United States Postal Service® policy requires compliance with all applicable local, state, and federal environmental regulations, and full cooperation with environmental regulators.
The site installation head must immediately report inquiries, visits, and site inspections by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), or any state or local environmental regulatory agency, to the appropriate USPS® regional manager, Environmental Compliance and Sustainability.
In addition, the installation head, or his or her designee, must follow the guidelines in Standard Operating Procedure for Environmental Agency Inspections and Site Visits to ensure appropriate support and facility compliance during environmental agency inspections at Postal Service™ facilities. The Standard Operating Procedure is available at blue.usps.gov/sustainability/environmental/facility-inspection.htm.
Note: In recent months, regulatory agencies are contacting sites directly via phone and email requesting environmental management records and performing virtual inspections. The site installation head must report any such virtual inquiry in the same manner as an in-person inspection.
A notice of violation (NOV) or similarly entitled notice can be issued to the Postal Service for failure to comply with an environmental regulation in the form of:
n A warning letter,
n Request for information,
n Request to show cause, or
n A notice of non-compliance.
Notices, issued from the EPA or a state or local agency, may occur as the result of a regulator site visit or inspection.
After becoming aware of an NOV or similarly entitled notice, the site installation head (or the Facilities project manager, if applicable) must immediately notify the appropriate regional manager, Environmental Compliance and Sustainability, and send an electronic copy of the notice. Reporting NOVs and similarly entitled notices ensures a timely and necessary response to critical items or anything that must be referred to the USPS Law Department.
The Office of Sustainability has a team of internal environmental compliance professionals available to assist sites by interacting with regulators, developing corrective action plans, and providing compliance solutions.
Timely reporting of environmental agency inquiries, site visits, and notices can minimize operational and financial issues for the Postal Service. Report an environmental regulatory agency inquiry, visit, or NOV (or similarly entitled notice) by sending an email to the appropriate regional manager, Environmental Compliance and Sustainability.
The regional manager will then assign a Postal Service environmental specialist to assist you:
n For facilities located within the Logistics and Processing Operations eastern region, contact Nicholas DeCarlo at nicholas.decarlo@usps.gov.
n For facilities located within the Logistics and Processing Operations western region, contact Judy Wingo-Stalinger at judy.wingo-stalinger@usps.gov.
— Environmental Compliance and Risk Management,
Office of Sustainability, 3-11-21
