NGDV SEIS Scoping Public Hearing #1

Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement Scoping Public Hearing

Virtual Public Hearing Open for Registration

The United States Postal Service will host a virtual public hearing regarding intent to prepare a supplement to the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles Acquisitions Final Environmental Impact Statement.

When:
August 8, 2022
7:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. Eastern

Where:
Zoom
Registration is required at the following link:
This link is no longer available.

NOTE: If you registered for the Public Hearing prior to it being postponed, your registration is still active for the revised date.
This hearing will be limited to the first 10,000 attendees, and registration is required to receive the link to the Zoom meeting. Upon registration, participants will receive a confirmation email with meeting access information.

Agenda:
The Postal Service will provide a presentation at 7:00 p.m., followed by the opportunity for participants to provide comments at two minutes per speaker. The presentation will be repeated at 8:30 p.m. followed by an additional comment period, also allowing two minutes per speaker. Comments may also be typed into the meeting chat. The meeting and all written and verbal comments will be recorded. All comments will be addressed in the Draft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS).

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July 20, 2022

Notice To Postpone Public Hearing and Extend Public Comment Period for Supplement to the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles Acquisitions Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice.

On June 10, 2022, the Postal Service published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to analyze potential environmental impacts of a proposed change to the Preferred Alternative for its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) Acquisitions, which was adopted in the Record of Decision (ROD) on February 23, 2022. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the NGDV Acquisitions was published on January 7, 2022, pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), its implementing regulations at 39 CFR part 775, and the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations at 40 CFR part 1500.

The FEIS analyzed potential environmental impacts of several alternatives that the Postal Service developed and considered for replacing end-of-life and high-maintenance delivery long-life vehicles (LLVs) and flexible fuel vehicles (FFVs) with new vehicles that have more energy-efficient powertrains, updated technology, reduced emissions, increased cargo capacity and improved loading characteristics, improved ergonomics and carrier safety, and reduced maintenance costs. Under the selected Preferred Alternative, the Postal Service would purchase and deploy 50,000 to 165,000 NGDVs, at least 10 percent of the NGDVs would have battery electric vehicle (BEV) powertrains, and the Postal Service would have the flexibility to acquire significantly more BEV NGDVs should funding become available. On March 24, 2022, in accordance with the ROD, the Postal Service placed an order for 50,000 NGDVs, of which 10,019 are BEVs.

The NOI for the SEIS announced that network refinements and route optimization efforts could impact the makeup of the Postal Service's future delivery fleet—including vehicles purchased pursuant to the NGDV Acquisition—and that the SEIS would analyze the potential environmental impacts of those potential changes. Specifically, the Postal Service announced that it would consider the impacts of proposed route changes that may warrant an increase in the minimum number of BEV NGDVs to be procured to replace LLVs and FFVs. The Postal Service included in the NOI for the SEIS a notice for a virtual public hearing to be conducted on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at 7:00 p.m. (ET).

The Postal Service now announces our intention to postpone that virtual public hearing to the new date of Monday, August 8, 2022, at 7 p.m. (ET). Registration information is available at the following website: http://uspsngdveis.com/​. Accordingly, the public comment period for the Notice of Intent will also be extended until August 15, 2022.

The reason for the public hearing postponement and public comment extension is to inform the public and solicit comments regarding the Postal Service's adjustment to the scope of the SEIS. As the Postal Service has determined that there is a compelling need to redesign our operating model in order to substantially reduce operating costs, significantly improve service, and enable exponential growth in our package delivery business, the SEIS scope is being adjusted to analyze potential environmental impacts from these recent changes that will affect our delivery procurement strategy and require two modifications to our Preferred Alternative for replacing LLVs and FFVs with new vehicles.

First, the Postal Service proposes to modify its Preferred Alternative to the purchase and deployment of only 50,000 NGDVs consisting of a mix of ICE and BEV powertrains with what we anticipate will be a significantly higher percentage of BEVs, and certainly not less than 50 percent. This significant increase that we anticipate in the minimum percentage of BEV NGDVs reflects the favorable cost benefit impacts expected from the changes to both our operational strategy and our acquisition planning horizon that are discussed below.

Any purchase of NGDVs above the 50,000 (or the purchase of any other purpose-built vehicles) would be subject to future supplements to the FEIS, given the likelihood of advances in technology, changes to the cost profile and market availability of current and future technology, and further improvements and refinements in the operational strategy of the Postal Service.

Second, in response to our critical need to accelerate the replacement of aged and high-maintenance LLVs and FFVs in the near term, thereby reducing the significant operational risks, adverse environmental impacts, and considerable costs associated with extending their lives, and to be more responsive to dynamic market conditions, the Postal Service proposes to procure within a two-year period: (1) up to 20,000 left-hand drive Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) vehicles, including as many BEVs as are commercially available and consistent with our delivery profile; and (2) up to 14,500 right-hand drive ICE COTS vehicles. To be clear, the Postal Service anticipates that because of our critical and immediate need for delivery vehicles to fulfill our universal service mission, and the limitations on the current market availability for BEVs that can support our daily requirement to deliver to 163 million addresses six (and sometimes seven) days per week, it will be necessary for us to procure some ICE vehicles. In parallel, we will also need to make significant investment in the repair of over 50,000 aging LLVs and FFVs each year to continue extending their useful life, despite the significant operational risk, considerable maintenance costs, and the higher emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants when compared to more modern vehicles. This activity will be necessary because of our universal service mission and our inability to acquire sufficient quantities of modern vehicles in the current market (irrespective of the type of drive train) to replace our delivery fleet.

If adopted, these measures would significantly modify the Postal Service's Preferred Alternative for replacing LLVs and FFVs with new vehicles. The SEIS is intended to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of the current procurement of 50,000 NGDVs and procuring the additional 34,500 COTS vehicles. It is the Postal Service's expectation that the total quantity of NGDVs and COTS vehicles to be procured in the SEIS's Preferred Alternative will be at least 40 percent BEV.

Over the next ten to fifteen years, the Postal Service intends to pursue a multiple step acquisition process in our longer term efforts to fully replace our aging delivery fleet, and in that regard anticipates evaluating and procuring smaller quantities of vehicles over shorter time periods than the ten-year period analyzed in the FEIS in order to be more responsive to our evolving operational strategy, technology improvements, and changing market conditions, including the expected increased availability of BEV options in the future. Additional vehicle procurements beyond the procurements being analyzed in this Supplement would be assessed in subsequent supplements to the FEIS, on an as-needed basis, taking advantage of the then-current market and operational conditions.

The change to our delivery procurement strategy is being made in response to substantial delivery network and route optimization improvements to the postal delivery network. As such, the SEIS will analyze the potential environmental impacts to the delivery fleet from the new Preferred Alternative, including the extent to which we expect the network improvements, changed route length and characteristics, and improved facility electric infrastructure will result in a significant increase in the minimum number of BEV NGDVs and COTS to be procured under the SEIS Preferred Alternative.

The Postal Service actively seeks input from the public, interested persons, organizations, and federal, state, and regional agencies to identify environmental concerns and potential alternatives to be addressed in the SEIS and will continue to accept public comments until August 15, 2022. With respect to recommendations regarding potential alternatives, the Postal Service requests that comments be as specific as possible regarding vehicle type, model, and manufacturer so that the Postal Service might fully consider the alternative in terms of pricing, operational capabilities, and market availability.

Comments should be received no later than August 15, 2022. The Postal Service will also publish a Notice of Availability to announce the availability of the Draft SEIS and solicit comments on the Draft SEIS during a second 45-day public comment period.

Interested parties may direct comments and questions to: Mr. Davon Collins, Environmental Counsel, United States Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Office 6606, Washington, DC 20260-6201, or at NEPA@usps.gov. Note that comments sent by mail may be subject to delay due to federal security screening. Faxed comments are not accepted. All submitted comments and attachments are part of the public record and subject to disclosure. Do not enclose any material in your comments that you consider to be confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.

The Postal Service will also conduct a virtual public hearing on Monday, August 8, 2022, at 7 p.m. (ET).

REFERENCES:

  1. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, 86 FR 12715 (Mar. 4, 2021).
  2. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, 86 FR 47662 (Aug. 26, 2021).
  3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Notice of Availability of EIS No. 20210129, Draft, USPS, DC, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions, 86 FR 49531 (Sept. 3, 2021).
  4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Notice of Availability of EIS No. 20220001, Final, USPS, DC, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions, 87 FR 964 (Jan. 7, 2022).
  5. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, 87 FR 994 (Jan. 7, 2022).
  6. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Record of Decision, 87 FR 14588 (Mar 15, 2022).
  7. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions Final Environmental Impact Statement, 87 FR 35581 (June 10, 2022).

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June 10, 2022

Notice of Intent to Prepare a Supplement to the Next Generation Delivery Vehicles Acquisitions Final Environmental Impact Statement

AGENCY: Postal Service.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: On January 7, 2022, the Postal Service published a Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) pursuant to the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), its implementing regulations, and the President’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for its Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (NGDV) Acquisitions. On February 23, 2022, the Postal Service issued its Record of Decision, determining that it would implement the NGDV FEIS’s Preferred Alternative to purchase and deploy over a ten-year period 50,000 to 165,000 purpose-built, right-hand drive NGDV consisting of a mix of internal combustion engine (ICE) and battery electric vehicle (BEV) powertrains, with at least ten percent BEVs. On March 24, 2022, in accordance with that decision, the Postal Service placed an order for 50,000 NGDV, of which 10,019 are BEV.

The Postal Service now announces its intention to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) to address the three considerations that have developed since the NGDV FEIS and Record of Decision.

DATES: Comments should be received no later than Monday, July 25, 2022 (07/25/2022). The Postal Service will also publish a Notice of Availability to announce the availability of the Draft SEIS and solicit comments on the Draft SEIS during a second 45-day public comment period. This Notice is scheduled to be published in the Federal Register on 06/10/2022 and available online at federalregister.gov/d/2022-12581, and on govinfo.gov.

The Postal Service will also conduct a virtual public hearing on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, at 7 p.m. (ET). Registration information will be made available 15 days prior to the hearing date on this website (http://uspsngdveis.com/).

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may direct comments and questions to: Mr. Davon Collins, Environmental Counsel, United States Postal Service, 475 L’Enfant Plaza SW, Office 6606, Washington, D.C. 20260-6201, or at NEPA@usps.gov. Note that comments sent by mail may be subject to delay due to federal security screening. Faxed comments are not accepted. All submitted comments and attachments are part of the public record and subject to disclosure. Do not enclose any material in your comments that you consider to be confidential or inappropriate for public disclosure.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The three considerations that have developed since the NGDV FEIS and Record of Decision are as follows:

First, in response to potential delivery network refinements and route optimization efforts being considered for the postal delivery network, the SEIS would analyze the potential impacts to the delivery fleet from such changes, including whether the changed route length and characteristics warrant an increase in the minimum number of BEV NGDVs to be procured under the Proposed Action set forth in the FEIS.

Second, in response to its need to accelerate the replacement of aged and highmaintenance Long Life Vehicles (LLV) and Flexible Fuel Vehicles (FFV) in furtherance of its Universal Service Obligation, the Postal Service intends to analyze the potential impacts of replacing the remainder of its LLV/FFV fleet with a combination of NGDV and Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) vehicles. The Postal Service anticipates that the SEIS Proposed Action will propose acquiring up to 37,000 left-hand drive COTS with ICE and BEV powertrains, which would be deployed on routes with fewer than 21 curb-line delivery points.

Third, as the NGDV FEIS only assessed the environmental impacts from a replacement of the Postal Service’s LLV and FFVs, the SEIS would also assess the potential impacts from replacing other aged and high-maintenance non-LLV/FFV postal delivery vehicles. This analysis would include consideration of the acquisition of: (1) up to 60,000 right-hand drive non-NGDV purpose-built vehicles with ICE and BEV powertrains to place on routes currently utilizing personally owned vehicles (POVs), for rural route growth, and for routes that require a vehicle less than 111 inches tall; and (2) the acquisition of up to 26,000 lefthand drive COTS with ICE and BEV powertrains to replace existing COTS delivery vehicles that will reach the end of their service lives within the next ten years.

The Postal Service actively seeks input from the public, interested persons, organizations, and Federal, state, and regional agencies to identify environmental concerns and potential alternatives to be addressed in the SEIS and will accept public comments for a 45-day period, concluding on Monday, July 25, 2022 (07/25/2022). With respect to recommendations regarding potential alternatives, the Postal Service requests that comments be as specific as possible regarding vehicle type, model and manufacturer so that the Postal Service might fully consider the alternative in terms of pricing, operational capabilities, and market availability.

REFERENCES:

  1. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, 86 FR 12715 (Mar. 4, 2021).
  2. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicle, 86 FR 47662 (Aug. 26, 2021).
  3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Notice of Availability of EIS No. 20210129, Draft, USPS, DC, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions, 86 FR 49531 (Sept. 3, 2021).
  4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Notice of Availability of EIS No. 20220001, Final, USPS, DC, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions, 87 FR 964 (Jan. 7, 2022).
  5. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, 87 FR 994 (Jan. 7, 2022).
  6. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Record of Decision, 87 FR 14588 (Mar 15, 2022).


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US POSTAL SERVICE

Notice of Availability of Record of Decision for Next Generation Delivery Vehicles Acquisitions

AGENCY: U.S. Postal Service.

ACTION: Record of Decision.

To replace existing delivery vehicles nationwide that have reached the end of their service life, the U.S. Postal Service (“Postal Service”) has determined that it will implement the Preferred Alternative, as described in the Next Generation Delivery Vehicle (“NGDV”) Acquisitions Final Environmental Impact Statement (“FEIS”), which was published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in the Federal Register on January 7, 2022 (87 FR 964). The Preferred Alternative is the purchase and deployment over a ten-year period of 50,000 to 165,000 purpose-built, right-hand drive NGDV consisting of a mix of internal combustion engine (“ICE”) and battery electric vehicle (“BEV”) powertrains, with at least ten percent BEVs.

The Postal Service has decided on the Preferred Action because it fully meets the Postal Service’s Purpose and Need by providing a purpose-built right-hand drive vehicle capable of meeting performance, safety, and ergonomic requirements for efficient carrier deliveries to businesses and curb-line residential mailboxes over the entire nationwide system. Moreover, the Postal Service has determined that the Preferred Alternative is the most achievable given the Postal Service’s financial condition as the BEV NGDV has a significantly higher total cost of ownership than the ICE NGDV, which is why the Preferred Alternative being implemented does not commit to more than 10 percent BEV NGDV. Finally, the Postal Service notes that the Preferred Alternative as implemented contains the flexibility to significantly increase the percentage of BEV NGDV should additional funding become available from any source.

The Record of Decision was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Postal Service’s implementing procedures at 39 CFR Part 775, and the President’s Council on Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508). The ROD incorporates the analyses and findings from the FEIS.

DATES: The ROD became effective when it was signed by the Postal Service’s Vice President of Supply Management on February 23, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested parties may click this link to view the Record of Decision.

REFERENCES:

  1. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, 86 FR 12715 (Mar. 4, 2021).
  2. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, 86 FR 47662 (Aug. 26, 2021).
  3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Notice of Availability of EIS No. 20210129, Draft, USPS, DC, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions, 86 FR 49531 (Sept. 3, 2021).
  4. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Notice of Availability of EIS No. 20220001, Final, USPS, DC, Next Generation Delivery Vehicle Acquisitions, 87 FR 964 (Jan. 7, 2022).
  5. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Final Environmental Impact Statement for Purchase of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles, 87 FR 994 (Jan. 7, 2022).
  6. U.S. Postal Service, Notice of Availability of Record of Decision of Next Generation Delivery Vehicles Acquisitions, 87 FR 14588 (Mar. 15, 2022).