[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 34 (Friday, February 20, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 9190-9194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03238]
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POSTAL SERVICE
39 CFR Part 241
Relocating Retail Services; Adding New Retail Service Facilities
AGENCY: Postal ServiceTM.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This final rule revises the Postal Service's current
procedures concerning the expansion, relocation, and construction of
Post OfficesTM to clarify these procedures, and to require
the Postal Service to provide more information to communities and
elected officials about certain types of projects earlier in the
planning phase. Under the final rule, the Postal Service will notify
communities and officials, and solicit and consider their input,
regarding proposals to relocate retail services or add a new retail
service facility. The final rule also will require the Postal Service
to provide information about the anticipated new location for relocated
services or for a new retail service facility when the Postal Service
first gives notice of the proposal.
DATES: Effective date: March 23, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Hancock, Real Estate
Specialist, U.S. Postal Service[supreg], at [email protected]
or 919-420-5284.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On October 27, 2014, the Postal Service
published a proposed rule (79 FR 63880) to revise the Postal Service's
procedures concerning the expansion, relocation, and construction of
Post Offices to clarify those procedures, and to require the Postal
Service to provide more information to communities and elected
officials about certain types of projects earlier in the planning
phase. The proposed rule would require the Postal Service to notify
communities and officials, and solicit and consider their input,
regarding proposals to relocate retail services or add a new retail
service facility. As a significant change from the current rule, the
proposed rule would require the Postal Service to provide information
about the anticipated new location for relocated services or for a new
retail service facility when the Postal Service first gives notice of
the proposal. The Postal Service established a 30-day comment period
and invited comments on the proposed rule. The Postal Service received
five responses.
Comments and Response
Below is a summary of the comments, in order of the specific
sections of the proposed rule to which they relate.
General Comments; 241.4(a)
One respondent asserted that there is no substantive reason for
changing the current rule and that the Postal Service should retain the
current rule. The respondent suggested that defining ``customer service
facility'' is unnecessary.
We disagree with the comment. The Postal Service Office of
Inspector General (OIG) specifically recommended that the Postal
Service revise its regulations to enhance transparency and public
input. Based on past experience, we agreed with the OIG's
recommendation. The current rule does not define ``customer service
facility'' and as the Postal Service evolves to adapt to a fast
changing marketplace, providing definitions in the new rule will
clarify when the new rule applies.
Another respondent commented that the new rule should define
``relocation'' and the definition should state a maximum permitted
distance for relocating retail services.
We expect readers of the new rule will understand ``relocation'' to
have its ordinary dictionary meaning. We also disagree that the new
rule should include an arbitrary distance limitation because such a
limitation could prevent appropriately accounting for important
factors, such as the setting (urban, suburban, or rural), site
conditions (public transit availability, location on a one-way street,
etc.) and the proximity of other Postal Service retail locations.
Temporary, Emergency, and Provisional Relocations; 241.4(a)(2)
One respondent suggested that some causes of relocation added to
the ``emergency'' category in the proposed rule are inconsistent with a
definition of ``emergency'' as a sudden event requiring immediate
action. The respondent also expressed concern that expanding the
``emergency'' category increases the universe of relocations that can
occur without community input because the new rule, as proposed,
provided for the Postal Service to determine when it is prudent to
obtain community input on the long-term location after an emergency
relocation. The respondent questioned adding examples of relocations
arising from safety concerns without limiting those concerns to some
specified level of seriousness, and the respondent urged retaining a
180-day limit for both temporary and emergency relocations.
We appreciate the concerns raised in these comments. The current
rule lists ``lease termination'' as an example of an event that may
require an emergency relocation, but the current rule is silent on
lease expirations. Nor does the current rule recognize that some
lessors reserve a right during the lease term to require the Postal
Service to move to a different location, e.g., a substitute space in
the lessor's project. However, the Postal Service believes it is
prudent to provide in the final rule for soliciting and considering
community input regarding relocations arising from such events. While
these events may not be completely unexpected like other events listed
as ``emergencies'', their timing is not always predictable. The Postal
Service may not know when a lessor will exercise its right to terminate
a lease or its right to require the Postal Service to move to different
premises. Similarly, a lease may expire unexpectedly when the Postal
Service
[[Page 9191]]
had believed it would be renewed. Accordingly, the final rule retains
the ``temporary'' and ``emergency'' categories, but adds a third
category, ``provisional relocations,'' to include relocations made
necessary by lease terminations, expirations and lessor-required moves
to substitute locations, when the Postal Service has not undertaken the
community input process prior to the relocation. However, the final
rule requires the Postal Service to undertake the community input
process within 180 days following a provisional relocation.
We disagree with the portion of the comment concerning relocations
arising from safety concerns. Because a relocation is a significant
project, the Postal Service would not undertake a relocation without
good cause. We place great importance on the security of the mail and
the safety of our customers and personnel. We see no reason to identify
arbitrarily a threshold level of risk to persons or the mail.
With regard to applying a 180-day limitation on the duration of a
relocation, such a limitation is appropriate for temporary relocations
as described in the rule because temporary relocations can be expected
to require less than 180 days to fulfill their purposes. In contrast, a
180-day limitation would be arbitrary and imprudent for emergency
relocations because the required duration of emergency relocations is
not predictable, and the actual required duration may depend on the
severity of the event, such as an earthquake. With regard to
provisional relocations, the final rule adds a requirement to undertake
the community input process within 180 days, which allows time for the
Postal Service to tentatively identify potential permanent relocation
sites, but assures that provisional relocations will not become
permanent without undertaking the community input process.
Engaging Local Officials; 241.4(c)(1)
One respondent urged the Postal Service to revise the new rule to
require personal visits to local officials to discuss proposed
projects.
The new rule requires the Postal Service to provide local elected
officials with a written outline of the Postal Service's proposed
project and to offer to discuss the project with the officials. In the
Postal Service's experience, not all local officials welcome a personal
visit, and a personal visit is not always the best use of scarce
resources. Therefore, the new rule permits the Postal Service the
flexibility to personally visit officials or to discuss the same
information through other forms of communication.
Notifying the Community; 241.4(c)(2)
Another comment expressed concern that without a requirement for
the Postal Service to notify lessors when the Postal Service proposes
to relocate out of a leased facility, the new rule could deprive some
lessors of an opportunity for comment on the proposed relocation.
Under the proposed rule, lessors who reside in the community would
receive the same notice as the rest of the community, making a separate
notice unnecessary. However, the comment raises concern for lessors
that are located outside the community and lease a facility to the
Postal Service in the community. Those lessors may be unaware of a
notice and, therefore, miss an opportunity to comment. The Postal
Service values its business relations as well as its community
relations, so the final rule incorporates a requirement to notify
lessors, except when the lessor itself has terminated or declined to
renew a Postal Service lease and therefore is presumed to anticipate a
relocation.
One comment pertained to notifying customers in ``exceptional
circumstances,'' e.g., a sparsely populated area without a convenient
forum for a public meeting. The proposed rule would have included an
option for posting notice in the affected retail service facility in
lieu of the current rule's requirement to distribute notification cards
to customers. The comment expressed concern that some customers could
miss the notice.
While the proposed rule incorporated flexibility for notifications
in these exceptional circumstances, we agree that in sparsely populated
areas some customers may visit the affected retail service facility
only infrequently and miss the notice. Therefore, the final rule
requires the Postal Service to mail notice to customers in such
exceptional circumstances.
Presentations to Community; 241.4(c)(3)
One respondent agreed that the public will benefit from the new
rule's requirement for the Postal Service to include the proposed
relocation site in the information provided to a community about a
proposed relocation, but then asserted that the new rule is a step
backwards for community input because it requires the Postal Service to
advance the planning process to site selection before presenting the
relocation proposal to the community. This respondent also objected to
permitting the Postal Service to identify a relocation ``area'' and
asserted that the new rule will not change current Postal Service
practice.
We disagree with these comments. Some communities and elected
officials, as well as the Office of Inspector General, strongly
suggested that communities could not effectively provide input on a
proposed relocation decision without an understanding of the proposed
new location for the retail services. To address that concern, the new
rule requires the Postal Service to identify and discuss the proposed
new site(s) or area, or both, for the relocated retail services as part
of the discussion of the relocation proposal, which is a significant
change from current practice. Necessarily then, under the new rule the
Postal Service must tentatively identify a relocation site or area, or
both, before presenting the proposal to the community. However, the
requirement to identify a potential site and then obtain community
input before committing to that site can create a conundrum for the
Postal Service in some markets. For example, in some markets,
identifying only one proposed site during the community input process
could undercut the Postal Service's bargaining position with that
site's landlord, which could force the Postal Service to agree to an
unfairly high rent. As another example, in markets where landlords are
rapidly leasing the available spaces that are suitable for a retail
postal facility, a tentatively identified site may no longer be
available for lease at the conclusion of the community input process.
Accordingly, for proposed relocations and for additions of retail
service facilities, the new rule permits the Postal Service to identify
more than one site and/or area, which allows the Postal Service to
mitigate those identification risks, while also giving the community an
opportunity to voice its preference among the proposed sites or areas.
The Postal Service then would consider that community input before
selecting a specific location.
Considering Comments and Appeals; 241.4(c)(4)
One comment advocated extending the public comment period, noting
that 15 days is not enough time for a public comment period.
We agree that the current rule's 15-day comment period following
the public meeting is too brief. Therefore, the new rule provides a 30-
day period following the public meeting for the community and their
elected officials to appeal the Postal Service's tentative decision
proposing to relocate retail
[[Page 9192]]
services or add a retail service facility and to comment on the
proposal.
One respondent objected that the new rule calls for comments on
whether the Postal Service proposal is the optimal solution for the
``identified need,'' asserting that phrase likely means the Postal
Service's needs, not the ``global needs'' of the community or the need
for service furthering the ``broader public or common good.''
As set forth by Congress in 39 U.S.C. 101, 403 and 404(b), the
Postal Service's mission is to provide, on a self-sufficient basis
without tax support, universal postal services efficiently and
economically. The new rule will help focus comments, and the Postal
Service's consideration of the comments, on the matters that are
relevant to the Postal Service's mission.
Two comments sought a more elaborate appeal process, with one
suggesting the Postal Service create public project files to serve as
the basis for appeals and a second respondent arguing that the new rule
should require a review of the public's comments and appeals by someone
who had no prior involvement in the project and who is insulated from
career repercussions.
The purpose of the new rule is to incorporate consideration of
community input into Postal Service decisions to relocate retail
services or add a retail service facility, not to create an adversarial
process pitting community input against Postal Service objectives. The
final rule requires the Postal Service to present project information
to the community, its local elected officials, and when applicable, a
lessor, and solicit and consider their input. Such input presumably
will reflect the concerns important to those parties, but it cannot be
expected to reflect the operational and business factors the Postal
Service must also take into account. Ultimately, it is the Postal
Service that is responsible for fulfilling its statutory obligations to
provide efficient and economical universal postal services. The final
rule provides for the Postal Service to make an informed decision by
requiring consideration of community input.
Another comment argued that the new rule should give priority to
remaining at the same site or at least in the downtown area.
An arbitrary requirement to give priority to remaining at the same
site could thwart a project that would more efficiently and
economically provide services to the community. The new rule, like the
current rule, focuses on retail services in the community, not at a
particular site, in furtherance of the Postal Service's statutory
obligation to provide universal service efficiently and economically.
Effect on Other Obligations and Policies; 241.4(d)
One respondent urged the Postal Service to revise the new rule to
mirror the procedures under 39 U.S.C. 404(d) that apply to a Postal
Service decision to close or consolidate a Post Office. Specifically,
the respondent argued for adopting those same requirements for
notifying communities, for separate public meetings, and for public
comment periods. Another respondent suggested that the new definition,
``retail service facility,'' does not comport with 39 U.S.C. 404(d).
Another comment suggested the ``retail service facility'' definition
should expressly exclude consolidations of postal facilities.
This final rule pertains only to relocations of retail services and
additions of retail service facilities. It is separate from the rules
that apply to discontinuances of Post Offices, which can have a
significantly greater effect on a community. Accordingly, this final
rule, including its definitions, does not adopt the requirements for
discontinuances under 39 U.S.C. 404(d).
The new rule requires posting notice in the affected postal
facility and issuing a news release outlining the proposal to one or
more news media serving the community. In the case of a relocation,
posting notice in the affected postal facility should be sufficient in
most instances to alert the customers who visit the postal facility,
and they are the customers who likely would be most affected by the
relocation. In contrast, customers who use the USPS[supreg] Web site
may be unaffected by a relocation because the Web site offers all the
retail postal services they would purchase at a physical retail
location.
The new rule permits the Postal Service to present the proposal
either as part of the agenda of a scheduled community meeting, or at a
separate meeting scheduled by the Postal Service. Such flexibility is
appropriate to allow the Postal Service to accommodate local officials'
preference. Although in our experience presentations at regular
community meetings often are well attended, to further ensure community
members are aware of the presentation and have an opportunity for
input, the new rule bolsters notice and comment period requirements.
Where the current rule requires 7 days' advance notice of the meeting,
the new rule increases the requirement to 15 days' advance notice, to
be published in local news media and posted in the affected facility.
Where the current rule requires a 15-day public comment period
following the public meeting, the new rule requires a 30-day public
comments and appeals period.
Three respondents contended that the new rule should expressly
adopt a position that the National Historic Preservation Act requires
the Postal Service to engage in the Section 106 consultation process at
the time the Postal Service considers relocation.
The Postal Service highly values its historic properties and
follows the requirements of Sections 106, 110, and 111 of the National
Historic Preservation Act and its implementing regulations. As the new
rule states, those requirements are independent of the requirements set
forth in the rule for community input regarding relocations and adding
retail service facilities. Because the National Historic Preservation
Act and its implementing regulations sufficiently express their
requirements, there is no need to restate those requirements in the
final rule.
Summary
To continue operating on a self-funding basis without tax dollars
and to fulfill its statutory obligations, the Postal Service must make
efficient and economical use of its postal facilities. As a result, the
Postal Service will have an ongoing need to relocate retail services
and to add retail service facilities to account for factors such as
population shifts and growth, and a dynamic marketplace with changing
customer needs and evolving technologies and retail servicing options.
Accordingly, the Postal Service is publishing this final rule to
clarify the rule's application and procedures for relocating retail
services and adding retail service facilities. At the same time, this
final rule also responds to concerns that communities and their elected
officials should have information about the proposed new location for
relocated retail postal services in order to comment effectively on a
proposal to relocate those services. This final rule provides for
additional transparency, clarity, and opportunity for soliciting and
considering public input as the Postal Service pursues its mission to
efficiently and economically provide universal postal services to the
nation.
List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 241
Organization and functions (Government agencies), Retail service
facilities.
Accordingly, the Postal Service amends 39 CFR part 241 as set forth
below.
[[Page 9193]]
PART 241--ESTABLISHMENT CLASSIFICATION, AND DISCONTINUANCE
0
1. The authority citation for Part 241 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 410, 1001.
0
2. Revise Sec. 241.4 to read as follows:
Sec. 241.4 Relocating retail services; adding new retail service
facilities.
(a) Application. (1) Except as otherwise provided, this section
applies when the Postal Service makes a tentative decision to relocate
all retail services from a retail service facility to a separate
existing physical building, or to add a new retail service facility for
a community. As used in this section, ``retail services'' means the
single-piece mail services offered to individual members of the public
on a walk-in basis at a retail service facility, and a ``retail service
facility'' is a physical building where Postal Service employees
provide such retail services.
(2) The rules of this paragraph (a)(2) apply to temporary additions
of retail service facilities, temporary or emergency relocations of
retail services, and to provisional relocations of retail services.
(i) The Postal Service may implement temporary additions or
relocations without undertaking the process in paragraph (c) of this
section when necessary to support Postal Service business for holidays,
special events, or overflow business. Temporary additions and
relocations normally will be limited to 180 days in duration. Any
additional incremental time periods of up to 180 days each must be
approved by the vice president, Facilities or his designee.
(ii) The Postal Service may implement emergency relocations without
first undertaking the process in paragraph (c) of this section when the
Postal Service determines relocation is required to protect Postal
Service business due to events such as earthquakes, floods, fire,
potential or actual OSHA violations, safety factors, environmental
causes, other business disrupting events, or as necessary to protect
employees, customers, or the security of the mail. Following an
emergency relocation, as soon as the Postal Service determines it is
feasible to identify the long-term location for the retail services,
the Postal Service will make a tentative decision to remain in the
emergency relocation site on a long-term basis, to return to the
original retail service facility (if feasible), or to relocate to
another site. Unless the decision is to return to the original retail
service facility, the Postal Service then will follow the process in
paragraph (c) of this section with respect to collecting and
considering community input on a proposal to implement that decision.
(iii) The Postal Service may implement provisional relocations in
connection with lease terminations or expirations, or in connection
with a lessor exercising a right to require the Postal Service to move
to alternate premises, when the Postal Service has not already
undertaken the process in paragraph (c) of this section for such
relocations. Not later than 180 days following a provisional
relocation, the Postal Service will make a tentative decision to remain
in the provisional relocation site on a long-term basis or to relocate
to another site. After that decision, the Postal Service will follow
the process in paragraph (c) of this section with respect to collecting
and considering community input on a proposal to implement that
decision.
(3) This section applies to tentative decisions described in
paragraphs (a)(1) and (a)(2) made on or after March 23, 2015. The rules
under Sec. 241.4 in effect prior to that date shall apply to projects
described in paragraph (a) of this section undertaken prior to that
date.
(b) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide
opportunities for community members and their elected local officials
to appeal Postal Service tentative decisions described in paragraphs
(a)(1) and (a)(2) of this section and to give input on proposals for
implementing those decisions (each a ``proposal''), and to require the
Postal Service to consider any appeals and input in arriving at final
decisions to proceed with, modify, or cancel proposals.
(c) Collecting and considering community input. When the Postal
Service makes a tentative decision described in paragraphs (a)(1) and
(a)(2) of this section, a Postal Service representative will take the
following steps:
(1) Identify the community and engage local elected officials. The
Postal Service representative will identify the community the Postal
Service anticipates would be affected by implementing the proposal,
taking into account such factors as the Postal Service determines are
appropriate for the proposal. The Postal Service representative then
will deliver to one or more local elected public officials a written
outline of the proposal and offer to discuss the proposal with them.
The Postal Service representative may elect to conduct that discussion
either in person or using any other appropriate communication tool,
including electronic communications. If the officials accept the offer,
then the Postal Service representative will identify the need and
outline the proposal that is under consideration to meet it, explain
the process by which the Postal Service will solicit and consider input
from the affected community, and solicit input from the local officials
regarding the proposal.
(2) Notify the community and arrange for public presentation. The
Postal Service will send an initial news release outlining the proposal
to one or more news media serving the community and, if the community
has a retail service facility, then the Postal Service also will post a
copy of the information given to local officials or the news release in
the public lobby of that retail service facility. If the proposal
concerns relocating retail services from a leased facility, then, using
the most current notice address information in the Postal Service's
file for the site, the Postal Service will deliver to the lessor a copy
of the information given to local officials, provided, however, that no
such notice will be required when the lessor has terminated the Postal
Service's lease or has declined to renew the Postal Service lease on
terms acceptable to the Postal Service. Additionally, the Postal
Service representative will ask the local officials to place a Postal
Service presentation of the proposal on the regular agenda of the next
scheduled public meeting, or will schedule a separate Postal Service
public meeting concerning the proposal. At least 15 days prior to the
meeting, the Postal Service will advertise the date, time, and location
of the public meeting in a local news medium and, if the community has
an existing retail service facility, then the Postal Service also will
post in the public lobby of that retail service facility a notice of
the date, time, and location of the public meeting.
(3) Present the proposal to the community. At the public meeting,
the Postal Service will identify the need, e.g., to replace an expiring
lease or to serve a new population center; identify the tentative
decision, e.g., to relocate retail services or add a retail service
facility; outline the proposal to meet the need; invite questions;
solicit written input on the proposal; and provide an address to which
the community and local officials may send written appeals of the
tentative decision and comments on the proposal for a period of 30 days
following the public meeting. Under exceptional circumstances that
would prevent a Postal Service representative from attending or
conducting a public meeting to present the proposal within a reasonable
time, the Postal Service, in
[[Page 9194]]
lieu of a public meeting, will mail written notification of the
tentative decision and the proposal to customers within the community
and post a notice of the proposal in the retail service facility that
would be affected by the proposal, seeking their written input on the
proposal and providing an address to which the community and local
officials may send written appeals of the tentative decision and
comments on the proposal during the 30 days following that
notification. An example of exceptional circumstances would be a
proposal that would be implemented in a sparsely populated area remote
from the seat of local government or any forum where the public meeting
reasonably could be held.
(i)(A) If the proposal concerns relocation, then the Postal Service
will:
(1) Discuss the reasons for relocating;
(2) Identify the site or area, or both, to which the Postal Service
anticipates relocating the retail services; and
(3) Describe the anticipated size of the retail service facility
for the relocated retail services, and the anticipated services to be
offered at that site or in that area.
(B) The Postal Service may identify more than one potential
relocation site and/or area, for example, when the Postal Service has
not selected among competing sites.
(ii)(A) If the proposal concerns adding a new retail service
facility for a community, then the Postal Service will:
(1) Discuss the reasons for the addition;
(2) Identify the site or area, or both, to which the Postal Service
anticipates adding the retail service facility;
(3) Describe the anticipated size of the added retail service
facility, and the anticipated services to be offered; and
(4) Outline any anticipated construction (e.g., of a stand-alone
building or interior improvements to an existing building (or portion
thereof) that will be leased by the Postal Service).
(B) The Postal Service may identify more than one potential site
and/or area, for example, when the Postal Service has not selected yet
among competing sites.
(4) Consider comments and appeals. After the 30-day comment and
appeal period, the Postal Service will consider the comments and
appeals received that identify reasons why the Postal Service's
tentative decision and proposal (e.g., to relocate to the selected
site, or to add a new retail service facility) is, or is not, the
optimal solution for the identified need. Following that consideration,
the Postal Service will make a final decision to proceed with, modify,
or cancel the proposal. The Postal Service then will inform local
officials in writing of its final decision and send an initial news
release announcing the final decision to local news media. If the
community has a retail service facility, then the Postal Service also
will post a copy of the information given to local officials or the
news release in the public lobby of that retail service facility. The
Postal Service then will implement the final decision.
(5) Identify any new site or area. After the public meeting under
paragraph (c)(3) of this section, if the Postal Service decides to use
a site or area that it did not identify at the public meeting, and this
section applies with respect to that new site or area, then the Postal
Service will undertake the steps in paragraphs (c)(2) through (4) of
this section with regard to the new site or area.
(d) Effect on other obligations and policies. (1) Nothing in this
section shall add to, reduce, or otherwise modify the Postal Service's
legal obligations or policies for compliance with:
(i) Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, 16
U.S.C. 470, Executive Order 12072, and Executive Order 13006;
(ii) 39 U.S.C. 404(d) and 39 CFR 241.3; or
(iii) 39 U.S.C. 409(f);
(2) These are independent policies or obligations of the Postal
Service that are not dependent upon a relocation or addition of a
retail service facility.
Stanley F. Mires,
Attorney, Federal Requirements.
[FR Doc. 2015-03238 Filed 2-19-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P