[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 175 (Tuesday, September 12, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62548-62550]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[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 https://www.cwma.net/events. The WWMA Annual meeting will be held September 17-
21, 2023, and the meeting schedule will be available on the WWMA 
website at https://westernwma.org/events. The SWMA Annual meeting will 
be held October 8-11, 2023, and the meeting schedule will be available 
on the SWMA website at https://www.swma.org/events. The NEWMA Interim 
meeting will be held October 16-19, 2023, and the meeting schedule will 
be available on the NEWMA website at https://newma.us/page-1075185.

ADDRESSES: The CWMA Interim meeting will be held in Dubuque, Iowa, with 
registration and other meeting details available on the CWMA website at 
https://www.cwma.net/events. The WWMA Annual meeting will be held in 
Sparks, Nevada, with registration and other meeting details available 
on the WWMA website at https://westernwma.org/events. The SWMA Annual 
meeting will be held in Annapolis, Maryland, with registration and 
other meeting details on the SWMA website at https://www.swma.org/events. The NEWMA Interim meeting will be held in Norwich, Connecticut, 
with registration and other meeting details available on the NEWMA 
website at https://newma.us/page-1075185.

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#2a414b5e5843494f0446435a5a4b6a4443595e044d455c"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d4bfb5a0a6bdb7b1fab8bda4a4b594babda7a0fab3bba2">[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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