A Dozen Postal Facilities Face Closure in D.C. Area

Twelve postal facilities in the District and suburban Maryland remain on a list of 371 sites across the country under consideration for possible closure or consolidation, according to an updated list released Friday by the U.S. Postal Service.

By law, each Zip code in the United States must have a post office, but most suburban and urban Zip codes have additional postal locations called retail branches or stations that provide limited services. The Postal Service is only targeting those types of locations.

The selected facilities are unlikely to close before January, Postmaster General John E. Potter said Thursday. Although Potter and his colleagues will make the final decisions on closures, it must consult with the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent government agency led by five commissioners. The panel is expected to release a final advisory opinion on the closure process in November, according to multiple sources.

Friday's release comes as the Postal Service is reeling from a miserable fiscal year that ended last week. The mail service lost billions of dollars, cut tens of thousands of jobs and man hours, and needed Congressional action to avoid paying billions of dollars to pre-fund future retiree benefits.

View the full list of sites under consideration for closure at http://www.washingtonpost.com/federaleye