Domestic Mail Manual: Plant Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS) mailings; loading requirements,

[Federal Register: December 23, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 246)]

[Proposed Rules]

[Page 72044-72045]

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

[DOCID:fr23de99-20]

POSTAL SERVICE

39 CFR Part 111

Loading Requirements for PVDS Mailings

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

SUMMARY: The Postal Service is seeking comments on a proposed revision to the Domestic Mail Manual to require that if Periodicals mail is on the same vehicle as Standard Mail prepared for Plant Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS), then the Periodicals mail must be loaded toward the tail of the vehicle so that, for each destination entry, Periodicals mail can be offloaded first.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before January 24, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be mailed or delivered to the Manager, Mail Preparation and Standards, U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 6800, Washington DC 20260-2405. Copies of all written comments will be available for inspection and photocopying at USPS Headquarters Library, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, 11th Floor N, Washington DC 20260-1540 between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday. Photocopies cost $0.15 per page.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lynn Martin, (202) 268-6351 or Anne Emmerth, (202) 268-2363.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Postal Service has been working closely with the National Mailers Technical Advisory Committee (MTAC) Periodicals Service Improvement Team to resolve service issues related to the processing and delivery of Periodicals mail. One item discussed in these meetings was the proper positioning of Periodicals mail in vehicles when it is part of a mixed load (i.e., loaded in the same vehicle as Standard Mail) for destination entry. For service reasons, the Postal Service generally handles Periodicals mail before Standard Mail. Some members of the National Periodicals Service Improvement Team were in favor of adding a requirement mandating that, for vehicles containing both Standard Mail and Periodicals mail prepared for destination entry, the Periodicals mail be loaded toward the tail of the vehicle to allow the Periodicals mail to be offloaded first. This could improve service and also allow the Postal Service to more readily track the arrival and unloading of the Periodicals mail. This issue was also recently discussed at a Periodicals Advisory Group (PAG) meeting, which consisted of both publishers and printers. The PAG also voiced a majority opinion in support of a policy that would require such loading of vehicles containing both Periodicals and Standard Mail.

In view of the support expressed by a number of Periodicals publishers and printers, the Postal Service is hereby soliciting comments on a proposed Domestic Mail Manual revision for PVDS mail to require that if Periodicals mail is on the same vehicle as Standard Mail, then the Periodicals mail must be loaded toward the tail of the vehicle so

[[Page 72045]]

that, for each destination entry, Periodicals mail can be offloaded first.

Although exempt from the notice and comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b), (c)) regarding proposed rulemaking by 39 U.S.C. 410(a), the Postal Service invites comments on the following revisions of the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM), incorporated by reference in the Code of Federal Regulations. See 39 CFR part 111.

List of Subjects in 39 CFR Part 111

Administrative practice and procedure, Postal Service.

PART 111--[AMENDED]

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

   Authority: 5 U.S.C. 552(a); 39 U.S.C. 101, 401, 403, 404, 414, 3001-3011, 3201-3219, 3403-3406, 3621, 3626, 5001.

2. Amend the following sections of the Domestic Mail Manual (DMM) as set forth below:

   Domestic Mail Manual (DMM)

   E Eligibility

   * * * * *

   E600 Standard Mail

   * * * * *

   E651 Regular, Nonprofit, and Enhanced Carrier Route Standard Mail

   * * * * * 2.0 VERIFICATION * * * * *

   2.2 Mail Separation and Presentation

   [Revise item 2.2c to read as follows:]

   3. For destination entry of PVDS mail, if Periodicals mail is on the same vehicle as Standard Mail (A), then the Periodicals mail must be loaded toward the tail of the vehicle so that, for each destination entry, Periodicals mail can be offloaded first. * * * * *

      E652 Parcel Post

      * * * * * 4.0 DEPOSIT * * * * *

      4.2 Mail Separation and Presentation

      [Revise item 4.2e to read as follows:]

   5. For destination entry of PVDS mail, if Periodicals mail is on the same vehicle as Parcel Post, then the Periodicals mail must be loaded toward the tail of the vehicle so that, for each destination entry, Periodicals mail can be offloaded first. * * * * *

      P750 Plant-Verified Drop Shipment (PVDS)

      * * * * * 2.0 PROGRAM PARTICIPATION * * * * *

      [Amend 2.12 to add the following as the next to last sentence:]

      2.12 Mailer Transport of PVDS

      * * * If Periodicals mail is on the same vehicle as Standard Mail, then the Periodicals mail must be loaded toward the tail of the vehicle so that, for each destination entry, Periodicals mail can be offloaded first. * * *

      [Amend 2.13 to add the following as the last sentence:]

      2.13 Separation of PVDS Mailings

      * * * If Periodicals mail is on the same vehicle as Standard Mail, then the Periodicals mail must be loaded toward the tail of the vehicle so that, for each destination entry, Periodicals mail can be offloaded first.

      An appropriate amendment to 39 CFR 111.3 will be published to reflect these changes if the proposal is adopted. Stanley F. Mires, Chief Counsel, Legislative.

      [FR Doc. 99-33339Filed12-22-99; 8:45 am]

      BILLING CODE 7710-12-P