Wed, 1 Dec 2004 15:33:00 -0500 Received
20041201UOO
UNITED STATES
POSTAL SERVICE
November 29,2004
Mr. Jason Pyeron
PD Inc.
#1 2739 Saint Paul Street
Baltimore, MD 21218-4382
Dear Mr. Pyeron:
This is in response to your corresponden
States Code (USC) Title 5, Section 552, addressed to the Postal Service's Records Office. Your
correspondence was referred to this office for reply.
Information is available to the public as needed concerning the location of Post Offices, collection
boxes, and the times of collection, through the Postal Service website at www.usps.com, our toll
free telephone numbers, and from local Post Offices. These options offer customers efficient and
well organized access to information about the location of collection boxes and Post Offices; the
last scheduled collection at those locations, and also additional information useful to customers.
However, for the reasons outlined below, the Postal Service does not provide reports for multiple
locations, geographic areas, or on a national basis related to collection boxes.
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The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) generally requires government agencies to disclose P records within their possession, but contains several exemptions that permit agencies to withhold
certain records, under 5 U.S.C. 9 552(b)(1) - (9). We consider the information to be exempt from
mandatory disclosure pursuant to FOlA exemption 2 and also FOlA exemption 3 in conjunction
with 39 U.S.C. 9 410(c)(2).
Collection box data requested in your October 20 letter for a geographic area or in its entirety could
potentially be used to plan for and make it easier for criminals that might steal mail. The courts
have held that exemption 2 protects from disclosure information that, if revealed, could threaten the
security of agency operations. The information requested combined with computer based mapping
(available to anyone on the Internet) could facilitate the theft of mail 2nd may contribute to the
growing incidents of identity theft against individuals.
The Postal Service has joined with other organizations in identity theft awareness programs for the
protection of the public, and advises customers to use our collection boxes to deposit their mail.
The Postal Service is also continually exploring steps to improve the strength and security of
collection equipment. Releasing portions of the collection box database would weaken the
protections for the public against identity and mail theft and increase the risks to the Postal Service
and public without adding any apparent benefits for customers because of the availability of this
information on a more limited basis through existing systems.
The request for information indicates you would republish the information for public use. As you
may know, if the data requested was released it must also be released to others and becomes
public information. Our withholding of the information requested does not mean to imply that you
would use the records for improper purposes.
'
475 L'ENFANT PLAZA SW
WASHINGTON DC 20260
WWW USPS COM
Wed, 1 Dec 2004 15:33:00 -0500 Received

20041201U00
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For the reasons outlined above, the information requested concerning collection box data will not
be released. We are not aware of any records that would contain the data you requested
concerning the latitude and longitude of collection boxes and post offices. Finally, there are no
"mail class restrictions" for collection boxes as referenced in your inquiry, although specific mail
preparation and deposit procedures are found under applicable postal standards for bulk mailings
and Periodicals mail.
I
1
If you disagree with our decision in this matter, you may file an appeal with the General Counsel, ~
U.S. Postal Service, 475 L'Enfant Plaza SW, Room 6001, Washington, DC 20260-1 100, within
thirty days of this letter. Your letter of appeal must be in writing, include a copy of your request,
include a copy of this letter, include any other related correspondence, include a statement of the
reasons you believe this denial is erroneous; and a statement of the relief you seek.
Manager
Delivery Systems Support
cc: Pat Tyrrell, USPS Counsel, USPS Headquarters
Zoe Strickland, FOlNPrivacy Act Officer
Jane Eyre, Records Officer, USPS Headquarters