[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 226 (Wednesday, November 24, 2010)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 71642-71643]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-29537]


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POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111


Group E Post Office Box Service

AGENCY: Postal Service\TM\.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Postal Service is revising the Mailing Standards of the 
United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[reg]) 508.4.6 
to clarify eligibility, to simplify the standards, and to facilitate 
uniform administration for Group E (free) Post Office\TM\ (PO) Box 
service.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before December 27, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Mail or deliver written comments to the Manager, Mailing 
Standards, U.S. Postal Service[supreg], 475 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Room 
4446, Washington DC 20260-4446. You may inspect and photocopy all 
written comments at USPS[supreg] Headquarters Library, 475 L'Enfant 
Plaza SW, 11th Floor N, Washington, DC between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., 
Monday through Friday. E-mail comments concerning the proposed box 
eligibility, containing the name and address of the commenter, may be 
sent to: [email protected], with a subject line of ``Group E PO 
Box comments.'' Faxed comments are not accepted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Laurence Welling at 202-268-7792 or 
Yvonne Gifford at 202-268-8082.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Group E PO Box\TM\ service is provided free, 
with restrictions, to customers whose physical addresses do not receive 
any form of USPS carrier delivery service.
    For this proposed rule, the Postal Service removes the descriptive 
term, ``business location'', in favor of the general term ``physical 
address''. The latter describes residential locations as well as 
business locations and no distinction between the two terms was 
intended.

[[Page 71643]]

    USPS further deletes the reference to ``out-of-bounds delivery 
receptacles'' in favor of language recognizing that Group E PO Box 
service is not available when a physical address receives any form of 
USPS carrier delivery. Confusion over the intent of the meaning of 
``out-of-bounds'' obscured the larger context wherein Group E service 
should never supplement a physical location's carrier delivery service. 
Clarifying the intent and eliminating this confusion may cause existing 
Group E customers to lose Group E eligibility for their physical 
addresses, while others whose physical locations the USPS chooses not 
to provide carrier service to may become eligible for Group E service.
    The Postal Service also revises DMM 508.4.6.3 to acknowledge 
carrier delivery service, once established to a particular physical 
address, eliminates Group E eligibility. Improved language in this 
section illustrates situations where no eligibility for Group E arises 
either because carrier delivery is available or because action (or 
inaction) by third parties precludes USPS from extending carrier 
delivery.
    Although we are exempt from the notice and comment requirements of 
the Administrative Procedure Act [5 U.S.C. of 553 (b), (c)] regarding 
proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), we invite public comments on 
the following proposed revisions to Mailing Standards of the United 
States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by 
reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR 111.1.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111

    Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.

    Accordingly, 39 CFR part 111 is proposed to be amended as follows:

 PART 111--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for 39 CFR part 111 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 552(a); 13 U.S.C. 301-307; 18 U.S.C. 1692-
1737; 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 414, 416, 3001-3011, 3201-3219, 
3403-3406, 3621, 3622, 3626, 3632, 3633, and 5001.

    2. Revise the following sections of Mailing Standards of the United 
States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) as follows:

Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail 
Manual (DMM)

* * * * *

500 Additional Mailing Services

* * * * *

508 Recipient Services

* * * * *

4.0 Post Office Box Service

* * * * *

4.6 Fee Group Assignments

* * * * *

[Revise title, introductory text and items 4.6.2a, b and c, and 
eliminate item d in its entirety as follows:]

4.6.2 Free PO Box Service (Group E)

    Customers may qualify for Group E (free) PO Box service at a Post 
Office location if their physical address location meets all of the 
following criteria:
    a. The physical address is within the geographic delivery ZIP Code 
boundaries administered by a Post Office.
    b. The physical address constitutes a potential carrier delivery 
point of service.
    c. USPS does not provide carrier delivery to a mail receptacle at 
or near that physical address for reasons other than the conditions in 
4.6.3b.

[Revise title and introductory text of 4.6.3 and add new items a 
through d as follows:]

4.6.3 Additional Standards for Free PO Box Service

    Only one Group E (free) PO Box may be obtained for each potential 
carrier delivery point of service, under the following conditions:
    a. Group E PO Box customers are assigned the smallest available box 
that reasonably accommodates their daily mail volume.
    b. Eligibility for Group E PO Boxes does not extend to:
    1. Individual tenants, contractors, employees, or other individuals 
receiving or eligible to receive single-point delivery to a location 
such as a hotel, college, military installation, campground, or 
transient trailer park.
    2. Locations served, or eligible to be served, by centralized 
delivery or grouped receptacles such as cluster box units, apartment 
style receptacles, mailrooms, or clusters of roadside receptacles.
    3. Locations where town ordinances, private roads, gated 
communities, unimproved or poorly maintained roadways, unsafe 
conditions, or other conditions preclude extension of carrier delivery.
    4. Locations served by a delivery receptacle that a customer 
chooses to locate along a carrier's line of travel, and to which the 
Postal Service makes delivery.
    c. A customer must pay the applicable fee for each PO Box requested 
in addition to the initial free Group E PO Box.
    d. The online application tools described in 4.3.1b cannot be used 
for free PO Box service.
* * * * *
    We will publish an appropriate amendment to 39 CFR part 111 to 
reflect these changes if our proposal is adopted.

Stanley F. Mires,
Chief Counsel, Legislative.
[FR Doc. 2010-29537 Filed 11-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7710-12-P