Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 16 / Monday, January 26, 2015 / Notices 3995 

1United States Postal Service Notice of MarketDominant Price Adjustment, January 15, 2015 

(Notice). The Notice includes a set of attachments 

filed as a separate public pdf. 

2This is a Type 1–A proceeding. See 39 CFR part 

3010, subparts A–C for additional information, 

including the controlling consumer price index, 

and Notice at 3. 

3See Docket No. R2013–11, Order No. 1926, 

Order Granting Exigent Price Increase, December 

24, 2013. 

4Notice, Attachments A–E. Attachment A also 

assumes First-Class Mail Parcels, which are the 

subject of a pending transfer request in Docket No. 

MC2015–7, are a market dominant product. See 

Notice at 20, n.12. 

5The Postal Service adopts the November 24, 

2014 MCS as the base version for showing proposed 

changes. See id. at 53, n.27. 

6See Notice of the United States Postal Service 

of Filing of USPS–LR–R2015–4/NP1, January 15, 

2015. 

submission@omb.eop.gov or faxed to 

(202) 395–6974. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A 

copy of this ICR, with applicable 

supporting documentation, may be 

obtained by contacting the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, 

Office of Management and Budget, 725 

17th Street NW., Washington, DC 20503, 

Attention: Desk Officer for the Office of 

Personnel Management or sent by email 

to oira_submission@omb.eop.gov or 

faxed to (202) 395–6974. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office 

of Management and Budget is 

particularly interested in comments 

that: 

1. Evaluate whether the proposed 

collection of information is necessary 

for the proper performance of the 

functions of the agency, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; 

2. Evaluate the accuracy of the 

agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

proposed collection of information, 

including the validity of the 

methodology and assumptions used; 

3. Enhance the quality, utility, and 

clarity of the information to be 

collected; and 

4. Minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on those who 

are to respond, including through the 

use of appropriate automated, 

electronic, mechanical, or other 

technological collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology, 

e.g., permitting electronic submissions 

of responses. 

SF 3102 is used by an employee or an 

annuitant covered under the Federal 

Employees Retirement System to 

designate a beneficiary to receive any 

lump sum due in the event of his/her 

death. 

Analysis 

Agency: Retirement Operations, 

Retirement Services, Office of Personnel 

Management. 

Title: Designation of Beneficiary 

(FERS). 

OMB Number: 3206–0173. 

Frequency: On occasion. 

Affected Public: Individuals or 

Households. 

Number of Respondents: 3,888. 

Estimated Time per Respondent: 15 

minutes. 

Total Burden Hours: 972. 

U.S. Office of Personnel Management. 

Katherine Archuleta, 

Director. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01340 Filed 1–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE P 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

[Docket No. R2015–4; Order No. 2327] 

Market Dominant Price Adjustment 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a 

recently-filed Postal Service notice 

announcing inflation-based rate 

adjustments affecting market dominant 

domestic and international products 

and services, along with four temporary 

mailing promotions and numerous 

proposed classification changes. The 

adjustments and other changes are 

scheduled to take effect April 26, 2015. 

This notice informs the public of the 

filing, invites public comment, and 

takes other administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: February 4, 

2015. 

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. Overview 

III. Initial Administrative Actions 

IV. Ordering Paragraphs 

I. Introduction 

On January 15, 2015, the Postal 

Service filed a notice of inflation-based 

rate adjustments affecting market 

dominant domestic and international 

products and services, along with four 

temporary mailing promotions and 

numerous proposed classification 

changes.1 The intended effective date is 

April 26, 2015. Notice at 1. 

The Notice, which was filed pursuant 

to 39 U.S.C. 3622 and 39 CFR part 3010, 

triggers an expedited notice-andcomment proceeding.2 The Notice is 

also more complex than the typical 

annual adjustment filing due to the 

impact of surcharges associated with the 

exigent rate case (Docket No. R2013–11) 

and the issue of rate design, especially 

new and merged rate cells.3 The Postal 

Service addresses the impact on rate 

design in its Notice. Notice at 16–17. 

The Postal Service also presents two 

sets of rates: With and without the 

exigent surcharges. See id., Attachment 

A, Part I and Part II. 

II. Overview 

A. Filing Details 

Contents in general. The Postal 

Service’s filing consists of a detailed 

Notice which addresses the data and 

information required under 39 CFR 

3010.13; five attachments 4 to the 

Notice; and six sets of workpapers filed 

as library references. 

Attachments. Attachment A, Part I 

presents the proposed Mail 

Classification Schedule (MCS) changes 

(in legislative format) with prices that 

reflect base (Docket No. R2013–10) 

prices plus the new proposed increases 

without the exigent surcharges. 

Attachment A, Part II presents the MCS 

changes with prices (base plus the new 

proposed increases) that include the 

exigent (Docket No. R2013–11) 

surcharges.5 The other attachments 

address workshare discounts and 

related information; the price cap 

calculation; the 2015 mailing 

promotions and incentives calendar; 

and adjusted exigent surcharges for new 

rate cells. See id. Attachments B–E, 

respectively. 

Library references. The library 

references present supporting financial 

documentation for the five classes of 

mail and for First-Class Mail 

International. See Notice at 4–5. The 

First-Class Mail International Library 

Reference was filed under seal.6

B. Planned Price Adjustments 

The Postal Service’s planned 

percentage changes by class are, on 

average: 

Market dominant class 

Price adjustment authority 

(%) 

First-Class Mail ..................... 1.949 

Standard Mail ....................... 1.886 

Periodicals ............................ 1.965 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
3996 Federal Register / Vol. 80, No. 16 / Monday, January 26, 2015 / Notices 

Market dominant class 

Price adjustment authority 

(%) 

Package Services ................. 1.964 

Special Services ................... 0.234 

Notice at 5. 

Nature of adjustments. Most of the 

planned adjustments entail increases to 

market dominant rates and fees; 

however, in a few instances, the Postal 

Service proposes either no adjustment 

or a decrease. In addition, price 

adjustments for products within classes 

vary from the average, sometimes 

substantially. See, e.g., id. at 17, 21 

(Table 5 showing range for First-Class 

Mail products) and (Table 7 showing 

range for Standard Mail products). 

Proposed classification changes. The 

Postal Service proposes numerous 

classification changes in its Notice. Id. 

at 53–55. It identifies the impact on the 

MCS in Attachment A, Part I and Part 

II. 

Calendar year promotions. The Postal 

Service seeks approval for the following 

four promotions for the periods 

indicated: 

• Earned Value Reply Mail Promotion 

(May–July 2015); 

• Advanced and Emerging 

Technology Promotion (May–October 

2015); 

• Color Transpromo Promotion 

(June–November 2015); and 

• Mail Drives Mobile Engagement 

Promotion (July–December 2015). 

Id. at 7–8. 

Note to all interested persons. The 

Notice and related filings, including 

library references, provide important 

additional details concerning the 

planned adjustments, mailing 

promotions, and classification changes. 

The Commission strongly encourages 

interested persons to carefully review 

the Notice and all related filings, 

including new MCS language relating to 

changes corresponding to the exigent 

surcharges, and to monitor the 

Commission’s Web site for additional 

information, including potential 

revisions to the Notice. 

III. Initial Administrative Actions 

Public notice. The Commission 

hereby provides public notice of the 

Postal Service’s filing and pursuant to 

rule 3010.14 establishes Docket No. 

R2015–4 to consider the planned price 

adjustments in rates and fees for market 

dominant postal products and services, 

as well as the related classification 

changes, identified in the Postal 

Service’s January 15, 2015 Notice. The 

Commission invites comments from 

interested persons on whether the 

Notice is consistent with 39 U.S.C. 3622 

and the requirements of 39 CFR part 

3010. Comments are due no later than 

February 4, 2015. 

Availability of documents. The 

Commission has posted the public 

portions of the Postal Service’s filing on 

its Web site at http://www.prc.gov. The 

Commission will post revisions to the 

filing (if any) or other documents the 

Postal Service submits in this docket on 

its Web site, along with related 

Commission documents, comments, or 

other submissions, unless such filings 

are the subject of an application for nonpublic treatment. The Commission’s 

policy on access to documents filed 

under seal appears in 39 CFR part 3007. 

Public Representative. Pursuant to 39 

U.S.C. 505, the Commission appoints 

James Waclawski to represent the 

interests of the general public (Public 

Representative) in this proceeding. 

IV. Ordering Paragraphs 

It is ordered: 

1. The Commission establishes Docket 

No. R2015–4 to consider planned price 

adjustments in rates and fees for market 

dominant postal products and services 

and related classification changes 

identified in the Postal Service’s January 

15, 2015 Notice. 

2. Comments on the planned price 

adjustments and related classification 

changes are due no later than February 

4, 2015. 

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

Waclawski is appointed to serve as an 

officer of the Commission (Public 

Representative) to represent the 

interests of the general public in this 

proceeding. 

5. The Commission directs the 

Secretary of the Commission to arrange 

for prompt publication of this notice in 

the Federal Register. 

By the Commission. 

Shoshana M. Grove, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2015–01238 Filed 1–23–15; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

POSTAL SERVICE 

New Mailing Standards for Lithium 

Batteries 

AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Postal Service will revise 

Publication 52, Hazardous, Restricted, 

and Perishable Mail (Publication 52), in 

various sections to provide new 

standards for the mailing of lithium 

batteries. Publication 52 was developed 

to provide expanded requirements for 

the mailing of hazardous, restricted, and 

perishable materials. 

DATES: Effective date: March 2, 2015. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joan 

Hall (212) 330–5332 or Kevin Gunther 

(202) 268–7208. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Overview 

U.S. Postal Service® Publication 52 

provides mailing standards specific to 

hazardous, restricted and perishable 

items and materials. Pursuant to the 

Mailing Standards of the United States 

Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual 

(DMM®) 601.8.2, Publication 52 applies 

to the mailability of hazardous 

materials, including lithium batteries. 

Revisions to Publication 52 

The Postal Service is making these 

revisions in order to align with the 

Department of Transportation (DOT), 

Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety 

Administration (PHMSA) recent 

changes to regulations for the 

transportation of lithium batteries. 

On August 6, 2014, PHMSA issued a 

final rule (79 FR 46012–46040) titled 

‘‘Hazardous Materials: Transportation 

of Lithium Batteries’’ in which it 

describes new requirements governing 

the shipment of lithium cells and 

batteries for both air and surface 

transportation. In this final rule, 

PHMSA revises hazard communication 

and packaging provisions for lithium 

batteries and harmonizes the Hazardous 

Materials Regulations (HMR) with 

applicable provisions of the United 

Nations (UN) Model Regulations, the 

International Civil Aviation 

Organization’s Technical Instructions 

for the Safe Transport of Dangerous 

Goods by Air (ICAO Technical 

Instructions) and the International 

Maritime Dangerous Goods (IMDG) 

Code. 

With these revisions, the Postal 

Service aligns with PHMSA and the 

other regulatory entities noted above 

with regard to: 

1. Use of terminology describing 

lithium content with watt-hours for 

lithium-ion cells and batteries; 

2. Adoption of separate shipping 

descriptions for lithium metal batteries 

and lithium-ion batteries; 

3. New requirements for the transport 

of small lithium cells and batteries 

contained in equipment; and 

4. New marking requirements and 

options for lithium batteries installed in 

equipment packaged with equipment 

and shipped without equipment. 

In the development of mailing 

standards for lithium cells and batteries 

in air transportation, the Postal Service 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES