Some agencies shift from postal mail to e-mail

When mail deliveries in some areas of downtown Washington slowed or stopped last month, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Federal Communications Commission, and Interior and Transportation departments encouraged e-mail filings in place of postal mail, according to NetCompliance Inc., a Washington Internet provider."As the commission continues to balance its efforts to be accessible with the need for heightened security measures, the commission encourages its customers to make full use of the electronic filing system," NetCompliance quoted a FERC document as saying. Interior officials said in a notice, "Due to disruptions to the mail service in the Washington area, you may want to consider alternative means of communicating with the department” such as fax, e-mail and overnight delivery.For time-sensitive packages and rule-making deadlines, Transportation said it would consider late filings but encouraged filers to use the electronic submission system on its Web site, at . The Federal Aviation Administration last month asked airlines to file their operational, traffic and financial data via e-mail on an ongoing basis."This is the new business reality of dealing with the federal government during terrorist scares," NetCompliance chief executive officer Krish Krishnan said.