Proposed Voluntary Product Standard DOC PS 20-99 ``American Softwood Lumber Standard''

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Institute of Standards and Technology

[Docket No. 981228327-8327-01]

Proposed Voluntary Product Standard DOC PS 20-99 ``American

Softwood Lumber Standard''

agency: National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST),

Commerce.

action: Notice.

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summary: This is to advise the public that the National Institute of

Standards and Technology (NIST) is distributing a proposed revision of

Voluntary Product Standard DOC PS 20-94 ``American Softwood Lumber

Standard,'' for review and comment, DOC PS 20-94 serves the procurement

and regulatory needs of numerous federal, state, and local government

agencies by providing for uniform, industry-wide grade-marking and

inspection requirements for softwood lumber. The proposed revision, DOC

PS 20-99 ``American Softwood Lumber Standard,'' has been developed and

is being processed in accordance with the provisions of the

``Procedures for the Development of Voluntary Product Standards'' of

the Department of Commerce (15 CFR Part 10; as amended; published June

20, 1986).

dates: Written comments regarding the proposed revision, DOC PS 20-99,

should be submitted to the Technical Standards Activities Program,

NIST, by no later than April 19, 1999.

addresses: Requests for copies of the proposed revision, DOC PS 20-99,

and written comments on the proposed revision should be submitted to

the Technical Standards Activities Program, NIST, 100 Bureau Drive Stop

2150, Gaithersburg, MD 20899-2150. The text of the proposed revision,

DOC PS 20-99 (including a copy of DOC PS 20-94 that has been marked up

to show proposed changes to the standard), may be viewed on the World

Wide Web (as an Adobe Acrobat File) by clicking onto the ``DOC

Voluntary Product Standards Program'' at the web site: http://

ts.nist.gov/tsap.

for further information contact: Barbara M. Meigs, Technical Standards

Activities Program, National Institute of Standards and Technology,

telephone: 301-975-4025; fax: 301-926-1559, e-mail:

[email protected].

supplementary information: The proposed revision, DOC PS 20-99

``American Softwood Lumber Standard,'' was developed by the American

Lumber Standard Committee, the Standing Committee for DOC PS 20-

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94. The Committee has responsibility for maintaining and interpreting

the standard and is composed of representatives of producers,

distributors, consumers, and others with an interest in the standard.

DOC PS 20-94 established standard sizes and requirements for

developing and coordinating the lumber grades of the various species of

softwood lumber, the assignment of design values, and the preparation

of grading rules applicable to each species. Its provisions include

implementation of the Standard through an accreditation and

certification program; establishment of principal trade classifications

and lumber sizes for yard, structural, factory/shop use;

classification, measurement, grading and grade-marking of lumber;

definitions of terms and procedures to provide a basis for the use of

uniform methods in the grading inspection, measurement and description

of softwood lumber; commercial names of the principal softwood species;

definitions of terms used in describing standard grades of lumber; and

commonly used industry abbreviations. The Standard also includes the

organization and functions of the American Lumber Standard Committee,

the Board of Review, and the National Grading Rule Committee.

The Standing Committee met on November 6, 1998, to discuss and vote

upon the draft revision of DOC PS 20-94. The draft had been developed

by an ALSC Task Group after considering comments received from

Committee members and other interested parties who responded to NIST's

announcement of March 30, 1998, in the NIST Update. In that

announcement, NIST indicated that as part of the Department's 5-year

review, mandated by the DOC procedures, it was seeking comments

regarding DOC PS 20-94 to determine its technical adequacy, the level

of acceptability the standard has among the various segments of the

softwood lumber industry, the standard's compatibility with existing

law and established public policy, and the benefits that would be

derived from PS 20-94 versus any alternatives. Following a period of

discussion of the draft and the comments that had been received from

the public and members of the Committee, all members present at the

meeting unanimously approved the draft, with minor changes, and

recommended that the proposed revision, DOC PS 20-99, be submitted to

NIST to be processed to supersede DOC PS 20-94.

Among the changes to DOC PS 20-94 and incorporated in the proposed

revision are the following: metric units are shown first followed by

conventional units, language regarding remanufactured lumber is added

to the text, standards referenced in DOC PS 20-94 are replaced by

current editions of those standards, commercial names of additional

principal softwood species are listed in Appendix A, and some

definitions of terms used in describing standard grades of lumber are

clarified in Appendix B. The basic sizes, technical requirements for

softwood lumber, and administrative structure for implementing and

enforcing the Standard have been retained.

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 272.

Dated: January 26, 1999.

Robert E. Hebner,

Acting Deputy Director.

[FR Doc. 99-2354 Filed 1-29-99; 8:45 am]

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