Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 29 / Monday, February 13, 1995 / Proposed Rules 8211

Dated: January 20, 1995.

M.K. Cain,

Captain, U.S. Coast Guard Commander, Fifth

Coast Guard District, Acting.

[FR Doc. 95–3545 Filed 2–10–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4910–14–M

POSTAL RATE COMMISSION

39 CFR Part 3001

[Docket No. RM95–3]

Appeals of Postal Service

Determinations to Close or

Consolidate Post Offices

AGENCY: Postal Rate Commission.

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.

SUMMARY: The Commission proposes to

amend its rules of practice governing

the filing of postal patrons’ appeals of

determinations by the United States

Postal Service to close or consolidate

the post office which serves them. The

Commission’s current rule requires that

petitions to initiate such appeals be

received by the Commission within 30

days of the date on which the Postal

Service made its determination publicly

available. The proposed rule would

allow affected postal patrons to initiate

a timely appeal by filing a petition

which either is received by the

Commission within 30 days of the date

on which the Postal Service made its

determination publicly available, or

bears a postmark or other indicia that it

was mailed no later than 30 days after

that date.

DATES: Comments responding to this

notice of proposed rulemaking must be

submitted no later than March 30, 1995.

ADDRESSES: Comments and

correspondence should be sent to

Margaret P. Crenshaw, Secretary of the

Commission, 1333 H Street, N.W., Suite

300, Washington, D.C. 20268–0001

(telephone: 202/789–6840).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Stephen L. Sharfman, Legal Advisor,

Postal Rate Commission, 1333 H Street,

N.W., Suite 300, Washington, D.C.

20268–0001 (telephone: 202/789–6820).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal

Reorganization Act Amendments of

1976, Pub. L. No. 94–421, 90 Stat. 1303,

provide postal patrons an opportunity to

appeal determinations by the United

States Postal Service to close or

consolidate the post office which serves

them. In pertinent part, the statute

provides: ‘‘A determination of the Postal

Service to close or consolidate any post

office may be appealed by any person

served by such office to the Postal Rate

Commission within 30 days after such

determination is made available to such

person * * *.’’ 39 U.S.C. 404(b)(5).

In adopting rules to implement the

provisions of Pub. L. 94–421, the Postal

Rate Commission incorporated the 30-

day provision in section 404(b)(5) as

follows:

Petition for review. Review of a

determination of the Postal Service to close

or consolidate a post office shall be obtained

by filing a petition for review with the

Secretary of this Commission. Such petition

must be received by the Commission within

30 days after the Service has made available

to persons served by that post office the

written determination to close or consolidate

required by 39 U.S.C. 404(b)(3) through (4).

39 CFR 3001.111(a). Thus, under the

Commission’s current rule, the

timeliness of affected postal patrons’

appeals depends upon the

Commission’s actual receipt of their

petition within the 30-day statutory

period.

The Commission is concerned that the

current rule may operate to the

detriment of postal patrons served by

post offices that are geographically

remote from the Commission’s offices in

Washington, D.C. Because of

uncertainties associated with postal

processing, transportation, and delivery,

a petition’s transit time from mailing by

the appellants to receipt at the

Commission’s offices cannot be known

in advance, but may constitute a

significant portion of the 30-day interval

established in the current rule. An

internal review of the Commission’s

records of section 404(b) appeals filed in

Fiscal Years 1993 and 1994 discloses

that the interval between the mailing of

a petition and its receipt by the

Commission has frequently approached,

and has sometimes exceeded, one week.

In order to assure that members of the

public affected by Postal Service

determinations to close or consolidate

post offices are afforded the full 30 days

to pursue an appeal provided by 39

U.S.C. 404(b)(5), the Commission

proposes to amend its current rule to

incorporate two alternative measures of

the timeliness of petitions. Under the

proposed revision of 39 CFR

3001.111(a), a petition would be

deemed timely if: (1) The Commission

actually received it no later than 30 days

following publication of the Postal

Service’s determination, or (2) the

petition bears a postmark or other

indicia demonstrating that it was mailed

no later than 30 days after publication

by the Postal Service.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 3001

Administrative practices and

procedure, Postal Service.

Accordingly, 39 CFR part 3001 is

proposed to be amended as follows:

PART 3001—RULES OF PRACTICE

AND PROCEDURE

1. The authority citation for 39 CFR

Part 3001 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 39 U.S.C. 404(b), 3603, 3622–

3624, 3661, 3662, 84 Stat. 759–762, 764, 90

Stat. 1303; (5 U.S.C. 553), 80 Stat. 383.

2. Section 3001.111(a) would be

revised to read as follows:

§ 3001.111 Initiation of review

proceedings.

(a) Petition for review. (1) Review of

a determination of the Postal Service to

close or consolidate a post office shall

be obtained by filing a petition for

review with the Secretary of this

Commission. Such petition must either:

(i) Be received by the Commission

within 30 days after the Service has

made available to persons served by that

post office the written determination to

close or consolidate required by 39

U.S.C. 404(b) (3) through (4), or

(ii) Bear a postmark or other indicia

demonstrating that the petition was

mailed no later than the 30th day

following the date on which the Postal

Service made its written determination

available.

(2) The petition shall specify the

parties seeking review, all of whom

must be persons served by the post

office proposed to be closed or

consolidated and shall identify the

Postal Service as respondent. The

Commission encourages parties seeking

review to attach a copy of the Postal

Service written determination, as the

appeal process is thereby expedited. If

two or more persons are entitled to

petition for review of the same

determination and their interests are

such as to make joinder practicable,

they may file a joint petition for review

and may thereafter proceed as a single

petitioner.

* * * * *

Issued by the Commission on February 7,

1995.

Margaret P. Crenshaw,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 95–3457 Filed 2–10–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 7710–FW–P