMA website at <a href="https://newma.us/page-1075185">https://newma.us/page-1075185</a>.
ADDRESSES: The CWMA Interim meeting will be held in Dubuque, Iowa, with
registration and other meeting details available on the CWMA website at
<a href="https://www.cwma.net/events">https://www.cwma.net/events</a>. The WWMA Annual meeting will be held in
Sparks, Nevada, with registration and other meeting details available
on the WWMA website at <a href="https://westernwma.org/events">https://westernwma.org/events</a>. The SWMA Annual
meeting will be held in Annapolis, Maryland, with registration and
other meeting details on the SWMA website at <a href="https://www.swma.org/events">https://www.swma.org/events</a>. The NEWMA Interim meeting will be held in Norwich, Connecticut,
with registration and other meeting details available on the NEWMA
website at <a href="https://newma.us/page-1075185">https://newma.us/page-1075185</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Katrice Lippa, NIST, Office of
Weights and Measures, 100 Bureau Drive, Stop 2600, Gaithersburg, MD
20899-2600. You may also contact Dr. Lippa at (301) 975-3116 or by
email at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#9ef5ffeaecf7fdfbb0f2f7eeeeffdef0f7edeab0f9f1e8"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="93f8f2e7e1faf0f6bdfffae3e3f2d3fdfae0e7bdf4fce5">[email protected]</span></a>. The meetings are open to the public,
but the payment of a registration fee is required. Please see the
individual websites of the regional weights and measures associations
to view the meeting agendas, registration forms, and hotel reservation
information.
Background Information: Publication of this notice on behalf of the
regional weights and measures associations is undertaken as a public
service and does not itself constitute an endorsement by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the content of the
notice. NIST participates in the regional weights and measures
associations pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 272(b)(10) and (c)(4) and in
accordance with Federal policy (e.g., OMB Circular A-119 ``Federal
Participation in the Development and Use of Voluntary Consensus
Standards'').
The regional weights and measures associations are organizations of
weights and measures officials of the states, counties, and cities
representing four regions (Central, Western, Southern, and Northeast)
of the United States, and include 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. The regional weights and measures associations operate
Standing Committees to conduct open hearings on new items and for all
carryover items from the preceding 2023 Annual Meeting of the National
Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM). The regional meetings
provide a forum for the further development of regional consensus for
these items and serve as the gateway for moving any new items onto the
national agenda of the NCWM.
NIST also participates in the regional weights and measures
associations providing technical insight and to encourage cooperation
between the private sector, federal agencies, and the states in the
development of legal metrology requirements. NIST also
[[Page 62549]]
promotes uniformity in 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.
Comments will be taken by the respective standing committees in
each region on agenda items during the open hearing portion of the
regional weights and measures association meetings. The committees then
deliberate on these comments which are used to develop recommendations
to be forwarded to the national-level standing committees of the NCWM.
The sessions are open to registered attendees of the regional weights
and measures association meetings and can include both association
members and non-members that represent a range of stakeholder groups.
These recommendations are intended to amend NIST Handbook 44,
``Specifications, Tolerances, and other Technical Requirements for
Weighing and Measuring Devices'' (NIST HB 44), NIST Handbook 130,
``Uniform Laws and Regulations in the areas of Legal Metrology and Fuel
Quality'' (NIST HB 130), and NIST Handbook 133 Checking the Net
Contents of Packaged Goods (NIST HB 133). These NIST Handbooks are
regularly adopted by states either by reference or through their
administrative procedures.
The following are brief descriptions of some of the significant
agenda items that will receive further consideration by the Standing
Committees at the upcoming regional weights and measures associations
meetings. Comments will be taken on these and other issues during
several public comment sessions. At this stage, the items are
proposals.
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 January 2024 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.
Detailed Information: The Specifications and Tolerances (S&T)
Committee of each of the regional weights and measures associations
will consider proposed amendments to NIST HB 44. Those items address
weighing and measuring devices used in commercial or law enforcement
applications or for the collection of statistical information by
government agencies. The following items are proposals to amend NIST HB
44:
WIM--Weigh-In-Motion Systems
WIM-23.1. Remove Tentative Status and Amend Numerous Sections
Throughout. The S&T Committees will consider a proposal to convert the
current Tentative Code of Section 2.25 Weigh-In-Motion Systems Used for
Vehicle Enforcement Screening to Permanent status and to expand the
code to include ``and Enforcement''. This also includes (but is not
limited to): (1) the addition of an Accuracy Class ``E'' WIM scale (in
addition to Class A (classification applies to vehicles that will
undergo screening)) in the specifications (S); (2) the addition of test
procedures to address the new Accuracy Class E (classification applies
to vehicles that undergo enforcement activity) in the test procedures
(N) section for the determination of test speeds, dynamic test loads,
and vehicle positions; (3) the designation of more stringent tolerances
(T) for Accuracy Class E as compared to those for Accuracy Class A and
a designation noting Accuracy Class E tolerances are to be applied to
WIM scales used for enforcement purposes; and (4) the addition of a
Class E weighing application in the user requirements (UR) for the
explicit enforcement of vehicles based on axle, axle group, and gross
vehicle weights. Assessments during the 2022 regional weights and
measures association meetings recommended a Developing status to allow
the submitters to address questions raised regarding the application of
tolerances and test procedures and allow input regarding the use of the
code for enforcement purposes (rather than screening) from those
jurisdictions impacted by the proposed change in scope and status as
well as input from other scale manufacturers. The submitters provided a
revised proposal to the NCWM following the release of the 2023 NCWM
Publication 15. At the 2023 NCWM Annual Meeting, the NCWM S&T Committee
updated the item with the most recent version in the carryover report.
This latest version has an Informational status and the item will be
further discussed and assessed at the fall 2023 regional weights and
measures association meetings.
EVF--Electric Vehicle Fueling Systems
EVF 23.4. This proposal submitted by Power Measurements, LLC is
intended to update the existing required tests in NIST HB 44 (Section
3.40. Electric Vehicle Fueling Systems) specified for use to determine
the accuracy of alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC)
systems. The proposal has a Developing status and will expand the
number of test points over a specific range of operating conditions for
the test of an electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) system. The
NIST United States National Work Group on Measuring Systems for
Electric Vehicle Fueling and Submetering: Electric Vehicle Fueling
Equipment Subgroup has also kept the Submitter and NCWM S&T Committee
apprised of its ongoing work to develop a more suitable minimum set of
test procedures to determine the performance of both AC and DC EVSE
systems.
EVF 23.6. The proposal submitted by Florida Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services, Electrify America, Tesla, EVGo, and
Siemens was revised by the NCWM S&T Committee after comments during the
2023 NCWM Interim and Annual Meetings. The proposal would amend NIST HB
44, Section 3.40 to require either a physical or digitally formatted
marking of accuracy for DC systems meeting <plus-minus> 5% accuracy
requirements. The proposed dual tolerance structure that would permit
the wider <plus-minus> 5% accuracy tolerance is permitted up through
2034. It also includes revisions to acceptance and maintenance
tolerances for DC fast charging (DCFC) EV chargers that will be based
on the pre- or post-2024 installation and placed into service date of
this equipment. The current NIST HB 44 enforcement date of January 1,
2028, for DC systems tolerances adopted in July 2022 remains in effect.
The proposal was voted on at the 2023 NCWM Annual Meeting but did not
receive enough votes to be adopted and was returned to the NCWM S&T
Committee for further consideration and deliberation by stakeholders.
EVF 23.7. The proposal submitted by Electrify America has a
Developing status and would amend NIST HB 44, Section 3.40 to establish
a larger range of test points that are usable for performing the light
load tests, remove the requirement that the load be determined either
through the pilot signal (AC systems) or digital communication (DC
systems), and add a new definition for the term maximum deliverable
amperes which is the value that the NIST HB 44 test procedures use to
establish the range of points where tests are performed to determine an
electric vehicle fueling system's accuracy. The NCWM S&T Committee
requested this proposal and Item EVF 23.4 be considered in the ongoing
work to develop a more suitable single set of minimum of test
procedures for use in determining the performance of both AC and DC
EVSE systems.
[[Page 62550]]
LPG--Liquid Petroleum Gas and Anhydrous Ammonia Liquid-Measuring
Devices
LPG--23.1 This proposal submitted by the National Propane Gas
Association and U-Haul International addresses practical issues that
propane retailers encounter when trying to comply with zero-set-back
interlock requirements in NIST HB 44 for electronic stationary and
electronic vehicle-mounted propane meters and stationary retail motor-
fuel devices used to dispense propane. The intent of the proposal is to
exempt the required use of zero-set-back interlock systems in a device
used to both dispense liquified petroleum gas for use as a vehicle
motor-fuel and in filling containers/cylinders for other than motor-
fuel applications. The NCWM S&T Committee at the 2023 NCWM Annual
Meeting downgraded the status of the item from Voting to Informational
to allow more time to better understand how the proposed changes will
impact stakeholders.
OTH--Other Items
OTH 16.1. The NIST United States National Work Group on Measuring
Systems for Electric Vehicle Fueling and Submetering: Watthour-Type
Electric Meters Subgroup has worked to develop a proposed comprehensive
set of legal metrology requirements for electric watthour meters used
in submeter applications in residences and businesses (not intended to
address utility metering under the authority of entities such as the
local utility commission). The NCWM S&T Committee downgraded the
proposed new code under consideration at the 2023 NCWM Annual Meeting
from a Voting status to Informational status following comments heard
during open hearings. Current and new recommendations to language for
this proposed new code will be heard at the fall 2023 regional weights
and measures association meetings.
Alicia Chambers,
NIST Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2023-19650 Filed 9-11-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-13-P
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