This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

90241 

Vol. 89, No. 221 

Friday, November 15, 2024 

POSTAL SERVICE 

39 CFR Part 121 

Service Standards for MarketDominant Mail Products 

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The United States Postal 

Service seeks public comment on 

proposed revisions to the service 

standards for certain market-dominant 

mail products. The Postal Service 

proposes to restructure the service 

standards, such that service standards 

for domestic First-Class Mail would 

retain the current day range of 1–5 days 

(as well as the current 0–1 days for 

USPS Connect® Local), while being 

calculated, with certain exceptions, as 

the sum of delivery days accruing across 

three successive operational legs 

reflecting end-to-end service from an 

originating 5-digit ZIP Code to a 

destinating 5-digit ZIP Code. The 

proposed rule would also partially 

adjust the service standards for end-toend Periodicals, USPS Marketing Mail, 

and Package Services so that they would 

all be primarily based on the standards 

for First-Class Mail, consistent with the 

Postal Service’s implementation of a 

more integrated network, thus 

continuing our efforts to eliminate our 

legacy network that, due to its poor 

design, has multiple, redundant 

network flows. In particular, the 

proposed service standards align with 

operational initiatives that the Postal 

Service plans to implement on a 

nationwide basis to fundamentally 

transform our processing and 

transportation networks to achieve 

greater operational precision and 

efficiency, significantly reduce costs, 

and enhance service pursuant to the 

Delivering for America strategic plan 

(‘‘Plan’’). The Postal Service is required 

by law to provide prompt, reliable, and 

efficient universal postal services in a 

financially self-sufficient manner, 

through an integrated network for the 

delivery of mail and packages at least 

six days a week. However, the Postal 

Service currently is not achieving the 

requirements of the statute, as we lack 

a network that enables the integrated 

movement of mail and packages in a 

precise, efficient, and cost-effective 

manner. The Postal Service network has 

not been appropriately adjusted to 

account for volume and mail mix 

changes, including the substantial 

decline in Single-Piece First-Class Mail 

and increase in package volume, leading 

to significant inefficiencies. These 

initiatives will comprehensively 

transform these operations to fix the 

problems that exist today and create a 

network that enables the integrated 

movement of mail and packages in a 

precise and cost-effective manner far 

into the future. These initiatives would 

lead to a net positive impact for FirstClass Mail from a service standard 

perspective, and generally faster service 

for end-to-end USPS Marketing Mail, 

Periodicals, and Package Services. They 

will also lead to substantial cost savings 

(estimated at between $3.6 to $3.7 

billion annually), which is critical given 

the Postal Service’s current poor 

financial condition, which can be 

addressed only through comprehensive 

changes to reduce costs and increase 

efficiency (in conjunction with the other 

elements of the Plan). Further details of 

the proposed changes appear below. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 31, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver written 

comments to the Director, Product 

Classification, U.S. Postal Service, 475 

L’Enfant Plaza SW, Room 4446, 

Washington, DC 20260–3436. Email 

comments, containing the name and 

address of the commenter, may be sent 

to: PCFederalRegister@usps.gov, with a 

subject line of ‘‘Service Standards for 

Market-Dominant Mail Products.’’ 

Faxed comments are not accepted. All 

submitted comments and attachments 

are part of the public record and subject 

to disclosure. Do not enclose any 

material in your comments that you 

consider to be confidential or 

inappropriate for public disclosure. You 

may inspect and photocopy all written 

comments, by appointment only, at 

USPS® Headquarters Library, 475 

L’Enfant Plaza SW, 11th Floor North, 

Washington, DC 20260. These records 

are available for review Monday through 

Friday, 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. by calling 

202–268–2906. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Martha Johnson, Senior Public Relations 

Representative, at martha.s.johnson@

usps.gov or (202) 268–2000. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Introduction 

The Postal Service proposes to amend 

39 CFR part 121 to revise the current 

service standards for certain marketdominant products. These revisions 

achieve the objectives set forth in 39 

U.S.C. 3691(b), taking into account the 

factors of 39 U.S.C. 3691(c). Overall, 

they further the Postal Service’s 

obligations under 39 U.S.C. 101 and 

other provisions of Title 39 of the U.S. 

Code to provide universal postal 

services in a prompt, reliable, and 

efficient manner. The Postal Service is 

required by law to provide universal 

postal services in a financially selfsufficient manner, through an integrated 

network for the delivery of mail and 

packages at least six days a week. The 

Postal Service currently is not 

financially self-sufficient, and also lacks 

a network that is conducive to the 

logical, efficient, cost-effective, and 

reliable movement of mail and packages 

in an integrated manner from origin to 

destination in the modern postal 

environment, taking into account the 

current and projected volume and 

product mix. By implementing these 

operational initiatives and the proposed 

standards with which they are aligned, 

the Postal Service would be able to 

better balance and achieve these 

statutory policies and achieve the goals 

of the Plan to create a high-performing, 

financially sustainable organization. 

The current standards for First-Class 

Mail lead to high costs and 

inefficiencies in the transportation and 

processing network, and are not 

conducive to providing reliable and 

consistent service. The Postal Service is 

adjusting the service standards to 

improve our capability to deliver mail 

reliably and predictably for Postal 

Service customers, while enhancing the 

ability to increase operational efficiency 

and effectiveness consistent with best 

business practices. These standards 

would allow the Postal Service to better 

meet customer needs for prompt and 

reliable service, while supporting the 

maintenance of reasonable postage rates. 

Before describing how service 

standards would be revised, it is 

important to understand how service 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
90242 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

standards are structured in Postal 

Service regulations. Service standards 

contain two components: (1) a delivery 

day range within which mail in a given 

product is expected to be delivered; and 

(2) business rules that determine, within 

a product’s applicable day range, the 

specific number of delivery days after 

acceptance of a mail piece by which a 

customer can expect that piece to be 

delivered, based on the ZIP Code 

prefixes associated with the piece’s 

point of entry into the mail stream and 

its delivery address. As noted above, the 

Postal Service proposes to restructure 

the service standards for domestic FirstClass Mail, with certain exceptions, as 

the sum of delivery days accruing across 

three successive operational legs 

reflecting end-to-end service from an 

originating 5-digit ZIP Code to a 

destinating 5-digit ZIP Code. Leg 1 

begins with collection and ends with 

acceptance at the applicable originating 

processing facility. Leg 2 begins with 

acceptance at the originating processing 

facility and ends with acceptance at the 

applicable destinating processing 

facility. Leg 3 begins with acceptance at 

the destinating processing facility and 

ends with delivery. 

With respect to Leg 1, the Postal 

Service intends to redesign regional 

transportation (routes between 

processing facilities, Post Offices, and 

delivery units) through the Regional 

Transportation Optimization (RTO) 

initiative to address the significant 

inefficiencies that exist in local and 

regional transportation networks and to 

ensure service reliability and cost 

efficiency. With respect to Leg 2, the 

Postal Service intends to systematically 

redesign and invest in our outmoded 

processing facilities to create a network 

of Regional Processing and Distribution 

Centers or Campuses (RPDCs) and Local 

Processing Centers (LPCs), which 

deploy standardized and logically 

sequenced operating plans and 

schedules for the movement of mail and 

packages, more sortation equipment, 

optimized transportation routes, and 

improved operating tactics to increase 

throughput, gain productivity, and 

increase asset utilization across the 

country. 

The Postal Service is proposing to 

revise service standards for end-to-end 

market-dominant products to align with 

our operational initiatives; these 

standards would be more operationally 

precise and specific for customers, 

enable the Postal Service to maintain or 

upgrade service standards for a majority 

of volume, and enhance the ability to 

reliably achieve standards. In particular, 

the Postal Service plans to reimagine 

how service standards are established 

by breaking that service into segments 

so that customers have clear, 

understandable, and logical information 

about the service provided to them from 

a 5-digit to 5-digit ZIP Code perspective. 

For First-Class Mail, the existing day 

ranges would be preserved, meaning all 

mail would continue to be delivered 

within the existing day range of 1–5 

days (as well as the current range of 0– 

1 days for USPS Connect® Local). For 

some end-to-end products within the 

contiguous 48 states (Periodicals, USPS 

Marketing Mail, and Package Services), 

the maximums for those day ranges 

would be shortened. (Unless specified 

otherwise, references in this document 

to the ‘‘contiguous states’’ or the 

‘‘contiguous 48 states’’ include the 

District of Columbia.) No destination 

entry product standards would be 

changed, except to reflect the new 

RPDC/LPC network. Overall, most mail 

and packages in the contiguous 48 states 

would either receive the same service 

standard or an accelerated standard so 

that they are delivered faster than today, 

while some mail and packages under 

the new standards would have a service 

expectation that is longer than the 

current expectation but still within the 

current day-ranges. 

Specifically, current First-Class Mail 

standards are predicated solely on 

plant-to-plant (3-digit ZIP Code to 3- 

digit ZIP Code) driving distances. The 

proposed rule would transition to 5- 

digit to 5-digit ZIP Code service 

standards that maintain the existing 

delivery day ranges while, for interRPDC volume, accurately and logically 

reflecting the three operational legs 

applicable to the movement of mail and 

packages: collection to origin processing 

facility (Leg 1), origin processing facility 

to destination processing facility (Leg 2), 

and destination processing facility to 

delivery (Leg 3). Distinct rules would 

apply to intra-RPDC volume (that is, 

First-Class Mail volume that originates 

and destinates in the same RDPC 

region), as well as certain intra-LPC 

volume. 

Because the current standards are 

predicated on plant-to-plant driving 

distances, they do not consider the 

regional and local transportation 

operations necessary to transport mail 

and packages from where they are 

collected to the processing network: that 

is, within a particular 3-digit ZIP Code, 

a mailpiece that originates at a Post 

Office that is 300 miles from the 

processing facility in which the 

mailpiece is dispatched to the network 

has the same standard as a mailpiece 

that originates 20 miles from that 

processing facility (if they are going to 

the same destination 3-digit ZIP Code). 

To meet the constraints imposed by this 

current approach to service standards, 

the Postal Service must structure our 

transportation network to ensure that all 

originating mail gets to the processing 

network on the day it is collected from 

customers, no matter how far away from 

the processing network it is entered. 

This leads to significant inefficiencies in 

our regional transportation practices, 

because the Postal Service must conduct 

separate trips to drop-off destinating 

volume from the processing network to 

collection/delivery facilities in the 

morning (AM drop-off) and pick-up 

originating volume from the collection/ 

delivery facilities to the processing 

network in the afternoon (PM 

collections), or alternatively pay 

Highway Contract Route (HCR) 

contractors to layover for multiple hours 

between the AM and PM legs of their 

routes. 

While this practice of separating dropoff and pick-up activities may have 

made sense in a different era where the 

volume of single-piece letter mail was 

much greater, it engenders costs and 

inefficiencies impossible to justify in 

today’s environment. Overall, the 

current practice results in inefficient 

transportation—characterized by 

excessive trips, poor utilization of truck 

capacity, and excess carbon emissions. 

In addition, the current practice reduces 

the efficiency and reliability of our Leg 

2 operations (processing and network 

transportation), because the need to wait 

for the volume from outlying collection/ 

delivery facilities to arrive at the 

processing plant on the PM 

transportation creates a volume arrival 

profile which reduces efficiencies, 

requires the scheduled dispatch to the 

network to be later, and increases the 

likelihood either for the scheduled 

dispatch to leave late in order to wait for 

all of the mail and packages to arrive at 

the plant and be processed, or for mail 

and packages to not make the scheduled 

dispatch at all because it does not make 

it to the plant on time to be processed 

on that day given the compressed 

processing window. This impacts not 

only the efficiency and velocity of 

originating operations, but can also have 

substantial negative downstream effects 

that reduce our service performance for 

all volume. 

With respect to Leg 1, the Postal 

Service proposes the nationwide 

implementation of RTO, for mail 

originating in the contiguous states, to 

correct for these inefficiencies. Pursuant 

to RTO, the Postal Service will have the 

ability to structure transportation routes 

that go to facilities that are farther from 

the processing network so that trucks 

would pick up originating volume on 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 90243 

the same routes that are also used to 

drop off destinating volume. The RTO 

initiative rationalizes the regional 

transportation network by eliminating 

routes and increasing truck utilization 

and thereby reduces transportation costs 

and the amount of carbon emissions. It 

also improves the efficiency and 

velocity of the processing network by 

producing volume arrival profiles that 

are spread more evenly throughout the 

day, enabling a more effective use of 

network resources and allowing the 

Postal Service to dispatch volume that 

is entered closer to processing plants 

(which is a majority of volume) earlier 

than is the case today. The Postal 

Service will designate 5-digit ZIP Codes 

for RTO when a retail/collection facility 

within that 5-digit ZIP Code is more 

than 50 miles from the RPDC campus. 

Exceptions to this 50-mile rule may be 

implemented under certain 

circumstances based on operational or 

business considerations. 

The proposed standards will more 

logically and accurately reflect our 

operations within Leg 1 and enable the 

implementation of the RTO initiative, 

thereby giving the Postal Service the 

ability to optimize our regional and 

local transportation. Specifically, and as 

part of the proposed shift from the 3- 

digit to 3-digit ZIP Code standards to a 

more refined service calculation based 

on 5-digit ZIP Codes, the service 

standards will explicitly accommodate 

the fact that mail and packages entered 

the prior day would under RTO be 

picked up on the next day’s 

transportation route for certain ZIP 

Codes. Mailpieces entered in ZIP Codes 

subject to RTO would therefore have 

one day assigned for Leg 1 in the service 

standards; zero days will apply in Leg 

1 to pieces originating in other 5-digit 

ZIP Codes not subject to RTO. 

Implementing this change is the only 

way to correct for the significant 

deficiencies of the current network, 

while also ensuring that the standards 

set forth achievable, reliable, and 

understandable service expectations for 

customers. 

With respect to Leg 2, the proposed 

standards reflect the increased 

efficiency, velocity, and reach of our 

processing and network transportation 

due to the operational benefits of the 

RPDC/LPC redesign and RTO. As noted 

above, the network of RPDCs and LPCs 

will deploy standardized and logically 

sequenced operating plans and 

schedules, more sortation equipment, 

optimized transportation routes, and 

improved operating tactics to increase 

throughput, gain productivity, and 

increase asset utilization across the 

country. In addition, RTO enables more 

efficient and accelerated originating 

processing operations, therefore 

allowing volumes to enter the network 

earlier. As a result of these benefits, the 

Postal Service is proposing to expand by 

four hours each of the existing service 

standard bands within Leg 2 for FirstClass Mail so that such mail can travel 

farther to plants that are a greater 

distance from the originating plant 

within the Leg 2 bands. 

Finally, while the Postal Service is 

recognizing Leg 3 in our First-Class Mail 

standards, no additional days are being 

added for this leg, which is the same as 

the current standards. 

These proposed adjustments to the 

service standards would lead to a net 

positive impact for First-Class Mail from 

a service standard perspective, and 

generally faster service for end-to-end 

USPS Marketing Mail, Periodicals, and 

Package Services. The proposed service 

standards reflect the fact that the 

operational changes will enable volume 

to be accelerated through Leg 2, due to 

the benefits of the new network design 

and RTO; as a result, the Leg 2 bands 

for First-Class Mail will be expanded by 

four hours compared to the current 

standards. All volume would benefit 

from greater service reliability. Some 

mail and packages (constituting a 

minority of volume) in the contiguous 

states would experience a service 

standard that is longer than the current 

service standard (although still within 

the current day ranges), primarily 

because the Postal Service would assign 

one day within Leg 1 for all volume 

originating in a 5-digit ZIP Code that is 

subject to the RTO, as described below. 

In addition, as a result of the overall 

changes, a small volume of mail and 

packages to and/or from locations 

outside the contiguous states would 

experience a service standard that is 

longer than the current service 

standards, while other volume outside 

the contiguous states would experience 

a service standard that is shorter than 

the current service standards. The 

relative upgrades and downgrades 

demonstrate the Postal Service’s efforts 

to maintain high quality service and 

mitigate any customer impacts to the 

extent possible, while also 

implementing operational changes 

necessary to achieve the critical—and 

significant—cost savings that are 

necessary for financial sustainability. 

The proposed service standards are a 

critical aspect of the Plan’s overall goals 

to create a financially sustainable and 

reliable Postal Service capable of 

achieving our universal service mission 

for all customers for years to come. In 

this regard, and considering the Postal 

Service’s statutory obligations, the 

proposed changes would enable the 

Postal Service to achieve a better 

balance of cost-effectiveness and 

reliability, by enabling the Postal 

Service to undertake critically necessary 

operational initiatives and more 

realistically aligning the service 

standards with our operational 

capabilities. The proposed rule would 

result in much more precise and 

efficient network operations that better 

match current and projected mail mix 

and volumes, and the Postal Service 

anticipates that the changes will result 

in significant cost savings, in addition to 

enhancing service reliability and 

predictability. This keeps costs at 

reasonable levels and helps to ensure 

affordable rates. Overall, the operational 

changes and associated service 

standards will revitalize and rationalize 

our network in a way that enables us to 

be a modern and high-performing 

organization. 

Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 3661(b), on 

October 4, 2024, the Postal Service 

requested an advisory opinion from the 

Postal Regulatory Commission relating 

to these proposed revisions to 39 CFR 

part 121; the Commission is considering 

the request in Docket No. N2024–1. 

Further explanation and justification of 

the operational initiatives and the 

proposed service standards, and how 

they are consistent with 39 U.S.C. 3691 

and other provisions of law, can be 

found in the materials that the Postal 

Service has filed in that docket. 

Finally, while the proposed changes 

must also be pursued with a sense of 

urgency, given both our financial 

condition and the fundamental fact that 

we cannot be an efficient, highperforming organization until we fix the 

inefficiencies of our current network, it 

is important to note that the Postal 

Service would not implement the 

proposed service standard changes any 

sooner than 90 days after the filing of 

the advisory opinion request noted 

above. As such, these proposed changes 

would not be implemented until the 

next calendar year and would therefore 

not impact our preparedness for peak 

season 2024 (and also did not impact 

our efforts to deliver Election Mail in a 

timely fashion for the 2024 General 

Election). 

II. Proposed Revisions to Service 

Standards 

The Postal Service’s market-dominant 

service standards are contained in 39 

CFR part 121. The specific proposed 

revisions to 39 CFR part 121 appear at 

the end of this document. The following 

is a summary of the proposed revisions. 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with PROPOSALS
90244 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

A. First-Class Mail 

Under the proposed rule, the process 

for collections would not change, nor 

would access to Postal Service retail 

services. Instead, RTO would eliminate 

the interdependency between the time 

mail is collected from our customers 

and network transportation schedules 

and plant processing schedules; 

eliminating this interdependency 

between local retail and collection 

operations, and our network logistics 

and processing operations, is critically 

important to enabling us to create a 

precise, efficient, and cost-effective 

network, as discussed in more detail 

above. ZIP Codes would be designated 

for RTO when a retail/collection facility 

within that 5-digit ZIP Code is more 

than 50 miles from the RPDC (though 

exceptions may apply). In situations 

where the RPDC is a campus, the 50- 

mile rule will be based on the location 

of the specific facility that performs 

cancellation operations. The proposed 

rule generally would add no day for Leg 

1 for ZIP Codes within 50 miles from 

the RPDC campus and would add one 

day to the service standard for ZIP 

Codes that are more than 50 miles from 

the originating RPDC. This would allow 

for more efficient and flexible 

transportation schedules and improve 

the arrival profile for mail processing 

operations, enabling the Postal Service 

to more timely dispatch the volume that 

is collected closer to the RPDC to the 

Leg 2 transportation network. 

This logic would generally apply to 

all end-to-end volume across marketdominant products. Because Leg 1 is the 

portion of operations from collection to 

the originating plant, this rule would 

not apply to any products entered at an 

RPDC, Presort First-Class Mail, or any 

destination-entered volume. For 

operational efficiency, the Postal 

Service is considering how to adjust 

when and where Presort First-Class Mail 

volume may be entered to ensure that it 

is not subject to RTO. This may result 

in specification of locations where 

Presort First-Class Mail can be entered, 

or changing the critical entry time (CET) 

for Presort First-Class Mail to ensure 

there is sufficient time for volume to 

enter the network. The CET is the latest 

time on a particular day that a mail 

piece can be entered into the postal 

network and still have its service 

standard calculated based on that day 

(this day is termed ‘‘day-zero’’); all of 

the service standards are contingent 

upon proper acceptance before the 

applicable CET. 

RTO would provide flexibility in 

regional transportation scheduling, as 

the standards would accommodate the 

fact that mail and packages could under 

RTO be picked up the next day from the 

Post Office on the same trip that also 

dropped off mail at that Post Office for 

delivery that day. Explicitly accounting 

for this operational practice in the 

service standards enables the Postal 

Service to achieve the benefits of RTO, 

while also providing customers with 

more precise and reliable service 

expectations. Additionally, by no longer 

requiring all mail to wait for the 

volumes collected from the furthest 

away Post Offices, the Postal Service 

would be able to accelerate the mail that 

is within the 50-mile radius of an RPDC 

through mail processing, allowing for it 

to be dispatched to the network earlier, 

thus enabling the expansion of the Leg 

2 service standard bands. As such, the 

addition of a day for Leg 1 would not 

necessarily equate to the addition of a 

day for the service standard overall for 

a given mailpiece. Rather, the service 

standard for a particular mailpiece 

would depend on the specific origin and 

destination and the cumulative number 

of days that are applicable across the 

operational segments (with no FirstClass Mail having a service standard 

that exceeds five days). 

Under the proposed rule for FirstClass Mail, there are several 

fundamental changes to the calculation 

of service standards at Leg 2 to align 

with the end-state RPDC network. First, 

the measured transit path would be 

updated. The current network path used 

for measurement is Origin Processing 

and Distribution Center or Facility 

(OPDC/F) to Area Distribution Center 

(ADC) to Sectional Center Facility 

(SCF). The proposed rule would instead 

measure the distance between the 

Originating RPDC and the Destination 

RPDC and then the distance between the 

Destination RPDC to the Destination 

LPC. 

Second, because of the improved 

arrival profiles facilitated by RTO and 

the improved efficiencies in the RPDC 

network, under the proposed rule, each 

of the existing service standard bands 

would expand by four hours for FirstClass Mail. For example, under the 

current standards, First-Class Mail 

traveling three hours or less receives a 

2-day standard. Under the proposed 

changes, First-Class Mail traveling up to 

seven hours (i.e., the current three 

hours, plus four more hours) would 

receive a 2-day standard. The bands 

applicable to the assignment of 3-day 

and 4-day standards within Leg 2 will 

also expand by four hours each. 

Finally, even for pairs of originating 

and destinating 5-digit ZIP Codes where 

the application of the Leg 1 and Leg 2 

rules noted above would otherwise 

result in a 6-day standard, the standard 

would nonetheless be capped at five 

days for such pairs. 

This segment-by-segment approach 

applies to inter-RDPC volume (i.e., 

volume that is moving across the 

network). Specific rules will apply to 

mail and packages originating and 

destinating within the same RPDC 

region (intra-RDPC volume). 

Specifically, the proposed service 

standards would expand the geographic 

scope of such ‘‘turnaround’’ volume, 

which is volume originating and 

destinating within a facility’s service 

area. Currently, certain intra-SCF 

volume receives a 2-day standard. 

Under the proposed rule, certain intraLPC and all intra-RPDC First-Class Mail 

volume would be subject to a new 

turnaround rule, which would provide 

for a 2- or 3-day standard, depending on 

the location of the originating mail 

volume. Specifically, processing 

facilities that cancel Single-Piece FirstClass Mail on automated equipment 

would have a 2-day standard for 

turnaround Single-Piece First-Class Mail 

originating from 5-digit ZIP Codes 

within 50 miles of the cancellation 

location. By contrast, if certain 

originating volume is from a 5-digit ZIP 

Code beyond 50 miles of the 

cancellation location, the turnaround 

standard for Single-Piece First-Class 

Mail would be three days. The decision 

on which LPCs would maintain 

cancellation operations for Single-Piece 

First-Class Mail, and thus process local 

turnaround mail without transporting it 

to an RPDC, would be based on 

operational factors, such as distance 

from the RPDC to the LPC, and the 

volume of turnaround mail processed at 

the LPC. In situations in which the LPC 

retains cancellation operations, the 50- 

mile rule noted above will be based on 

the distance from the LPC. In other 

situations, the RPDC will have 

cancellation operations, meaning the 50- 

mile rule will be based on the distance 

from the RPDC. 

Currently, a 1-day service standard is 

applied to intra-SCF domestic Presort 

First-Class Mail pieces properly 

accepted at the SCF before the day-zero 

CET. To account for the redesigned 

network, a 1-day service standard would 

instead apply to eligible intra-LPC 

Presort First-Class Mail pieces properly 

accepted at the LPC before the day-zero 

CET. On the other hand, for eligible 

Presort First-Class Mail within the 

contiguous 48 states that is not eligible 

for the intra-LPC 1-day standard, but 

that nevertheless originates and 

destinates within the same RPDC, a 2- 

day service standard would apply. 


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RTO would not apply to originating 

locations outside of the contiguous 48 

states; also, the service standards for 

domestic First-Class Mail originating 

and/or destinating in such locations 

would not necessarily depend on the 

segment-by-segment network path. As a 

result, service standards for domestic 

First-Class Mail originating and/or 

destinating in such locations would 

generally not change; an exception, for 

example, would be application of RTO 

to domestic Single-Piece First-Class 

Mail that (1) originates in the 

contiguous 48 states, (2) is collected in 

and dispatched from a 5-digit ZIP Code 

that is over 50 miles in driving distance 

from the originating RPDC, and (3) 

destinates in the city of Anchorage, 

Alaska (5-digit ZIP Codes 99501 through 

99539), the 968 3-digit ZIP Code area in 

Hawaii, or the 006, 007, or 009 3-digit 

ZIP Code areas in Puerto Rico. 

Nevertheless, notwithstanding 

application of RTO generally for 

domestic First-Class Mail that meets 

these conditions, a maximum 5-day 

service standard would be applied. 

A same-day service standard will 

continue to apply to USPS Connect®

Local Mail pieces accepted at 

participating Destination Delivery Units 

(DDUs) before the applicable day-zero 

CET; for USPS Connect® Local Mail, 

Sorting & Delivery Centers are also 

considered DDUs. A 1-day service 

standard will continue to apply to all 

other pieces accepted as USPS Connect®

Local Mail, including pieces accepted 

via carrier pick-up. 

The proposed rule would also have 

certain effects on standards for 

international mail. As a result of the 

proposed application of 5-digit to 5-digit 

ZIP Code pairs, the service standard for 

outbound Single-Piece First-Class Mail 

International pieces properly accepted 

before the day-zero CET would be 

equivalent to the service standard for 

domestic First-Class Mail pieces 

originating from the same 5-digit ZIP 

Code area and destined to the 5-digit 

ZIP Code area in which the designated 

International Service Center is located. 

Similarly, the service standard for 

Inbound Letter Post pieces properly 

accepted before the day-zero CET would 

be equivalent to the service standard for 

domestic First-Class Mail pieces 

destined to the same 5-digit ZIP Code 

area and originating from the 5-digit ZIP 

Code area in which the applicable 

International Service Center is located. 

Because Inbound Parcel Post (at 

Universal Postal Union (UPU) rates) 

includes Inbound Surface Parcel Post (at 

UPU rates), and because that product is 

now competitively classified, the 

proposed rule would remove it from 

these market-dominant service 

standards. 

B. Periodicals, USPS Marketing Mail, 

and Package Services 

Service standards for end-to-end 

Periodicals and USPS Marketing Mail 

originating and destinating in the 

contiguous 48 states would generally 

flow from the Single-Piece First-Class 

Mail standards using the same measured 

travel path (disregarding standards for 

USPS Connect® Local Mail and for 

intra-LPC ‘‘turnaround’’ service). For 

Periodicals, the general rule in relation 

to First-Class Mail would remain the 

same—i.e., a 3–6-day range would be 

applied to Periodicals, with the 

standard generally equaling the sum of 

the applicable First-Class Mail service 

standard (disregarding standards for 

USPS Connect® Local Mail and for 

intra-LPC ‘‘turnaround’’ service) plus 

one day. For USPS Marketing Mail, the 

rule would add two days to the 

applicable First-Class Mail service 

standard (disregarding standards for 

USPS Connect® Local Mail and for 

intra-LPC ‘‘turnaround’’ service). This 

means that the outer-bound for USPS 

Marketing Mail in the contiguous states 

would be seven days, rather than ten 

days under the current standards. For 

end-to-end Package Services within the 

contiguous 48 states, the rule would add 

two days to the First-Class Mail 

standards, after 5–9 hours of Leg 2 

driving time is added to the applicable 

First-Class Mail service band; overall, 

this would reduce the outer-bound of 

the service standards for Package 

Services in the contiguous states to 

seven days, rather than the current eight 

days. 

With respect to Destination Entry 

Periodicals, Destination Entry USPS 

Marketing Mail, and Destination Entry 

Package Services, the service standards 

generally would not change, except to 

reflect the new network. That is, to 

correspond with the operational 

network and infrastructure changes that 

the Postal Service is implementing, the 

LPCs would replace the ADCs and the 

SCFs in the service standards. Likewise, 

the RPDCs would replace the Network 

Distribution Centers (NDCs) in the 

service standards. These changes would 

allow some Destination Entry 

Periodicals to receive an accelerated 

service standard, in part because it will 

no longer matter in this respect whether 

Destination ADCs (DADCs) and 

Destination SCFs (DSCFs) are colocated, given that they are both being 

replaced by Destination LPCs (DLPCs). 

Under the proposed rule, for 

Destination Entry Periodicals 

originating and/or destinating in 

locations outside of the contiguous 48 

states, service standards would largely 

remain unchanged, aside from facility 

nomenclature updates reflecting the 

network redesign, with certain 

exceptions. A small volume of mail to 

and/or from locations outside the 

contiguous states would experience a 

service standard that is longer than the 

current service standards, while some 

other volume outside the contiguous 

states would experience a service 

standard that is shorter than the current 

service standards. Currently, for 

example, a 3-day service standard is 

applied to Periodicals pieces that 

qualify for a DSCF rate and are properly 

accepted before the day-zero CET at the 

designated DSCF, if they are entered at 

the DSCF in Puerto Rico and destined 

to the U.S. Virgin Islands, or destined to 

the following 3-digit ZIP Code areas in 

Alaska (or designated portions thereof): 

995 (5-digit ZIP Codes 99540 through 

99599), 996, 997, 998, and 999; on the 

other hand, currently a 4-day service 

standard is applied to Periodicals pieces 

that qualify for a DADC rate and are 

properly accepted before the day-zero 

CET at the designated DADC, if they are 

entered at the DADC in Puerto Rico and 

destined to the U.S. Virgin Islands, or if 

they are destined to the following 3- 

digit ZIP Code areas in Alaska (or 

designated portions thereof): 995 (5- ZIP 

Codes 99540 through 99599), 996, 997, 

998, and 999. Since LPCs would replace 

ADCs, and since DLPC service standards 

would largely track those currently 

applied to DSCF volume, for such mail, 

the shorter of the two service standards 

(i.e., 3-day) would apply to Periodicals 

pieces that qualify for a DLPC rate and 

are properly accepted before the dayzero CET at the designated DLPC, if they 

are entered at the DLPC in Puerto Rico 

and destined to the U.S. Virgin Islands, 

or destined to the following 3-digit ZIP 

Code areas in Alaska (or designated 

portions thereof): 995 (5-digit ZIP Codes 

99540 through 99599), 996, 997, 998, 

and 999. 

Furthermore, a 3-day service standard 

is currently applied to Periodicals 

pieces that qualify for a DSCF rate and 

are properly accepted before the dayzero CET at the designated DSCF, if they 

are entered at the DSCF in Hawaii and 

are destined to American Samoa; on the 

other hand, currently a 4-day standard 

applies to Periodicals pieces that qualify 

for a DADC rate, are properly accepted 

before the day-zero CET at the 

designated DADC, and are destined to 

American Samoa. For reasons of 

operational feasibility, under the 

proposed rule, a 4-day service standard 

would be applied to Periodicals pieces 


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90246 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

that qualify for a DLPC rate and are 

properly accepted before the day-zero 

CET at the designated DLPC, if they are 

destined to American Samoa. 

Finally, as the service standards 

themselves have been simplified, the 

tables depicting day-ranges for noncontiguous states and territories at the 

end of Part 121 (Tables 2 and 4) likewise 

have been streamlined. Table 2 reflects 

the general standards for end-to-end 

day-ranges for the non-contiguous states 

and territories, including exceptions for 

some intermodal transportation. Table 4 

reflects the general standards for 

destination entry day-ranges for the 

non-contiguous states and territories, 

including consolidated day-ranges 

resulting from LPCs and RPDCs 

superseding SCFs, ADCs, and NDCs. 

III. Request for Comments 

The Postal Service requests comments 

on all aspects of the proposal. In 

particular, the Postal Service solicits 

comments on the effects that the 

proposal could have on senders and 

recipients of the affected marketdominant mail classes. Mail users are 

encouraged to comment on the nature 

and extent of costs or savings they might 

experience as a result of the changes 

described in this document, as well as 

any additional possible costs or benefits 

they foresee, such as increased 

reliability and predictability. The 

provision of empirical data supporting 

any cost-benefit analysis also would be 

useful. Further, the Postal Service 

requests mail users’ views regarding the 

application of the policies and 

requirements of Title 39 of the U.S. 

Code, particularly sections 101, 403, 

404, and 3691, to the proposal. The 

Postal Service intends to consider 

comments received in response to this 

document as it determines whether to 

amend the service standard regulations 

and the manner in which any such 

amendments would be implemented. 

The Postal Service has also requested an 

advisory opinion from the Postal 

Regulatory Commission pursuant to 39 

U.S.C. 3661(b). 

Although exempt from the document 

and comment requirements of the 

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 

553(b), (c)) regarding proposed 

rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the 

Postal Service invites public comments 

on the proposed revisions to 39 CFR 

part 121 and on the proposal generally. 

A more extensive discussion of the 

proposal and its associated network and 

service implications is available in the 

materials filed by the Postal Service 

with the Postal Regulatory Commission 

in Docket No. N2024–1, at http://

www.prc.gov. If the Postal Service 

determines to implement the proposal, 

it will publish a final rule in the Federal 

Register. In any event, these service 

standard changes would not be 

implemented prior to 2025. 

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 121 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Postal Service. 

Accordingly, for the reasons stated in 

the preamble, the Postal Service 

proposes to amend 39 CFR part 121 as 

follows: 

PART 121—SERVICE STANDARDS 

FOR MARKET-DOMINANT MAIL 

PRODUCTS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 121 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 

1001, 3691. 

■ 2. Add § 121.0 to read as follows: 

§ 121.0 Market-dominant product service 

standards. 

Service standards in this part are 

contingent upon proper acceptance 

before the applicable day-zero Critical 

Entry Time (CET). Applying the service 

standards appearing in this part, 

effective service standards for 

combinations of 5-digit originating ZIP 

Codes and 5-digit destinating ZIP Codes 

can be found in a lookup table at 

www.usps.com. 

■ 3. Revise § 121.1 to read as follows: 

§ 121.1 First-Class Mail. 

(a) Service Standards Based on 

Delivery Legs Within the Contiguous 48 

States Except as specified in paragraph 

(b), service standards for domestic FirstClass Mail, whose origin and 

destination are within the contiguous 48 

states, are calculated as the sum of 

service expectation days between 5-digit 

ZIP Code pairs, accruing across three 

successive legs as follows: 

(1) Leg 1. Unless an exception applies 

due to operational or business 

considerations, for this leg (i) one 

service expectation day is added to 

First-Class Mail (excluding eligible 

Presort First-Class Mail) originating in a 

5-digit ZIP Code when a facility from 

which mail is dispatched for the 

originating 5-digit ZIP Code is over 50 

miles in driving distance from the 

originating Regional Processing and 

Distribution Center or Campus (RPDC), 

and (ii) zero service expectation days 

are added for all other First-Class Mail, 

including Single-Piece First-Class Mail 

when no facility from which mail is 

dispatched for the originating 5-digit 

ZIP Code is over 50 miles in driving 

distance from the originating RPDC, and 

including eligible Presort First-Class 

Mail. 

(2) Leg 2. (i) Two service expectation 

days are added to First-Class Mail if the 

combined drive time between the 

originating RPDC, the destinating RPDC, 

and the destinating Local Processing 

Center (LPC) is 7 hours or less; 

(ii) Three service expectation days are 

added to First-Class Mail if the 

combined drive time between the 

originating RPDC, the destinating RPDC, 

and the destinating LPC is more than 7 

hours and not more than 24 hours; 

(iii) Four service expectation days are 

added to First-Class Mail pieces if the 

combined drive time between the 

originating RPDC, the destinating RPDC, 

and the destinating LPC is more than 24 

hours and not more than 45 hours; and 

(iv) Five service expectation days are 

added to all remaining First-Class Mail 

pieces, except that four days are added 

to any such First-Class Mail for which 

a day is added under Leg 1. 

(3) Leg 3. No service expectation days 

are added in Leg 3. 

(b) Exceptions to Service Standards 

Based on Delivery Legs Within the 

Contiguous 48 States. (1) A same-day 

service standard applies to USPS 

Connect® Local Mail pieces accepted at 

participating Destination Delivery Units, 

and a one-day service standard applies 

to all other pieces accepted as USPS 

Connect® Local Mail. 

(2) A one-day service standard applies 

to eligible intra-LPC Presort First-Class 

Mail pieces accepted at the LPC. 

(3) For First-Class Mail that is not 

USPS Connect® Local Mail, with respect 

to ‘‘turnaround’’ service for pieces 

originating and destinating within the 

same RPDC service area or within the 

same LPC service area for certain 

qualifying LPCs (designated by the 

Postal Service based on operational 

considerations such as an LPC’s 

distance from its servicing RPDC and 

volume processed at the LPC): 

(i) A two-day service standard applies 

to: 

(A) Eligible Presort First-Class Mail 

that is not eligible for a one day service 

standard under paragraph (2) and that 

originates and destinates in the same 

RPDC service area; and 

(B) Single-Piece First-Class Mail 

originating in a 5-digit ZIP Code when 

no facility from which mail is 

dispatched for the originating 5-digit 

ZIP Code is over 50 miles in driving 

distance of the originating RPDC or 

qualifying LPC and destinates within 

the same RPDC’s or qualifying LPC’s 

service area. 

(ii) A three-day service standard 

applies to Single-Piece First-Class Mail 

originating in a 5-digit ZIP Code when 


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a facility from which mail is dispatched 

for the originating 5-digit ZIP Code is 

over 50 miles in driving distance of the 

originating RPDC or qualifying LPC and 

destinates within the same RPDC’s or 

qualifying LPC’s service area. 

(c) Service Standards for Domestic 

First-Class Mail Originating and/or 

Destinating in Locations Outside of the 

Contiguous 48 States. (1) A same-day 

service standard applies to USPS 

Connect® Local Mail pieces accepted at 

participating Destination Delivery Units. 

(2) Except as provided in paragraph 

(3), a one-day service standard applies 

to: 

(i) Eligible intra-LPC Presort FirstClass Mail pieces accepted at the LPC, 

whose origin and destination are 

outside the contiguous 48 states; and 

(ii) All other pieces accepted as USPS 

Connect® Local Mail. 

(3) A two-day service standard applies 

to: 

(i) Eligible Presort First-Class Mail 

that originates in Puerto Rico and 

destinates in the U.S. Virgin Islands, or 

vice versa; 

(ii) Eligible intra-LPC Presort FirstClass Mail with an origin or destination 

that is in American Samoa or one of the 

following 3-digit ZIP Code areas in 

Alaska (or designated portions thereof): 

995 (5-digit ZIP Codes 99540 through 

99599), 996, 997, 998, and 999; and 

(iii) Other intra-LPC First-Class Mail 

pieces whose origin and destination are 

outside the contiguous 48 states, 

including any other intra-LPC Presort 

pieces that are not eligible for a one-day 

service standard. 

(4) A four-day service standard 

applies to First-Class Mail pieces if the 

same-day, one-day, or two-day service 

standards do not apply and: 

(i) The origin is in the 006, 007, or 009 

3-digit ZIP Code areas in Puerto Rico, 

and the destination is in the contiguous 

48 states; 

(ii) The origin is in Hawaii, and the 

destination is in Guam, or vice versa; 

(iii) The origin is in Hawaii, and the 

destination is in American Samoa, or 

vice versa; 

(iv) Both the origin and destination 

are within Alaska; or 

(v) Such mail originates in a 5-digit 

ZIP Code where no facility from which 

mail is dispatched for that 5-digit ZIP 

Code is over 50 miles of driving 

distance from its originating RPDC, and 

the origin is in the contiguous 48 states 

and the destination is in the city of 

Anchorage, Alaska (5-digit ZIP Codes 

99501 through 99539), the 968 3-digit 

ZIP Code area in Hawaii, or the 006, 

007, or 009 3-digit ZIP Code areas in 

Puerto Rico. 

(5) A five-day service standard applies 

to all remaining domestic First-Class 

Mail pieces originating and/or 

destinating outside the contiguous 48 

states. 

(d) Service Standards for 

International First-Class Mail. (1) The 

service standard for Outbound SinglePiece First-Class Mail International®

pieces is equivalent to the service 

standard for domestic Single-Piece FirstClass Mail pieces originating from the 

same 5-digit ZIP Code area and destined 

to the 5-digit ZIP Code area in which the 

designated International Service Center, 

or its functional equivalent, is located. 

(2) The service standard for Inbound 

Letter Post pieces from the first USPS 

scan is equivalent to the service 

standard for domestic Single-Piece FirstClass Mail pieces destined to the same 

5-digit ZIP Code area and originating 

from the 5-digit ZIP Code area in which 

the applicable International Service 

Center, or its functional equivalent, is 

located. 

■ 4. Revise § 121.2 to read as follows: 

§ 121.2 Periodicals. 

(a) End-to-End. (1) Except as provided 

in paragraph (2), a 3- to 6-day service 

standard applies to end-to-end 

Periodicals pieces, with the standard 

generally equaling the sum of one day 

plus the applicable Single-Piece FirstClass Mail (FCM) service standard 

(disregarding standards for USPS 

Connect® Local FCM and for intra-Local 

Processing Center ‘‘turnaround’’ 

service). 

(2) For certain end-to-end Periodicals 

pieces originating and/or destinating 

outside the contiguous 48 states, a 10- 

to 27-day service standard applies, with 

the standard generally equaling the sum 

of 3 to 6 days plus the number of 

additional days (from 7 to 21) for which 

certain intermodal (e.g., highway, boat, 

air-taxi) transportation is utilized. 

(b) Destination Entry. (1) Destination 

Delivery Unit (DDU) Entered Mail. A 1- 

day (overnight) service standard applies 

to Periodicals pieces that qualify for a 

DDU rate. 

(2) Destination Local Processing 

Center (DLPC) Entered Mail. (i) A 1-day 

(overnight) service standard applies to 

Periodicals pieces that qualify for a 

DLPC (or analogous legacy) rate, except 

for mail entered in Puerto Rico and 

destined to the U.S. Virgin Islands, mail 

destined to American Samoa, and mail 

destined to the following 3-digit ZIP 

Code areas in Alaska (or designated 

portions thereof): 995 (5-digit ZIP Codes 

99540 through 99599), 996, 997, 998, 

and 999; 

(ii) A 3-day service standard applies 

to Periodicals pieces that qualify for a 

DLPC (or analogous legacy) rate, if they 

are entered in Puerto Rico and destined 

to the U.S. Virgin Islands, or if they are 

destined to the following 3-digit ZIP 

Code areas in Alaska (or designated 

portions thereof): 995 (5-digit ZIP Codes 

99540 through 99599), 996, 997, 998, 

and 999. 

(iii) A 4-day service standard applies 

to Periodicals pieces that qualify for a 

DLPC (or analogous legacy) rate if they 

are destined to American Samoa. 

(3) Destination Regional Processing 

and Distribution Center or Campus 

(DRPDC) Entered Mail. (i) A 2-day 

service standard applies to Periodicals 

pieces that qualify for a DRPDC (or 

analogous legacy) rate, are entered in 

the contiguous 48 states, and are 

destined within the contiguous 48 

states; 

(ii) An 8- to 10-day service standard 

applies to Periodicals pieces that qualify 

for a DRPDC (or analogous legacy) rate, 

are entered in the contiguous 48 states, 

and are destined outside the contiguous 

48 states, with the specific standard 

being based on the number of days 

required for transportation outside the 

contiguous 48 states. 

■ 5. Revise § 121.3 to read as follows: 

§ 121.3 USPS Marketing Mail. 

(a) End-to-End. (1) Except as provided 

in paragraph (2), a 4- to 7-day service 

standard applies to end-to-end USPS 

Marketing Mail pieces, with the 

standard generally equaling the sum of 

2 days plus the applicable Single-Piece 

First-Class Mail (FCM) service standard 

(disregarding standards for USPS 

Connect® Local FCM and for intra-Local 

Processing Center (LPC) ‘‘turnaround’’ 

service). 

(2) For certain end-to-end USPS 

Marketing Mail pieces originating and/ 

or destinating outside the contiguous 48 

states, an 11- to 28-day service standard 

applies, with the standard generally 

equaling the sum of 4 to 7 days plus the 

number of additional days (from 7 to 21) 

for which certain intermodal (e.g., 

highway, boat, air-taxi) transportation is 

utilized. 

(b) Destination Entry. (1) USPS 

Marketing Mail pieces that qualify for a 

Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) rate 

have a 2-day service standard. 

(2) USPS Marketing Mail pieces that 

qualify for a Destination Local 

Processing Center (DLPC) (or analogous 

legacy) rate have a 3-day service 

standard when accepted on Sunday 

through Thursday and a 4-day service 

standard when accepted on Friday or 

Saturday, except for mail dropped at the 

LPC in the territory of Puerto Rico and 

destined to the territory of the U.S. 


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90248 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 221 / Friday, November 15, 2024 / Proposed Rules 

Virgin Islands, or mail destined to 

American Samoa. 

(3) USPS Marketing Mail pieces that 

qualify for a DLPC (or analogous legacy) 

rate and that are entered in the territory 

of Puerto Rico and destined to the 

territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands, or 

that are destined to American Samoa, 

have a 4-day service standard when 

accepted on Sunday through Thursday 

and a 5-day service standard when 

accepted on Friday or Saturday. 

(4) USPS Marketing Mail pieces that 

qualify for a Destination Regional 

Processing and Distribution Center or 

Campus (DRPDC) (or analogous legacy) 

rate have a 5-day service standard, if 

both the origin and the destination are 

in the contiguous 48 states. 

(5) USPS Marketing Mail pieces that 

qualify for a DRPDC (or analogous 

legacy) rate, and that are entered in the 

contiguous 48 states for delivery to 

addresses in the states of Alaska or 

Hawaii or the territories of Guam, 

American Samoa, Puerto Rico, or the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, have a service 

standard of 12–14 days, depending on 

the 3-digit origin-destination ZIP Code 

pair. For each such pair, the applicable 

day within the range is based on the 

number of days required for 

transportation outside the contiguous 48 

states. 

■ 6. Revise § 121.4 to read as follows: 

§ 121.4 Package Services. 

(a) End-to-End. (1) Except as provided 

in paragraph (2), a 4- to 7-day service 

standard applies to end-to-end Package 

Services pieces, with the standard 

generally equaling the sum of 2 days 

plus the applicable Single-Piece FirstClass Mail (FCM) service standard 

(disregarding standards for USPS 

Connect® Local FCM and for intra-Local 

Processing Center ‘‘turnaround’’ service) 

after adding 5–9 hours to the applicable 

driving time bands of Leg 2 for FCM, as 

applied to specific 5-digit origindestination pairs in the table cited in 

section 121.0. 

(2) For certain end-to-end Package 

Services pieces originating and/or 

destinating outside the contiguous 48 

states, an 11- to 29-day service standard 

applies, with the standard generally 

equaling the sum of 4 to 7 days plus the 

number of additional days (from 7 to 22) 

for which certain intermodal (e.g., 

highway, boat, air-taxi) transportation is 

utilized. 

(b) Destination Entry. (1) Package 

Services mail that qualifies for a 

Destination Delivery Unit (DDU) rate 

has a 1-day (overnight) service standard. 

(2) Package Services mail that 

qualifies for a Destination Local 

Processing Center (DLPC) (or analogous 

legacy) rate has a 2-day service 

standard, except for mail that is 

destined to either American Samoa or 

the U.S. Virgin Islands. 

(3) Package Services mail that 

qualifies for a DLPC rate, and that is 

destined to either American Samoa or 

the U.S. Virgin Islands, has a 3-day 

service standard. 

(4) Package Services mail that 

qualifies for a Destination Regional 

Processing and Distribution Center or 

Campus (DRPDC) (or analogous legacy) 

rate, and that originates and destinates 

in the contiguous 48 states, has a 3-day 

service standard. 

(5) Package Services mail that 

qualifies for a DRPDC (or analogous 

legacy) rate, and that is entered in the 

contiguous 48 states for delivery to 

addresses in the states of Alaska or 

Hawaii, or the territories of Guam, 

American Samoa, Puerto Rico, or the 

U.S. Virgin Islands, has a service 

standard of either 11 or 12 days, 

depending on the 3-digit ZIP Code 

origin-destination pair. For each such 

pair, the applicable day within the range 

is based on the number of days required 

for transportation outside the 

contiguous 48 states. 

■ 7. Revise appendix A to part 121 to 

read as follows: 

Appendix A to Part 121—Tables 

Depicting Service Standard Day Ranges 

The following tables reflect the service 

standard day ranges resulting from the 

application of the business rules applicable 

to the market-dominant mail products 

referenced in §§ 121.0 through 121.4 (for 

purposes of Part 121, references to the 

contiguous states or the contiguous 48 states 

also include the District of Columbia): 

Table 1. End-to-end service standard day 

ranges for mail originating and destinating 

within the contiguous 48 states and the 

District of Columbia. 

TABLE 1—END-TO-END SERVICE

WITHIN CONTIGUOUS STATES

Mail class 

End-to-end 

range 

(days) 

First-Class Mail ................................... 0–5 

Periodicals ........................................... 3–6 

USPS Marketing Mail .......................... 4–7 

Package Services ............................... 4–7 

Table 2. End-to-end service standard day 

ranges for mail originating and/or destinating 

in non-contiguous states and territories. 

TABLE 2—END-TO-END SERVICE TO AND/OR FROM NON-CONTIGUOUS STATES AND TERRITORIES

Mail class 

End-to-end range (days) 

Intra-state/territory Inter-state/territory 

First-Class Mail ......................................................................................................................................................... 0–5 2–5 

Periodicals ................................................................................................................................................................. 3–6 3–27 

USPS Marketing Mail ................................................................................................................................................ 4–7 4–28 

Package Services ..................................................................................................................................................... * 4–7 4–29 

* Excluding bypass mail. 

Table 3. Destination-entry service standard 

day ranges for mail to the contiguous 48 

states and the District of Columbia. 

TABLE 3—DESTINATION ENTRY SERVICE TO CONTIGUOUS STATES

Mail class 

Contiguous states 

Destination entry (at appropriate facility) range 

(days) 

* DDU * DLPC * DRPDC 

Periodicals ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 1 2 

USPS Marketing Mail .................................................................................................................................................... 2 3–4 5 


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TABLE 3—DESTINATION ENTRY SERVICE TO CONTIGUOUS STATES—Continued 

Mail class 

Contiguous states 

Destination entry (at appropriate facility) range 

(days) 

* DDU * DLPC * DRPDC 

Package Services ......................................................................................................................................................... 1 2 3 

* DDU = Destination Delivery Unit; DLPC = Destination Local Processing Center; DRPDC = Destination Regional Processing and Distribution Center or Campus. 

Table 4. Destination entry service standard 

day ranges for mail to non-contiguous states 

and territories. 

TABLE 4—DESTINATION ENTRY SERVICE TO NON-CONTIGUOUS STATES AND TERRITORIES

Mail class 

Destination entry (at appropriate facility) 

* DDU range 

(days) 

* DLPC range (days) * DRPDC range (days) 

Alaska 

** Hawaii, 

Guam, 

NMI, & AS 

** PR & 

USVI Alaska 

Hawaii, 

Guam, NMI, 

& AS 

PR & 

USVI 

Periodicals ......................................................................... 1 1–3 1–4 1–3 10–11 10 8–10 

USPS Marketing Mail ........................................................ 2 3–4 3–5 3–5 14 13 12 

Package Services ............................................................. 1 2 2–3 2–3 12 11 11 

* DDU = Destination Delivery Unit; DLPC = Destination Local Processing Center; DRPDC = Destination Regional Processing and Distribution Center or Campus. 

** AS = American Samoa; NMI = Northern Mariana Islands; PR = Puerto Rico; USVI = United States Virgin Islands. 

Christopher Doyle, 

Attorney, Ethics & Legal Compliance. 

[FR Doc. 2024–26434 Filed 11–14–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–12–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R03–OAR–2022–0987; FRL–10551– 

01–R3] 

Air Plan Approval; District of 

Columbia, Maryland, Virginia; 

Determination of Attainment by the 

Attainment Date and Clean Data 

Determination for the Washington, DCMD-VA Nonattainment Area for the 

2015 Ozone National Ambient Air 

Quality Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is proposing to determine 

that the Washington, DC-MD-VA 

nonattainment area (the Washington 

Area or the Area) has attained the 2015 

8-hour ozone national ambient air 

quality standards (2015 ozone NAAQS) 

by the applicable attainment date of 

August 3, 2024. Accompanying this 

proposed determination of attainment 

by the attainment date is a re-proposed 

clean data determination (CDD) under 

the EPA’s Clean Data Policy. If finalized, 

this action will address the EPA’s 

obligation under Clean Air Act (CAA) 

sections 179(c) and 181(b)(2) to 

determine whether the Washington Area 

attained the 2015 ozone NAAQS by the 

August 3, 2024 attainment date and, as 

set forth in the EPA’s Clean Data Policy, 

suspend the obligation of the District of 

Columbia (DC), the State of Maryland 

(MD), and the Commonwealth of 

Virginia (VA) to submit certain 

attainment planning requirements for as 

long as the Area continues to attain the 

2015 ozone NAAQS. As part of this 

rulemaking, the EPA also proposes to 

take final agency action on an 

exceptional events request submitted by 

the District of Columbia on March 20, 

2024, and concurred on by the EPA on 

July 17, 2024. The proposed attainment 

determination and CDD are based upon 

the EPA’s concurrence on the 

exceptional events demonstration. This 

action is being taken under the CAA. 

DATES: Written comments must be 

received on or before December 16, 

2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–R03– 

OAR–2022–0987 at 

www.regulations.gov, or via email to 

talley.david@epa.gov. For comments 

submitted at Regulations.gov, follow the 

online instructions for submitting 

comments. Once submitted, comments 

cannot be edited or removed from 

Regulations.gov. For either manner of 

submission, the EPA may publish any 

comment received to its public docket. 

Do not submit electronically any 

information you consider to be 

confidential business information (CBI) 

or other information whose disclosure is 

restricted by statute. Multimedia 

submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be 

accompanied by a written comment. 

The written comment is considered the 

official comment and should include 

discussion of all points you wish to 

make. The EPA will generally not 

consider comments or comment 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, please 

contact the person identified in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 

For the full EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epadockets. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ian 

Neiswinter, Planning & Implementation 

Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation 

Division, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Region III, 1600 John F 

Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, 

Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone 

number is (215) 814–2011. Mr. 

Neiswinter can also be reached via 

electronic mail at neiswinter.ian@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This 

proposed determination is based upon 

quality-assured, quality-controlled, and 

certified ambient air monitoring data 

from 2021 to 2023 available in the EPA’s 

Air Quality System (AQS) database. 


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