62024 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 173 / Friday, September 8, 2023 / Proposed Rules 

1Petition of the United States Postal Service for 

the Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed 

Changes in Analytical Principles (Proposal Four), 

August 28, 2023 (Petition). Proposal Four is 

attached to the Petition. The Postal Service also 

filed a notice of filing of non-public material 

relating to Proposal Four. Notice of Filing of USPS– 

RM2023–9–NP1 and Application for Nonpublic 

Treatment, August 28, 2023. 

2 Id. (citing Docket No. ACR2022, Library 

Reference USPS–FY22–NP27, December 29, 2022). 

III. Notice and Comment 

Docket No. RM2023–7 will remain 

open for consideration of matters raised 

in Order No. 6659. More information on 

this docket may be accessed via the 

Commission’s website at http://

www.prc.gov. Interested persons may 

submit comments on the Postal 

Service’s proposals no later than 

October 16, 2023. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 

505, Manon A. Boudreault shall 

continue to serve as an officer of the 

Commission (Public Representative) to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this proceeding. 

IV. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. For purposes of periodic reporting 

to the Commission, the Commission 

conditionally approves the changes in 

analytical principles proposed by the 

Postal Service in Proposal Two. 

2. Docket No. RM2023–7 will remain 

open for consideration of the matters 

raised in Order No. 6659. 

3. The Postal Service shall file 

information addressing the issues 

identified in the body of this Order by 

September 29, 2023. 

4. Comments by interested persons on 

the Postal Service’s proposals are due 

no later than October 16, 2023. 

5. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Manon 

A. Boudreault shall continue to serve as 

an officer of the Commission (Public 

Representative) to represent the 

interests of the general public in this 

docket. 

6. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Erica A. Barker, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19363 Filed 9–7–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

39 CFR Part 3050 

[Docket No. RM2023–9; Order No. 6652] 

Periodic Reporting 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is 

acknowledging a recent filing requesting 

the Commission initiate a rulemaking 

proceeding to consider changes to 

analytical principles relating to periodic 

reports (Proposal Four). This document 

informs the public of the filing, invites 

public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: September 

29, 2023. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments 

electronically via the Commission’s 

Filing Online system at http://

www.prc.gov. Those who cannot submit 

comments electronically should contact 

the person identified in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section by 

telephone for advice on filing 

alternatives. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

David A. Trissell, General Counsel, at 

202–789–6820. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents 

I. Introduction 

II. Proposal Four 

III. Notice and Comment 

IV. Ordering Paragraphs 

I. Introduction 

On August 28, 2023, the Postal 

Service filed a petition pursuant to 39 

CFR 3050.11 requesting that the 

Commission initiate a rulemaking 

proceeding to consider changes to 

analytical principles relating to periodic 

reports.1 The Petition identifies the 

proposed analytical changes filed in this 

docket as Proposal Four. 

II. Proposal Four 

Background. The Priority Mail 

Transportation Cost Model is used in 

financial projections of the expected 

cost coverage for negotiated service 

agreements (NSAs). Petition, Proposal 

Four at 1. The current model was 

introduced in Docket No. R2006–1 and 

is updated annually in the Annual 

Compliance Review (ACR), most 

recently in Docket No. ACR2022.2 The 

Postal Service states that the model 

disaggregates the product-level 

transportation costs by zone and the 

resulting cost per cube and cost per 

pound by zone are applied to a 

customer’s weight and zone profile in 

order to generate forward-looking cost 

projections for Priority Mail included in 

any NSA. Petition, Proposal Four at 1. 

These projections rely on prior fiscal 

year’s costs with inflation factors 

applied to reflect the expected changes 

in costs due to broader economic 

conditions during the first full year of 

the NSA. Id. The Postal Service states 

that, however, these projections do not 

reflect expected changes in costs due to 

Postal Service’s changing operational 

conditions during the first full year of 

the NSA. Id. Thus, the Postal Service 

proposes several changes to the Priority 

Mail Transportation Cost Model in 

Proposal Four to reflect these types of 

changes more accurately in Priority Mail 

transportation costs. 

Proposal. The Postal Service proposes 

several changes to the Priority Mail 

Transportation Cost Model. 

First, the Postal Service proposes a 

correction to the base year model to 

reflect that a portion of zone 6 pieces 

utilized distance-related surface 

transportation during fiscal year (FY) 

2022. Id. at 2. The Postal Service states 

that the current model assumes that 

zone 6 pieces are transported entirely by 

air. Id. The Postal Service states that the 

correction is made by extending the 

existing methodology used for zones 1– 

5 up to zone 6. Id. 

Second, once the correction to the 

base year model has been made, the 

Postal Service proposes the following 

sequence of actions to adjust the 

transportation costs by zone to reflect 

changes in the split between air and 

surface transportation occurring in the 

subsequent year due to Postal Service’s 

network change. Id. 

A. Collect the proportions of priority 

mail on air and surface transportation 

by zone from the Product Tracking and 

Reporting (PTR) system, for both the 

base year and the month most recently 

ended. Id. 

B. Compare the base year’s data with 

the most recent month’s data and 

calculate the change in the percentage of 

Priority Mail transported on air vis-a`-vis 

surface for each zone. Id. at 3. 

1. If the absolute change from the base 

year percentage is less than five 

percentage points for a zone, then no 

adjustment to the base year costs is 

made. Id. 

2. If the absolute change from the base 

year percentage is more than five 

percentage points for a zone, then the 

air and surface costs for that zone are 

adjusted by the following method: 

a. The cube-related costs are divided 

into air-related, distance-related surface, 

and non-distance-related surface. Id. 

The Postal Service states that air-related 

costs include both the air costs and the 

surface costs associated with a 

connection to air. Id. 

b. The weight-related costs are fully 

air-related. Id. 

c. The non-distance-related surface 

costs are excluded from the adjustment 

and remain unchanged. Id. The Postal 

Service states that these are generally 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 173 / Friday, September 8, 2023 / Proposed Rules 62025 

local transportation costs, which would 

not be affected by a change in the longdistance transportation costs. Id. 

d. The air-related costs (for both cuberelated and weight-related costs) are 

adjusted based on the percentage change 

in the proportion of Priority Mail 

transported on air for that zone. Id. 

e. The distance-related surface costs 

are adjusted based on the percentage 

change in the proportion of Priority 

Mail transported on surface for that 

zone. Id. at 4. 

The Postal Service states that this 

methodology can be updated and 

applied monthly to ensure that the 

transportation costs reflect the most 

recent operational conditions as 

operational changes occur throughout 

the year. Id. 

The Postal Service also states that 

there are two exceptions to this 

methodology. First, for any NSAs filed 

during January, the transportation 

adjustment from November will be used 

instead of the adjustment from 

December. Id. The Postal Service 

explains that this is because the air and 

surface proportions during peak season 

are considerably different from the rest 

of the fiscal year and would not be 

predictive of the costs that would be 

incurred during the first full year of the 

NSA. Id. Second, for Priority Mail NonPublished Rates agreements filed in 

Docket No. CP2020–170, instead of 

applying the adjustment every month, 

the adjustment will only be applied 

when the price floors are updated every 

year. Id. 

The Postal Service notes that this 

methodology would only be used for 

forward-looking financial projections, 

and NSA cost coverage reported during 

the ACR would still be calculated using 

the average costs for the FY. Id. at 4–5. 

Rationale. The Postal Service explains 

that due to the changes in transportation 

network in FY 2023, the FY 2022 costs 

for Priority Mail may no longer be 

predictive of the expected costs for 

Priority Mail NSAs being negotiated 

through the end of calendar year 2023. 

Id. at 5. The Postal Service states that 

similarly, the FY 2023 costs may also 

not be predictive of the costs for Priority 

Mail NSAs being negotiated during 

calendar year 2024, because of network 

changes scheduled to take place 

throughout FY 2024. Id. The Postal 

Service asserts that Proposal Four 

provides a methodology that uses 

current census data from PTR to adjust 

the base FY transportation costs to 

reflect the most recent operational 

changes, which will be an improvement 

in the accuracy of the projected cost 

coverage of NSAs. Id. 

Impact. According to the Postal 

Service, the proposed changes have no 

impact on any product-level costs such 

as those that would have been reported 

in the FY 2022 Public Cost and Revenue 

Analysis Report, because the proposal 

concerns only the reporting of Priority 

Mail transportation costs by zone. Id. at 

5–6. The Postal Service provides the 

impact for each component by zone and 

the combined impact in Library 

Reference USPS–RM2023–9–NP1 under 

seal. Id. at 5. 

III. Notice and Comment 

The Commission establishes Docket 

No. RM2023–9 for consideration of 

matters raised by the Petition. More 

information on the Petition may be 

accessed via the Commission’s website 

at http://www.prc.gov. Interested 

persons may submit comments on the 

Petition and Proposal Four no later than 

September 29, 2023. Pursuant to 39 

U.S.C. 505, Madison Lichtenstein is 

designated as an officer of the 

Commission (Public Representative) to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this proceeding. 

IV. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. The Commission establishes Docket 

No. RM2023–9 for consideration of the 

matters raised by the Petition of the 

United States Postal Service for the 

Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider 

Proposed Changes in Analytical 

Principles (Proposal Four), filed August 

28, 2023. 

2. Comments by interested persons in 

this proceeding are due no later than 

September 29, 2023. 

3. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, the 

Commission appoints Madison 

Lichtenstein to serve as an officer of the 

Commission (Public Representative) to 

represent the interests of the general 

public in this docket. 

4. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Erica A. Barker, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–19361 Filed 9–7–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR 

Bureau of Land Management 

43 CFR Part 2360 

[BLM_HQ_FRN_MO4500173644] 

RIN 1004–AE95 

Management and Protection of the 

National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska 

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, 

Interior. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Land 

Management (BLM) is proposing a new 

rule to govern the management of 

surface resources and Special Areas in 

the National Petroleum Reserve in 

Alaska (NPR–A), consistent with its 

duties under the Naval Petroleum 

Reserves Production Act (NPRPA), 

Federal Land Policy and Management 

Act (FLPMA), and other authorities. The 

proposed rule would revise the 

framework for designating and assuring 

maximum protection of Special Areas’ 

significant resource values, and would 

protect and enhance access for 

subsistence activities throughout the 

NPR–A. It would also incorporate 

aspects of the NPR–A Integrated 

Activity Plan (IAP) approved in April 

2022. The proposed rule would have no 

effect on currently authorized oil and 

gas operations in the NPR–A. We solicit 

comments on all aspects of this 

proposed action. 

DATES: Please submit comments on this 

proposed rule to the BLM on or before 

November 7, 2023. The BLM is not 

obligated to consider any comments 

received after this date in making its 

decision on the final rule. 

Information Collection Requirements: 

This proposed rule includes existing 

and a proposed new informationcollection requirement that must be 

approved by the Office of Management 

and Budget (OMB). If you wish to 

comment on the information-collection 

requirements, please note that such 

comments should be sent directly to the 

OMB, and that the OMB is required to 

make a decision concerning the 

collection of information contained in 

this proposed rule between 30 and 60 

days after publication of this document 

in the Federal Register. Therefore, a 

comment to the OMB on the proposed 

information-collection revisions is best 

assured of being given full consideration 

if the OMB receives it by November 7, 

2023. 

ADDRESSES: 

Mail, Personal, or Messenger Delivery: 

U.S. Department of the Interior, Director 


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