UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE

CUSTOMER SERVICE STANDARDIZATION

WASHINGTON, DC 20260-6816

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39 CFR Part 241 )
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Proposed Amendments to )
Post Office Consolidation )
and Closing Process )
)
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COMMENTS OF THE UNITED STATES POSTAL REGULATORY COMMISSION

(May 2, 2011)

I. INTRODUCTION

The Postal Regulatory Commission submits these comments on the Postal

Service’s proposed changes to 39 CFR Part 241, which seek to alter postal regulations
“to improve the administration of the Post Office closing and consolidation process” as
well as apply “certain procedures employed for the discontinuance of Post Offices
to…the discontinuance of other types of retail facilities operated by Postal Service
employees.” 76 FR 17794, 17794 (March 31, 2011).
On March 28, 2011, the Postal Service transmitted a letter to the Postal
Regulatory Commission explaining the Postal Service’s proposed changes to 39 CFR
Part 241. 1 The letter noted that the Postal Service “welcomes any input from the

1
Letter from Mary Anne Gibbons to Stephen Sharfman dated March 28, 2011 regarding
proposed rulemaking with respect to 39 CFR Part 241.
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Commission that might further inform the Postal Service’s rulemaking.” Id. at 2. These
comments respond to that informal request.

II. PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS

At the outset, the Commission must emphasize that these comments should not
be taken as a pronouncement of official guidance under 39 U.S.C. 404(d), or as
precedent for a decision by the Commission on the merits of any potential future
adjudications of post office closing or consolidation appeals. 2 As it has in the past, the
Commission is prepared to continue hearing 39 U.S.C. 404(d) cases and deciding each
post office closing or consolidation appeal on its own merits based on the legal and
factual arguments raised by each party with respect to the particular facts and
circumstances of each appeal. These comments will not be prejudicial to any parties’
rights with respect to an actual case or controversy that may be brought before the
Commission for adjudication under 39 U.S.C. 404(d).
These comments also are not intended to be a comprehensive effort to address
every aspect of the Postal Service’s regulations with respect to closing or consolidating
postal retail facilities. 3 Rather, they are offered as part of a cooperative effort to
improve the Postal Service’s regulations on post office closing and consolidation
procedures.

2
Additionally, any comments that the Commission may provide to the Postal Service as a result
of this rulemaking should not be construed as guidance that may result from a proceeding under 39
U.S.C. 3661 related to potential future post office closings or consolidations on a nationwide or
substantially nationwide basis. Such a case, if one arises, will be resolved based on the record after an
opportunity for a hearing as required by 39 U.S.C. 3661.
3
For example, the Commission and the Postal Service disagree on the legal interpretation of
several statutory provisions related to the requirements for closing postal retail facilities. See, e.g.,
Docket No. A2010-3, In re East Elko Station, NV – Order Dismissing Appeal, June 22, 2010 (discussing
the Commission’s long-standing legal interpretation, in its capacity as the forum hearing post office
appeals, that postal stations and branches are post offices for purposes of 39 U.S.C. 404(d)). In that
case, the Postal Service’s legal arguments presented in this rulemaking were found unpersuasive by the
Commission.
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III. NOTIFICATION OF APPEAL RIGHTS

In the preamble to the proposed amendments to 39 CFR 241.3, the Postal

Service recognizes that “many customers expect the same discontinuance procedures
to apply for their local station as to the nearest independent Post Office.” 76 FR 17794,
17795 (March 31, 2011). Accordingly, the Postal Service decided, “[a]s a matter of
policy,…to propose the application of a single set of discontinuance procedures to
postal employee-operated retail facilities.” Id. The Commission believes that the Postal
Service’s goal to apply a single set of discontinuance procedures is appropriate.
However, the Postal Service’s execution of this goal is lacking in one very significant
way: the notification of an opportunity to appeal decisions to the Postal Regulatory
Commission.
The draft amendments do not provide for uniform procedures with respect to
notifying persons served by stations or branches of an opportunity to appeal closing or
consolidation decisions to the Postal Regulatory Commission. Without notification of an
opportunity to appeal closing or consolidation decisions to the Postal Regulatory
Commission, the Postal Service is not providing mail users with “a single set of
discontinuance procedures to postal employee-operated retail facilities.” Id.
The apparent rationale for not providing mail users with notification of an
opportunity to appeal closing or consolidation decisions to the Postal Regulatory
Commission is that, the Postal Service believes, 4 such action is not required by statute
and that the Postal Service “does not have the power to alter the scope of the
Commission’s statutory jurisdiction.” Id. at 17796.
However, the Postal Service itself notes that it may set up procedures that
provide its customers with greater rights than the bare minimum required by the statute.
It states that “[b]y proposing the application of uniform procedures to all Postal Service-
operated retail facilities, the Postal Service would exceed the procedural requirements

4
As noted above, the Commission does not share this view. The Commission has held that
section 404(d) applies to post offices, stations, and branches equally.
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of its operating statute in the interests of public transparency and participation.” Id. at
17795. To effectively meet these interests, the Commission recommends that the
Postal Service provide customers served by Postal Service operated retail facilities with
notification of an opportunity to appeal closing or consolidation decisions to the Postal
Regulatory Commission. This will ensure the level of transparency and participation
that the Postal Service seeks.
There is no statutory bar to allowing the Postal Service to voluntarily abide by the
Commission’s conclusions related to whether or not the Postal Service followed the
appropriate procedures under section 404(d) with respect to closing a particular Postal
Service operated retail facility. 5 Moreover, the availability of Commission review of
Postal Service closing and consolidation decisions for all Postal Service operated retail
facilities will provide an independent check and balance to ensure that the level of
transparency and participation that the Postal Service seeks is actually being
accomplished.
To remedy this problem, the Commission recommends that the Postal Service
alter its proposed regulations to include notification to persons served of an opportunity
to appeal closing or consolidation decisions of all Postal Service operated retail facilities
to the Postal Regulatory Commission. 6

IV. THE DISCONTINUANCE PROCESS

In Commission Docket No. N2009-1, the Postal Service requested, and the
Commission provided, an Advisory Opinion on implementing a system-wide initiative
with respect to its station and branch discontinuance process. The Commission made
many detailed recommendations to improve the Postal Service’s discontinuance

5
This is especially true since the Commission already believes that hearing such appeals is part
of its statutory mandate.
6
See 39 U.S.C. 404(d)(5); see also Postal Regulatory Commission Docket No. N2009-1,
Advisory Opinion Concerning the Process for Evaluating Closing Stations and Branches, March 10, 2010
at 61-66 (Advisory Opinion).
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process. All of the recommendations that the Commission made in that case are
applicable in this rulemaking and, as such, are hereby incorporated by reference.
Below, the Commission highlights certain recommendations from the Advisory Opinion
that are particularly important in this context.

A. Improvement in Customers’ Abilities to Offer Input

In its Advisory Opinion, the Commission made several recommendations

regarding the ability of customers to offer their input on discontinuance studies. It
appears that the Postal Service did not adopt many of the Commission’s
recommendations in that regard, as it is in many instances proposing to essentially
codify current Postal Service manuals and practice on the post office closing process. 7
The Commission renews its recommendations from its Advisory Opinion on improving
its customers’ abilities to offer input. Advisory Opinion at 35-41.
First, one of the Commission’s most significant recommendations is that actual
notice should be provided to individuals in the vicinity of a facility under consideration for
closure. The Postal Service’s current practice is to send questionnaires to P.O. Box
customers and carrier delivery customers of the affected facility. Id. at 50-51. However,
as the Commission previously noted, there are many retail facilities that do not provide
delivery services to customers in the vicinity of that location.
The proposed regulations do not appear to change current practice or place
sufficient emphasis on retail customers receiving actual notice of potential closings.
The Commission recommends that the Postal Service develop and incorporate a
statement of policy that it will take reasonable steps to provide actual notification to
retail customers. For a particular retail facility under consideration for discontinuance,
this could include, depending on the demographics and geographic area, sending notice
by mail to all nearby residents. Mail is a particularly appropriate medium for the Postal

7
See United States Postal Service Post Office Discontinuance Guide Handbook PO-101 (August
2004) (Handbook PO-101); Postal Operations Manual (December 18, 2008) at 11-22 (POM).
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Service to use, and it is likely to be far more effective in providing area residents notice
of a potential Postal Service action than a document posted on a facility bulletin board
or a newspaper advertisement. Recognizing that different demographics and
geographic areas may affect how the Postal Service will best be able to provide
customers with actual notice of a potential closing, the Commission recommends that
the Postal Service include a policy statement about its commitment to take reasonable
steps to ensure that customers receive actual notification of potential closures.
Such a policy statement should be included in 39 CFR 241.3 to ensure that the
public understands that it is Postal Service policy to take every reasonable step so that
mail users are provided with an opportunity to participate in the discontinuance study
process. Suggesting methods for providing notice in internal Postal Service documents
and manuals will not be as likely to assure that all customers will receive appropriate
notice. Retail facilities provide access to postal services as well as serve as a potential
node of delivery. The Postal Service should strive to give customers likely to use retail
postal facilities as a retail access point actual notification of potential closures of
facilities.
Second, the Postal Service should expand the methods available for providing
and receiving customer input. In its Advisory Opinion, the Commission recommended
that the Postal Service explore expanding avenues for obtaining customer views. Id. At
a minimum, the Postal Service should refer customers to generic comment forms
available online for printing, so that customers can develop thoughtful comments
without having to go to the specific facility to obtain comment forms.
The Commission recommends that the Postal Service include a policy statement
in proposed 39 CFR 241.3 about expanding the methods it uses to obtain customer
input so that the Postal Service will be able to receive and consider meaningful and
insightful comments from mail users. Such a policy statement will help ensure that
customers are provided with an opportunity to participate in the discontinuance study
process.
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Third, the Postal Service should expand the contents of its public notice to
include better information on alternatives for customers. The contents should include
information such as the distance to alternative facilities, the days of the week and daily
hours of alternate facilities, the location of alternate facilities at which P.O. boxes are
available, as well as a number to call for questions on curb-side deliveries. Id. at 53. A
discussion of alternate access channels and locally available privately operated facilities
where access to postal services can be obtained would also be helpful. This additional
information will allow customers a reasonable opportunity to weigh how their access to
postal services will change if the facility under consideration is closed. The Postal
Service should enunciate a policy to provide complete information on alternative access
in 39 CFR 241.3.

B. Improvement in the Analyses Used to Evaluate Potential Facility Closings

In its Advisory Opinion, the Commission found that the Postal Service should
improve the financial analysis it uses to estimate cost savings from the closing or
consolidation of a station or branch. Id. at 57-61. In particular, the Commission found
that the Postal Service’s current financial analysis methodology overstates the potential
cost savings. The Commission recommends that the Postal Service should develop a
better methodology which more accurately estimates the Postal Service’s costs and
cost savings from discontinuing Postal Service operated retail facilities. The Postal
Service should also develop a consistent methodology for evaluating the potential effect
of closing a facility on the community it serves.
The Commission recommends that the Postal Service develop detailed guidance
for the public on how its local managers will review and apply the “effect on community,”
“effect on employees,” “savings,” and “other factors” as part of its discontinuance study
process. See proposed 39 CFR 241.3(c)(4)(ii)-(v). The Postal Service should make
such guidance available to affected customers at the outset of this process.
The Postal Service may also develop more detailed guidance on how to obtain
relevant information and how to apply both qualitative and quantitative decision factors
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for dissemination to local managers responsible for evaluating this information and
developing proposals for submission to management. As the Commission discussed in
its Advisory Opinion, such guidance can reduce confusion and help ensure that local
managers provide consistent, well-reasoned decisions. Id. at 41-44.

C. Coordination of Discontinuance Process with Replacement Retail Service

It does not appear that the proposed regulations require the Postal Service to
coordinate discontinuance studies under proposed 39 CFR 241.3 with efforts to provide
replacement retail services. While the Postal Service practice has been to ensure that it
provides replacement delivery service in the event of the discontinuance of a postal
retail facility, under the current and proposed practice, actions to provide replacement
retail services appear to be separate and distinct decisions that are only made after a
particular facility is slated for closure. As part of its discontinuance process, the Postal
Service should coordinate discontinuance studies with an examination of the adequacy
of potential replacement access points, e.g., a contract postal unit, a community post
office, or locations offering stamps on consignment to ensure that citizens are not left
without adequate access to retail postal services. 8
The Commission recommends that the Postal Service consider the adequacy of
replacement retail service through other methods of alternative retail access when it is
evaluating closure of a retail facility. The Postal Service has an affirmative duty under
39 U.S.C. 403 to provide “ready access to essential postal services” as well as
“adequate and efficient postal services.” 9 This requires the Postal Service to consider—
before discontinuing retail access and service at a particular facility—that the closure of
a retail facility will not result in the loss of “ready access” and “adequate postal services”
to postal patrons. This cannot occur if all relevant circumstances such as replacement

8
The Postal Service should also coordinate discontinuances with other initiatives affecting
access. See Advisory Opinion at 67-68.
9
39 U.S.C. 403(a) (The Postal Service shall “plan, develop, promote, and provide adequate and
efficient postal services at fair and reasonable rates and fees.”) (Emphasis added); 39 U.S.C. 403(b).
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retail service are not taken into account. Accordingly, the Postal Service should
examine the availability of replacement retail access as part of its discontinuance study
requirements under proposed 39 CFR 241.3.

Respectfully submitted,

Ruth Ann Abrams

Acting Secretary
Postal Regulatory Commission

901 New York Avenue, N.W., Suite 200

Washington, DC 20268-0001
(202) 789-6800; Fax (202) 789-6891