68648 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 222 / Tuesday, November 18, 2014 / Proposed Rules 

1Petition of the United States Postal Service for 

the Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed 

Changes in Analytical Principles (Proposal Twelve), 

November 7, 2014 (Petition). 

2Notice of Filing of USPS–RM2015–5/NP1 and 

Application for Nonpublic Treatment, November 7, 

2014 (collectively, Application). The Application 

incorporates by reference the Application for NonPublic Treatment of Materials contained in 

Attachment Two to the December 27, 2013 United 

States Postal Service Fiscal Year 2013 Annual 

Compliance Report. Application at 1. See 39 CFR 

part 3007 for information on access to non-public 

material. 

3This proposal does not seek to change 

established costing methods for contractor costs 

associated with call centers that are included in 

Cost Segment 16. Id. 

POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION 

39 CFR Part 3050 

[Docket No. RM2015–5; Order No. 2246] 

Periodic Reporting 

AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The Commission is noticing a 

recent Postal Service filing concerning a 

Proposed Rulemaking on Analytical 

Principles Used in Periodic Reporting 

(Proposal Twelve). This document 

informs the public of the filing, invites 

public comment, and takes other 

administrative steps. 

DATES: Comments are due: December 8, 

2014. Reply Comments are due: 

December 15, 2014. 

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. Summary of Proposal 

III. Initial Commission Action 

IV. Ordering Paragraphs 

I. Introduction 

On November 7, 2014, the Postal 

Service filed a petition pursuant to 39 

CFR 3050.11 requesting that the 

Commission initiate an informal 

rulemaking proceeding to consider 

changes to analytical principles relating 

to periodic reports.1 It identifies the 

change filed in this docket as Proposal 

Twelve: To Establish a Cost 

Methodology for the Postal Service 

Customer Care Centers. Id. Attachment 

at 1. The Postal Service concurrently 

filed public and non-public versions of 

a supporting Excel spreadsheet, along 

with an application for non-public 

treatment for the sealed version.2

II. Summary of Proposal 

Background. This proposal presents 

changes in the costing methodology for 

call centers due to a change in how 

these centers are staffed. Previously, the 

Postal Service outsourced call center 

positions; recently, it brought these 

positions in-house and converted them 

to clerk craft positions. Petition, 

Attachment at 1. 

Costs associated with outsourced call 

center activities have been included in 

Cost Segment 16. Id. The Postal Service 

proposes including the bulk of FY 2014 

call center expenses in Cost Segment 3 

on grounds that clerks performed the 

bulk of call center work in FY 2014. Id. 

It identifies existing Cost Segment 3.3, 

Administrative Support and 

Miscellaneous clerk costs, as the logical 

choice for these costs because the 

activities are similar in nature to the 

activities of Claims and Inquiries clerks, 

and proposes creating a new cost 

component within Cost Segment 3.3 

(Customer Care Centers, number 424).3

Id. 

In terms of cost assignment, the Postal 

Service proposes that costs associated 

with specific inquiries relating to mail 

products or special services (and a 

proportionate share of clerk support 

costs) be fully attributed to those 

products. It proposes that costs 

associated with inquiries not related to 

products (such as ZIP Code inquiries) be 

treated as institutional costs. Id. at 2. 

The Postal Service asserts that 

achieving the correct assignment of 

institutional and attributable costs 

requires several steps, states that a 

public spreadsheet shows the specific 

calculations, and provides a brief 

explanation. Id. at 2–3. 

Cost impacts. The Postal Service 

estimates the FY 2014 clerk labor costs 

for the call centers at approximately 

$85.1 million. Id. at 1. It states that 

under the proposed method, 

approximately 56 percent of the accrued 

call center costs would be treated as 

attributable. Id. at 5. It provides an 

illustration of the overall model and a 

table showing how the estimated FY 

2014 costs would be attributed and 

distributed to products under the 

proposed methodology. Id. at 5–7. The 

table shows the impact in terms of unit 

attributable costs for each market 

dominant product. Id. at 6–7. The 

impact on the specific competitive 

products appears in the spreadsheet 

filed under seal. Id. at 6. 

III. Initial Commission Action 

The Commission establishes Docket 

No. RM2015–5 for consideration of 

matters raised by the Petition. 

Additional information concerning the 

Petition may be accessed via the 

Commission’s Web site at http://

www.prc.gov. Interested persons may 

submit comments on the Petition no 

later than December 8, 2014. Reply 

comments are due no later than 

December 15, 2014. Pursuant to 39 

U.S.C. 505, Cassie D’Souza 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. RM2015–5 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 Twelve), filed 

November 7, 2014. 

2. Comments are due no later than 

December 8, 2014. 

3. Reply comments are due no later 

than December 15, 2014. 

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

Commission appoints Cassie D’Souza to 

serve as an officer of the Commission 

(Public Representative) to represent the 

interests of the general public in this 

docket. 

5. The Secretary shall arrange for 

publication of this order in the Federal 

Register. 

By the Commission. 

Shoshana M. Grove, 

Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27210 Filed 11–17–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 52 

[EPA–R04–OAR–2013–0270; FRL–9919–41– 

Region 4] 

Approval and Promulgation of 

Implementation Plans; Mississippi; 

Infrastructure Requirements for the 

2008 Lead National Ambient Air Quality 

Standards 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency. 

ACTION: Proposed rule. 


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