Periodic Reporting Rules, 72754-72756 [E8-28396]
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72754
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 231 / Monday, December 1, 2008 / Proposed Rules
result in such an expenditure, we do
discuss the effects of this rule elsewhere
in this preamble.
Taking of Private Property
This proposed rule would not effect a
taking of private property or otherwise
have taking implications under
Executive Order 12630, Governmental
Actions and Interference with
Constitutionally Protected Property
Rights.
Civil Justice Reform
This proposed rule meets applicable
standards in sections 3(a) and 3(b)(2) of
Executive Order 12988, Civil Justice
Reform, to minimize litigation,
eliminate ambiguity, and reduce
burden.
Protection of Children
We have analyzed this proposed rule
under Executive Order 13045,
Protection of Children from
Environmental Health Risks and Safety
Risks. This rule is not an economically
significant rule and would not create an
environmental risk to health or risk to
safety that may disproportionately affect
children.
Indian Tribal Governments
This proposed rule does not have
tribal implications under Executive
Order 13175, Consultation and
Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments, because it would not have
a substantial direct effect on one or
more Indian tribes, on the relationship
between the Federal Government and
Indian tribes, or on the distribution of
power and responsibilities between the
Federal Government and Indian tribes.
erowe on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALS-1
Energy Effects
We have analyzed this proposed rule
under Executive Order 13211, Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use. We have
determined that it is not a ‘‘significant
energy action’’ under that order because
it is not a ‘‘significant regulatory action’’
under Executive Order 12866 and is not
likely to have a significant adverse effect
on the supply, distribution, or use of
energy. The Administrator of the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs
has not designated it as a significant
energy action. Therefore, it does not
require a Statement of Energy Effects
under Executive Order 13211.
Technical Standards
The National Technology Transfer
and Advancement Act (NTTAA) (15
U.S.C. 272 note) directs agencies to use
voluntary consensus standards in their
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Jkt 217001
regulatory activities unless the agency
provides Congress, through the Office of
Management and Budget, with an
explanation of why using these
standards would be inconsistent with
applicable law or otherwise impractical.
Voluntary consensus standards are
technical standards (e.g., specifications
of materials, performance, design, or
operation; test methods; sampling
procedures; and related management
systems practices) that are developed or
adopted by voluntary consensus
standards bodies.
This proposed rule does not use
technical standards. Therefore, we did
not consider the use of voluntary
consensus standards.
Environment
We have analyzed this proposed rule
under Department of Homeland
Security Management Directive 5100.1
and Commandant Instruction
M16475.lD, which guide the Coast
Guard in complying with the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321–4370f), and
have made a preliminary determination
under the Instruction that this action is
not likely to have a significant effect on
the human environment. There are no
factors in this case that would limit the
use of a categorical exclusion under
section 2.B.2 of the Instruction. We seek
any comments or information that may
lead to the discovery of a significant
environmental impact from this
proposed rule.
List of Subjects in 33 CFR Part 117
Bridges.
For the reasons discussed in the
preamble, the Coast Guard proposes to
amend 33 CFR part 117 as follows:
PART 117—DRAWBRIDGE
OPERATION REGULATIONS
Authority: 33 U.S.C. 499; 33 CFR 1.05–1;
Department of Homeland Security Delegation
No. 0170.1.
2. Revise § 33 CFR 117.150 to read as
follows:
Connection Slough.
The draw of the Reclamation District
No. 2027 bridge between Mandeville
and Bacon Islands, mile 2.5 near
Stockton, from May 15 through
September 15, shall open on signal
between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
and it shall open upon 12 hours
advance notice between the hours of 5
p.m. and 9 a.m.; and from September 16
through May 14 the draw shall open
upon 12 hours advance notice between
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Dated: November 12, 2008.
P.F. Zukunft,
Rear Admiral, U.S. Coast Guard, Commander,
Eleventh Coast Guard District.
[FR Doc. E8–28476 Filed 11–28–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910–15–P
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
39 CFR Part 3001
[Docket No. RM2009–2; Order No. 139]
Periodic Reporting Rules
Postal Regulatory Commission.
Proposed rule; availability of
rulemaking petition.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
SUMMARY: Under a new law, the Postal
Service must file an annual compliance
report on costs, revenues, rates, and
quality of service associated with its
products. It recently filed documents
with the Commission to change some of
the methods it uses to compile the fiscal
year 2008 report. In the Commission’s
view, these documents constitute a
rulemaking petition. Therefore, this
document provides notice of the
Service’s filing and an opportunity for
public comment.
DATES: 1. Initial comments: December 5,
2008.
2. Reply comments: December 12,
2008.
Submit comments
electronically via the Commission’s
Filing Online system at https://
www.prc.gov.
ADDRESSES:
1. The authority citation for part 117
continues to read as follows:
§ 117.150
the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., and it
shall open upon 24 hours advance
notice between the hours of 5 p.m. and
9 a.m.
Advance notice shall be given to the
drawbridge operator by telephone at
(209) 464–2959 or (209) 464–7928
weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
and at (209) 993–8878 all other times.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
202–789–6820 and
stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.
Regulatory
History. 73 FR 51983 (September 8,
2008); 73 FR 55464 (September 25,
2008); 73 FR 67455 (November 14,
2008).
On November 19, 2008, the Postal
Service filed a petition to initiate an
informal rulemaking proceeding to
change accepted costing methods for
purposes of periodic reporting.1 The
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1 Petition of the United States Postal Service
Requesting Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider
Further Proposed Methodology Changes for the FY
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erowe on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALS-1
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 231 / Monday, December 1, 2008 / Proposed Rules
informal rulemaking procedures
proposed would be comparable to those
followed in Docket Nos. RM2008–2 and
RM2008–6, and RM2009–1. In Docket
No. RM2008–2, nine numbered
proposals were the subject of notice and
comment rulemaking procedures. In
Docket No. RM2008–6, the Postal
Service proposed two additional
proposals to change costing methods,
numbered ten and eleven. The Postal
Service offered an additional proposal
(numbered twelve) in Docket No.
RM2009–1. Proposals one through nine,
and ten through eleven were evaluated
in PRC Order No. 115, October 10, 2008
and PRC Order No. 118, October 22,
2008, respectively. Proposal Twelve is
pending. See PRC Order No. 130,
November 7, 2008. The Postal Service
refers to the change in accepted costing
methods that it proposes in this docket
as Proposal Thirteen. Labeling it
Proposal Thirteen indicates that the
proposal is sequential to, but
distinguishable from, the proposals in
Docket Nos. RM2008–2, RM2008–6, and
RM2009–1. See Petition at 1.
Substance of the Postal Service’s
proposal. Single-piece Parcel Post was
separated from competitive Parcel Post
products in the FY 2007 Annual
Compliance Report (FY 2007 ACR)
without the benefit of input cost data
that directly reflected the distinction.
The FY 2007 ACR employed a cost
model for single-piece Parcel Post that
included mail processing and
transportation cost avoidance estimates
for Inter-BMC and Intra-BMC Parcel
Post to support the discounts charged
for those categories. See USPS–FY07–15
and USPS–FY07–16. In Docket No.
RM2008–6, for FY 2008, the
Commission approved the collection of
‘‘bottom up’’ costs separately for singlepiece Parcel Post and for the various
competitive Parcel Post products in the
Postal Service’s basic data collection
systems (In-Office Cost System, Carrier
Cost System, and Transportation Cost
System). See Order No. 118, October 22,
2008, Proposal Ten. Because new input
data will be used in the FY 2008 Annual
Compliance Report (FY 2008 ACR) to
obtain single-piece Parcel Post costs,
adjustments need to be made to the
models that estimate the costs
associated with inter-BMC and intraBMC single-piece parcels.
The Postal Service provides electronic
spreadsheets showing where the FY
2008 data will go when it is received. Id.
at 3. Those spreadsheets are briefly
described below.
2008 ACR (Proposal Thirteen), November 19, 2008
(Petition).
VerDate Aug<31>2005
13:56 Nov 28, 2008
Jkt 217001
Parcel Post Single-Piece Trans.xls: Cost
model showing transportation costs allocated
to Inter- and Intra-BMC single-piece Parcel
Post (replacing portions of USPS–FY07–16).
Parcel Post Single-Piece MP.xls: Cost
model showing mail processing costs
allocated to Inter- and Intra-BMC single-piece
Parcel Post (replacing portions of USPS–
FY07–15).
Parcel Post Cost Model Modifications.doc:
Document describing modifications made to
the Parcel Post mail processing and
transportation cost models (formerly portions
of USPS–FY07–15 and USPS–FY07–16) to
accommodate new reporting methods in the
[Cost and Revenue Analysis] CRA for singlepiece Parcel Post.
The objective, background, rationale,
and impact of Proposal Thirteen is
described in an attachment to the Postal
Service’s Petition. It is reproduced
below.
I. Procedural Expedition
The same factors that led the
Commission to expedite review of the
11 proposals disposed of in Docket Nos.
RM2008–2, RM2008–6, and RM2009–1
apply here. Proposal Thirteen appears to
be a relatively straightforward proposal
to adapt the cost avoidance models for
single-piece Parcel Post to use the new
CRA inputs that will soon become
available. The Postal Service states that
compared to the models employed in its
FY 2007 ACR, these models are
essentially unchanged in their
conceptual approach, the mechanical
relationships of the data elements, the
assumptions used, and the analytical
techniques applied. Id. at 2.
Accordingly, public comments, if any,
will be due on December 5, 2008, and
reply comments will be due on or before
December 12, 2008.
II. Substance of Postal Service
Proposals
The Postal Service proposal, see
Petition at 3, is described below.
Proposal Thirteen. Development of
Single-Piece Parcel Post Mail Processing
and Transportation cost Models.
Objective. Develop single-piece Parcel
Post mail processing and transportation
cost models that contain cost estimates
for the Inter-BMC and Intra-BMC price
categories.
Background. Parcel Post mail
processing (USPS–FY07–15) and
transportation (USPS–FY07–16) cost
models were filed in Docket No.
ACR2007. These cost models were used
to derive cost estimates for all the Parcel
Post price categories using a single set
of cost model parameters. This
methodology was relied upon because
some parameters were only available in
aggregate form. For example, an
aggregate mail processing unit cost by
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Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
72755
shape estimate (USPS–FY07–26) was all
that was available at that time.
Rationale. As the Commission
discussed in Order No. 118, the Postal
Service is now able to provide separate
mail processing and transportation cost
data for single-piece Parcel Post, Parcel
Select, and Parcel Return Service for
Fiscal Year 2008. It is therefore now
possible to develop separate singlepiece Parcel Post mail processing and
transportation cost models. The
document titled ‘‘Parcel Post Cost
Model Modifications’’ lists the
modifications required to develop
single-piece Parcel Post mail processing
and transportation cost models using
the cost models that were filed in
USPS–FY07–15 and USPS–FY07–16,
respectively, as starting points.
Impact. In Docket No. ACR2007,
single-piece Parcel Post mail processing
and transportation cost estimates for the
Inter-BMC and Intra-BMC price
categories were not developed for the
reasons described above. The fact that
several cells on page 1 of the proposed
mail processing model contain values of
zero is not an indication that there is a
problem with the model. These values
merely indicate that the USPS–FY07–15
aggregate cost by shape estimate was
removed from the model, given that it
is not comparable to the single-piece
estimate that should be used and is not
yet available. The results that appear on
page 1 of the proposed transportation
cost model are also not meaningful as
they were calculated using cost segment
8 and 14 data that represent all of Parcel
Post, rather than the more narrowly
defined category of single-piece Parcel
Post. The single-piece transportation
cost data are not yet available. Once all
the Fiscal Year 2008 cost data are
available and incorporated into the
proposed cost models, it will only be
possible to compare the single-piece
Inter-BMC and Intra-BMC mail
processing and transportation cost
estimates to the aggregate (single-piece
and bulk-entered) Inter-BMC and IntraBMC cost estimates derived in USPS–
FY07–15 and USPS–FY07–16,
respectively.
III. Ordering Paragraphs
It is Ordered:
1. The Commission establishes Docket
No. RM2009–2 to consider the Petition
of the United States Postal Service
Requesting Initiation of a Proceeding to
Consider Further Proposed
Methodology Changes for the FY 2008
ACR (Proposal Thirteen), filed
November 19, 2008.
2. Interested persons may submit
initial comments on or before December
5, 2008.
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01DEP1
72756
Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 231 / Monday, December 1, 2008 / Proposed Rules
3. Reply comments may be submitted
on or before December 12, 2008.
4. William C. Miller is designated as
the Public Representative representing
the interests of the general public in this
proceeding.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for
publication of this notice in the Federal
Register.
By the Commission.
Authority: 39 U.S.C 3652.
Steven W. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8–28396 Filed 11–28–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
40 CFR Part 63
[EPA–HQ–OAR–2004–0083; FRL–8747–2]
RIN 2060–AM71
Amendments to National Emission
Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants
for Area Sources: Electric Arc Furnace
Steelmaking Facilities
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Proposed rule.
AGENCY:
SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to amend
the national emission standards for
electric arc furnace (EAF) steelmaking
facilities that are area sources of
hazardous air pollutants published on
December 28, 2007. The amendments to
the area source standards for EAF
steelmaking facilities would clarify
applicability of the opacity limit, make
the performance test requirements for
particulate matter consistent with
requirements in the new source
performance standards for EAF
steelmaking facilities, allow title V test
data to be used to demonstrate
compliance, and revise the definition of
‘‘scrap provider’’ to include electric are
furnace steelmaking facilities that own
and operate a scrap shredder. In the
‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ section of this
Federal Register, we are amending the
area source standards for EAF
steelmaking facilities as a direct final
rule without a prior proposed rule. If we
receive no adverse comment, we will
not take further action on this proposed
rule.
DATES: Written comments must be
received by December 31, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OAR–2004–0083, by mail to National
Emission Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants for Area Sources: Electric Arc
Furnace Steelmaking Facilities Docket,
Environmental Protection Agency,
Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
Please include a total of two copies.
Comments may also be submitted
electronically or through hand delivery/
courier by following the detailed
instructions in the ADDRESSES section of
the direct final rule located in the rules
section of this Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Phil Mulrine, Sector Policies and
Programs Division, Office of Air Quality
Planning and Standards (D243–02),
Environmental Protection Agency,
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
27711, telephone number: (919) 541–
5289; fax number: (919) 541–3207; email address: mulrine.phil@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
information presented in this document
is organized as follows:
I. Why is EPA issuing this proposed rule?
II. Does this action apply to me?
III. Where can I get a copy of this document?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
A. Executive Order 12866: Regulatory
Planning and Review
B. Paperwork Reduction Act
C. Regulatory Flexibility Act
D. Unfunded Mandates Reform Act
E. Executive Order 13132: Federalism
F. Executive Order 13175: Consultation
and Coordination with Indian Tribal
Governments
Category
NAICS
code1
Industry ........................................................
331111 ....
erowe on PROD1PC63 with PROPOSALS-1
1 North
G. Executive Order 13045: Protection of
Children from Environmental Health and
Safety Risks
H. Executive Order 13211: Actions
Concerning Regulations That
Significantly Affect Energy Supply,
Distribution, or Use
I. National Technology Transfer
Advancement Act
J. Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions
to Address Environmental Justice in
Minority Populations and Low-Income
Populations
I. Why is EPA issuing this proposed
rule?
This document proposes to take
action on amendments to the national
emission standards for EAF steelmaking
area sources (40 CFR part 63, subpart
YYYYY). We have published a direct
final rule amending the area source
standards for EAF steelmaking facilities
in the ‘‘Rules and Regulations’’ section
of this Federal Register because we
view this as a noncontroversial action
and anticipate no adverse comment. We
have explained our reasons for this
action in the preamble to the direct final
rule.
If we receive no adverse comment, we
will not take further action on this
proposed rule. If we receive adverse
comment, we will withdraw the
amendments in the direct final rule or
certain amendments in the direct final
rule and those amendments will not
take effect. We would address all public
comments in any subsequent final rule
based on this proposed rule.
We do not intend to institute a second
comment period on this action. Any
parties interested in commenting must
do so at this time. For further
information, please see the information
provided in the ADDRESSES section of
this document.
II. Does this action apply to me?
Categories and entities potentially
regulated by the proposed rule include:
Examples of regulated entities
Steel mills with electric arc furnace steelmaking facilities that are area sources.
American Industry Classification System.
This table is not intended to be
exhaustive, but rather provides a guide
for readers regarding entities likely to be
affected by this proposed action. To
determine whether your facility would
be regulated by this proposed action,
you should examine the applicability
criteria in 40 CFR 63.10680 of subpart
VerDate Aug<31>2005
13:56 Nov 28, 2008
Jkt 217001
YYYYY (National Emission Standards
for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area
Sources: Electric Arc Furnace
Steelmaking Facilities). If you have any
questions regarding the applicability of
this action to a particular entity, consult
either the air permit authority for the
entity or your EPA regional
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 4702
Sfmt 4702
representative as listed in 40 CFR 63.13
of subpart A (General Provisions).
III. Where can I get a copy of this
document?
In addition to being available in the
docket, an electronic copy of this
proposed action will also be available
E:\FR\FM\01DEP1.SGM
01DEP1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 231 (Monday, December 1, 2008)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 72754-72756]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-28396]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
39 CFR Part 3001
[Docket No. RM2009-2; Order No. 139]
Periodic Reporting Rules
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Proposed rule; availability of rulemaking petition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: Under a new law, the Postal Service must file an annual
compliance report on costs, revenues, rates, and quality of service
associated with its products. It recently filed documents with the
Commission to change some of the methods it uses to compile the fiscal
year 2008 report. In the Commission's view, these documents constitute
a rulemaking petition. Therefore, this document provides notice of the
Service's filing and an opportunity for public comment.
DATES: 1. Initial comments: December 5, 2008.
2. Reply comments: December 12, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing
Online system at https://www.prc.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
202-789-6820 and stephen.sharfman@prc.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulatory History. 73 FR 51983 (September
8, 2008); 73 FR 55464 (September 25, 2008); 73 FR 67455 (November 14,
2008).
On November 19, 2008, the Postal Service filed a petition to
initiate an informal rulemaking proceeding to change accepted costing
methods for purposes of periodic reporting.\1\ The
[[Page 72755]]
informal rulemaking procedures proposed would be comparable to those
followed in Docket Nos. RM2008-2 and RM2008-6, and RM2009-1. In Docket
No. RM2008-2, nine numbered proposals were the subject of notice and
comment rulemaking procedures. In Docket No. RM2008-6, the Postal
Service proposed two additional proposals to change costing methods,
numbered ten and eleven. The Postal Service offered an additional
proposal (numbered twelve) in Docket No. RM2009-1. Proposals one
through nine, and ten through eleven were evaluated in PRC Order No.
115, October 10, 2008 and PRC Order No. 118, October 22, 2008,
respectively. Proposal Twelve is pending. See PRC Order No. 130,
November 7, 2008. The Postal Service refers to the change in accepted
costing methods that it proposes in this docket as Proposal Thirteen.
Labeling it Proposal Thirteen indicates that the proposal is sequential
to, but distinguishable from, the proposals in Docket Nos. RM2008-2,
RM2008-6, and RM2009-1. See Petition at 1.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Petition of the United States Postal Service Requesting
Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Further Proposed Methodology
Changes for the FY 2008 ACR (Proposal Thirteen), November 19, 2008
(Petition).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Substance of the Postal Service's proposal. Single-piece Parcel
Post was separated from competitive Parcel Post products in the FY 2007
Annual Compliance Report (FY 2007 ACR) without the benefit of input
cost data that directly reflected the distinction. The FY 2007 ACR
employed a cost model for single-piece Parcel Post that included mail
processing and transportation cost avoidance estimates for Inter-BMC
and Intra-BMC Parcel Post to support the discounts charged for those
categories. See USPS-FY07-15 and USPS-FY07-16. In Docket No. RM2008-6,
for FY 2008, the Commission approved the collection of ``bottom up''
costs separately for single-piece Parcel Post and for the various
competitive Parcel Post products in the Postal Service's basic data
collection systems (In-Office Cost System, Carrier Cost System, and
Transportation Cost System). See Order No. 118, October 22, 2008,
Proposal Ten. Because new input data will be used in the FY 2008 Annual
Compliance Report (FY 2008 ACR) to obtain single-piece Parcel Post
costs, adjustments need to be made to the models that estimate the
costs associated with inter-BMC and intra-BMC single-piece parcels.
The Postal Service provides electronic spreadsheets showing where
the FY 2008 data will go when it is received. Id. at 3. Those
spreadsheets are briefly described below.
Parcel Post Single-Piece Trans.xls: Cost model showing
transportation costs allocated to Inter- and Intra-BMC single-piece
Parcel Post (replacing portions of USPS-FY07-16).
Parcel Post Single-Piece MP.xls: Cost model showing mail
processing costs allocated to Inter- and Intra-BMC single-piece
Parcel Post (replacing portions of USPS-FY07-15).
Parcel Post Cost Model Modifications.doc: Document describing
modifications made to the Parcel Post mail processing and
transportation cost models (formerly portions of USPS-FY07-15 and
USPS-FY07-16) to accommodate new reporting methods in the [Cost and
Revenue Analysis] CRA for single-piece Parcel Post.
The objective, background, rationale, and impact of Proposal
Thirteen is described in an attachment to the Postal Service's
Petition. It is reproduced below.
I. Procedural Expedition
The same factors that led the Commission to expedite review of the
11 proposals disposed of in Docket Nos. RM2008-2, RM2008-6, and RM2009-
1 apply here. Proposal Thirteen appears to be a relatively
straightforward proposal to adapt the cost avoidance models for single-
piece Parcel Post to use the new CRA inputs that will soon become
available. The Postal Service states that compared to the models
employed in its FY 2007 ACR, these models are essentially unchanged in
their conceptual approach, the mechanical relationships of the data
elements, the assumptions used, and the analytical techniques applied.
Id. at 2. Accordingly, public comments, if any, will be due on December
5, 2008, and reply comments will be due on or before December 12, 2008.
II. Substance of Postal Service Proposals
The Postal Service proposal, see Petition at 3, is described below.
Proposal Thirteen. Development of Single-Piece Parcel Post Mail
Processing and Transportation cost Models.
Objective. Develop single-piece Parcel Post mail processing and
transportation cost models that contain cost estimates for the Inter-
BMC and Intra-BMC price categories.
Background. Parcel Post mail processing (USPS-FY07-15) and
transportation (USPS-FY07-16) cost models were filed in Docket No.
ACR2007. These cost models were used to derive cost estimates for all
the Parcel Post price categories using a single set of cost model
parameters. This methodology was relied upon because some parameters
were only available in aggregate form. For example, an aggregate mail
processing unit cost by shape estimate (USPS-FY07-26) was all that was
available at that time.
Rationale. As the Commission discussed in Order No. 118, the Postal
Service is now able to provide separate mail processing and
transportation cost data for single-piece Parcel Post, Parcel Select,
and Parcel Return Service for Fiscal Year 2008. It is therefore now
possible to develop separate single-piece Parcel Post mail processing
and transportation cost models. The document titled ``Parcel Post Cost
Model Modifications'' lists the modifications required to develop
single-piece Parcel Post mail processing and transportation cost models
using the cost models that were filed in USPS-FY07-15 and USPS-FY07-16,
respectively, as starting points.
Impact. In Docket No. ACR2007, single-piece Parcel Post mail
processing and transportation cost estimates for the Inter-BMC and
Intra-BMC price categories were not developed for the reasons described
above. The fact that several cells on page 1 of the proposed mail
processing model contain values of zero is not an indication that there
is a problem with the model. These values merely indicate that the
USPS-FY07-15 aggregate cost by shape estimate was removed from the
model, given that it is not comparable to the single-piece estimate
that should be used and is not yet available. The results that appear
on page 1 of the proposed transportation cost model are also not
meaningful as they were calculated using cost segment 8 and 14 data
that represent all of Parcel Post, rather than the more narrowly
defined category of single-piece Parcel Post. The single-piece
transportation cost data are not yet available. Once all the Fiscal
Year 2008 cost data are available and incorporated into the proposed
cost models, it will only be possible to compare the single-piece
Inter-BMC and Intra-BMC mail processing and transportation cost
estimates to the aggregate (single-piece and bulk-entered) Inter-BMC
and Intra-BMC cost estimates derived in USPS-FY07-15 and USPS-FY07-16,
respectively.
III. Ordering Paragraphs
It is Ordered:
1. The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2009-2 to consider the
Petition of the United States Postal Service Requesting Initiation of a
Proceeding to Consider Further Proposed Methodology Changes for the FY
2008 ACR (Proposal Thirteen), filed November 19, 2008.
2. Interested persons may submit initial comments on or before
December 5, 2008.
[[Page 72756]]
3. Reply comments may be submitted on or before December 12, 2008.
4. William C. Miller is designated as the Public Representative
representing the interests of the general public in this proceeding.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this notice in
the Federal Register.
By the Commission.
Authority: 39 U.S.C 3652.
Steven W. Williams,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. E8-28396 Filed 11-28-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-P