WSR 04-23-043

PERMANENT RULES

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE


[ Filed November 10, 2004, 4:31 p.m. , effective December 11, 2004 ]


     

     Purpose: This rule-making order amends chapter 16-675 WAC by (1) increasing the fees charged by the metrology laboratory for inspection, tolerance testing and calibration of weighing and measuring standards above the Office of Financial Management (OFM) fiscal growth factor; (2) increasing the fees charged for the inspection and testing of weighing or measuring devices when requested by the devise owner within the OFM fiscal growth factor for fiscal year 2005 (3.03%); and (3) rewriting the language using a format that makes the rule easier to use and understand.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 16-675-010, 16-675-020, 16-675-030, 16-675-040, 16-675-050, and 16-675-060.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: Chapters 19.94 and 34.05 RCW.

      Adopted under notice filed as WSR 04-19-122 on September 21, 2004.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 2, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 5, Amended 0, Repealed 6.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 7, Amended 0, Repealed 6.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 7, Amended 0, Repealed 6.

     Date Adopted: November 10, 2004.

Valoria H. Loveland

Director

OTS-7515.2


NEW SECTION
WAC 16-675-015   What is the purpose of this chapter?   The purpose of this chapter is to implement:

     (1) RCW 19.94.216(1) and 19.94.325(2), which allows the director of the Washington state department of agriculture to establish reasonable fees for inspection, tolerance testing and calibration services performed on weights and measures standards by the metrology laboratory; and

     (2) RCW 19.94.175(3), which allows the director to establish fees for inspecting and testing weighing and measuring devices when the inspections and tests are specifically requested by the device's owner.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 16-675-025   What definitions apply to this chapter?   The following definitions apply to this chapter.

     "Calibration" means the comparison of a measurement standard or instrument with another standard or instrument to detect, correlate, report, or eliminate, by adjustment, any inaccuracy of the compared standard or instrument.

     "Department" means the Washington state department of agriculture (WSDA).

     "Director" means the director of the department or the director's designated representative.

     "Laboratory" means the metrology laboratory operated by the department.

     "Tolerance testing" means a measurement operation performed to determine whether the actual value of a standard, artifact, or instrument is within a permitted tolerance of its nominal value.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 16-675-035   What condition must your weights and measures standards be in when they are submitted to the laboratory for testing or calibration?   Weights and measures standards submitted to the laboratory for tolerance testing or calibration must be in a physical condition that allows the laboratory to perform the requested service.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 16-675-037   Does the laboratory repair weights and measures standards brought in for testing and calibration?   (1) Weights and measures standards, whose physical condition, prevents the laboratory from performing the requested service may be:

     (a) Returned to the sender at the sender's expense; or

     (b) Repaired, if possible, by the laboratory.

     (2) When possible, the laboratory will make repairs:

     (a) At the rate of one hundred dollars per hour; and

     (b) Only after a signed written repair agreement between the department and the owner of the weights or measures standard is concluded.

     (3) All repair fees charged by the laboratory are in addition to any testing or calibration fees charged by the laboratory.

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NEW SECTION
WAC 16-675-045   What fees does the laboratory charge for the services it performs?   The metrology laboratory charges the following fees for services performed:


Service Performed Fee
Inspection, tolerance testing and calibration services performed at the metrology laboratory $100.00 per hour
Inspection, tolerance testing and calibration services performed at other than the metrology laboratory $100.00 per hour plus mileage and per diem at the rates established by the office of financial management (OFM) when the service is performed
Any service provided by the laboratory Minimum one-half hour charge

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NEW SECTION
WAC 16-675-055   What fees are charged when the inspecting and testing of a weighing or measuring device is specifically requested by the device's owner?   The fees in the following table apply to inspecting and testing weighing or measuring devices when the inspection or test is:

     (1) Specifically requested by the device's owner or his/her representative; or

     (2) Performed on devices used by an agency or institution that receives money from the legislature or the federal government.


Weighing and Measuring Device Inspection and/or Testing Fee
Small scales "zero to four hundred pounds capacity" $15.95 per scale
Intermediate scales "four hundred pounds to five thousand pounds capacity" $53.20 per scale
Large scales "over five thousand pounds capacity" $133.02 per scale
Large scales with supplemental devices $159.62 per scale
Railroad track scales $1,064.19 per scale
Liquid fuel meters with flows of less than twenty gallons per minute $15.95 per meter
Liquid fuel meters with flows of at least twenty but not more than one hundred fifty gallons per minute $53.20 per meter
Fuel meters with flows over one hundred fifty gallons per minute $159.62 per meter
Liquid petroleum gas meters with one-inch diameter or smaller dispensers $53.20 per meter
Liquid petroleum gas meters with greater than one-inch diameter dispensers $159.62 per meter
Inspection services not covered by the above special inspection fees $35.91 per hour for labor and travel time

(minimum one hour charge)

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NEW SECTION
WAC 16-675-065   What requirements apply to testing railroad track scales in Washington state?   (1) All railroad track scale owners in Washington state must provide a suitable:

     (a) Facility or facilities for testing track scales;

     (b) Car or other device for testing track scales.

     (2) The department must use the car, device, or facility provided to test the accuracy of all track scales.

     (3) Track scale owners (railroad companies) must move the car, device, or facility to locations designated by the department without charge.

     (4) The cost of providing and maintaining the car, device, or facility must be equitably and reasonably apportioned by the department among all railroad track scale owners.

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REPEALER

     The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
WAC 16-675-010 Purpose.
WAC 16-675-020 Definitions.
WAC 16-675-030 Condition of submitted weights and measures.
WAC 16-675-040 Schedule of laboratory fees.
WAC 16-675-050 Special inspection and testing fees.
WAC 16-675-060 Fees for railroad track scales.

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