[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 130 (Thursday, July 8, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 39200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16531]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION
39 CFR Part 3050
[Docket No. RM2010-10; Order No. 482]
Periodic Reporting
AGENCY: Postal Regulatory Commission.
ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; availability of rulemaking
petition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Commission is establishing a docket to consider a
proposed change in certain analytical methods used in periodic
reporting. This action responds to a Postal Service rulemaking
petition. The proposed change has two parts. One part would reduce the
sample size of a major ongoing data collection effort. The other part
would divert a designated percentage of sample tests to a special study
using an alternative sample frame. Establishing this docket will allow
the Commission to consider the Postal Service's proposal and comments
from the public.
DATES: Comments are due: August 16, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Submit comments electronically via the Commission's Filing
Online system at http://www.prc.gov. Commenters who cannot submit their
views electronically should contact the person identified in the For
Further Information Contact section of this document for advice on
alternatives to electronic filing.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stephen L. Sharfman, General Counsel,
at [email protected] or 202-789-6820.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulatory History, 75 FR 7426 (Feb. 19,
2010).
On June 25, 2010, the Postal Service filed a petition to initiate
an informal rulemaking proceeding to consider a change in the
analytical methods approved for use in periodic reporting.\1\ The
Postal Service's proposal is in two parts. Proposal Two-A proposes to
reduce the size of the sample that it uses to collect Origin-
Destination Information System/Revenue Pieces and Weight (ODIS/RPW)
data by 20 percent. Id. at 3. In effect, Proposal Two-A asks that the
Commission's decision in Order No. 396\2\ not to approve an identical
proposal submitted by the Postal Service in June of 2009 be
reconsidered.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ Petition of the United States Postal Service Requesting
Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes in Analytic
Principles (Proposal Two), June 25, 2010 (Petition).
\2\ Docket No. RM2009-5, Order Concerning Principles for
Periodic Reporting (Proposal One), January 21, 2010 (Order No. 396).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second part of Proposal Two is presented as Proposal Two-B. It
proposes to divert 10 percent of the sample tests conducted under the
current ODIS-RPW sample size to a special study utilizing an
alternative sample frame. The alternative sample frame that the Postal
Service proposes to test in Proposal Two-B would define a sample frame
unit as a ``delivery unit.'' According to the Postal Service, delivery
units would include ``city and rural carriers, box sections, and
firms.'' Petition, Attachment Proposal Two-B, at 1.
Currently, ODIS-RPW sample frame units are Mail Exit Points (MEPs),
which the Postal Service defines as a letter, flat, or parcel mail
stream in a post office, station, branch or associate office. When
sampling MEPs, the data collector samples Delivery Point Sequence (DPS)
sorted letter trays after they arrive at the delivery unit from the
processing plant and before they are dispatched to carriers. The Postal
Service asserts that this interval is becoming too short to provide an
adequate opportunity for the data collector to take a probabilistic
sample of trays and record their contents. Another drawback of using
MEPs as the sample frame unit, according to the Postal Service, is that
the data collector cannot determine whether a tray is destined for a
carrier, a firm hold-out, or the box unit. Since its 5-day delivery
proposal does not envision delivering carrier mail on Saturday, a data
collector working on Saturdays would need to be able to distinguish
between trays destined for carriers from those destined for firm hold-
outs and box sections. The Postal Service asserts that defining the
``delivery unit as the ODIS-RPW frame and sample unit'' would
ameliorate both problems. Id.
The Postal Service explains that if the Commission were to approve
Proposals Two-A and Two-B as a package, current total ODIS-RPW tests
would be reduced by 10 percent and another 10 percent would be
reallocated to study the alternative. If the Commission were to approve
only Proposal Two-B, total tests would not be reduced, but 10 percent
would be reallocated to studying the alternative. Petition at 1-4. If
the Commission were to decline to approve either, ODIS-RPW data would
continue to be collected at the current sample size.
The attachments to the Postal Service's petition explain its
proposals in more detail, including their backgrounds, objectives, and
rationale.
It is ordered:
1. The Petition of the United States Postal Service Requesting
Initiation of a Proceeding to Consider Proposed Changes in Analytic
Principles (Proposal Two), filed June 25, 2010, is granted.
2. The Commission establishes Docket No. RM2010-10 to consider the
matters raised by the Postal Service's Petition.
3. Interested persons may submit comments on or before August 16,
2010.
4. Pursuant to 39 U.S.C. 505, Diane Monaco is designated to serve
as the Public Representative to represent the interests of the general
public in this proceeding.
5. The Secretary shall arrange for publication of this notice in
the Federal Register.
By the Commission.
Shoshana M. Grove,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2010-16531 Filed 7-7-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-FW-S