WASHOE COUNTY, Nev. – The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) has moved to implement a plan to move the mail processing operations in Reno to West Sacramento, affecting South Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Reno, and the region.
On May 28, the Washoe County District Attorney’s Office filed a lawsuit on behalf of Washoe County against USFS after the county commissioners authorized them. The lawsuit seeks to stop the USPS from implementing its plan to move processing operations from Reno to Sacramento as part of a larger “national strategy” to consolidate its processing network. Federal law requires the USPS to first go through the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), an independent body overseeing their operations, before implementing changes that affect service on a substantially nationwide basis. The USPS has not done so, and the lawsuit asks the U.S. District Court in Reno to halt any further action on the USPS plan and instead require them to go through the PRC’s advisory opinion process.
If successful, the District Attorney’s Office, on behalf of the county, will participate in the PRC process and assert its position in opposition. For now, the county will serve the USPS, which will have a chance to respond before the parties then argue their sides in court.
In commenting on the lawsuit DA Chris Hicks said, “If the current Postal Service plan is implemented, a letter destined for a person in Reno from another person in Reno would be placed on a truck, driven over Donner Pass to Sacramento – weather permitting, sorted in California, placed back on a truck to be driven over Donner Pass again – weather permitting, and then transferred to the Reno local processing center for delivery. It does not take much to imagine the mail delays our region could face with such a change.” He concluded, “The county’s lawsuit seeks to unwind the Postal Service’s decision to move the operations until the appropriate regulatory commission can issue an opinion on the merits of the proposal.”
Letters mailed locally for South Lake Tahoe addresses would take an even longer journey, from South Lake Tahoe to Reno to Sacramento, and back to Reno, then South Lake Tahoe.
Also on Tuesday, Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen and Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo continued their opposition to this mail plan. Senator Rosen blasted Postmaster General DeJoy over the plan during congressional hearings in April. Nevada Senator Catherine Cortez-Masto and Nevada Representative Mark Amodei also join the bi-partisan opposition to the closing of the Reno facility.
“I am proud to work with Governor Lombardo and our Northern Nevada Congressional Delegation to strongly oppose the misguided USPS plan to move Reno mail processing to Sacramento, and highlight the negative impacts this move would have for Nevada,” said Senator Rosen.