Postal Service June 2010 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Postal Service published in the Federal Register of June 22, 2010, a final rule pertaining to the international mailing of inbound and outbound tobacco cigarettes and smokeless tobacco with an incorrect effective date. This document corrects that effective date.

The Postal Service is revising the Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, International Mail Manual (IMM[supreg]) 136.4, pertaining to the mailing of tobacco cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. These provisions implement specific requirements of the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act, which restricts the mailability of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco.

To comply with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Postal Service intends to prepare a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA) for the use of mobile fueling contractors to fuel postal vehicles on-site at selected Postal Service facilities located throughout the United States. This PEA will evaluate the environmental impacts of the proposed action versus taking no action.

The Postal Service is proposing to revise Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]) 705 and 707 to require mail owners participating in a comailing or copalletization process for letters or flats to provide electronic documentation, through an approved method, to support their contributed mailpieces. The Postal Service also proposes to require comail and copalletization mailers to submit electronic documentation to the USPS[supreg] by an approved method.

The Postal Service is revising Mailing Standards of the United States Postal Service, Domestic Mail Manual (DMM[supreg]) 705.15. 2.14 to clarify that PS Form 8125, Plant-Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS) Verification and Clearance, is the sole source of evidence for USPS[supreg] purposes of the transfer of the custody of pieces entered as a mailing at the time of induction; to clarify that Postal employees may, upon request, sign additional nonpostal documents when presented by transportation providers; and to require segregation of documentation presented at the time of induction.

In this proposed rule, the Postal Service proposes to amend regulations on Authorization to Manufacture and Distribute Postage Evidencing Systems. This proposed revision clarifies the requirement for examination by an independent audit firm of a Postage Evidencing System Provider's Computerized Meter Resetting System (CMRS) or PC Postage[supreg] system internal controls.