The United States Postal Service is scrapping long-floated plans to shift mail processing done at the Hampden postal facility to one in Scarborough, the agency announced Monday.

The change would have moved outgoing mail processing from Hampden to the Southern Maine Processing and Distribution Center in Scarborough, roughly 130 miles away. But it drew the ire of locals, union leaders and Maine’s congressional delegation.

The proposal was put on pause in May, but Monday marked its official termination.

The Postal Service said a recently proposed cost-saving strategy will allow the agency to absorb operating costs for a number of local mail processing operations. With the change, the agency said it does not expect any employees at the Eastern Maine facility to be impacted.

“This strategy provides a solution that will ensure our organization can cover the cost of local originating mail processing operations in the Eastern Maine facility,” Postmaster General Louis DeJoy said in a statement.

DeJoy said the new plan is under review by the Postal Regulatory Commission, an independent government agency that oversees the Postal Service. If approved, it will mean no changes when it comes to processing certain locally originating mail.

“In simpler terms, a single piece of mail that is sent from Eastern Maine to be delivered in Eastern Maine will continue to be processed at its current location,” the agency said.

Members of the delegation expressed their support Monday night, though some added that they hope to see further improvements in service speed and reliability.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who last year sent DeJoy a letter cautioning him against consolidating the facilities, said the agency’s decision to walk back the proposed changes “is welcome news for the people of Maine” and will ensure that mail delivery remains as it is.

“As I have said repeatedly, any consolidation of Maine’s two USPS processing facilities located in Hampden and Scarborough would have jeopardized the reliable delivery of mail. Mail service in Maine is even more important given that it is the oldest state by median age and one of the nation’s most rural,” Collins said in a statement Monday evening.

In April, Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd District, introduced legislation to halt consolidation of Postal Service locations, arguing that doing so would worsen service for the state’s rural residents in particular. In a statement Monday night, Golden said, “DeJoy had no choice but to hear us.”

“It’s great news if the USPS is truly committing to maintain services and jobs in Hampden,” Golden said. “However, this news comes within the context of moves by USPS to reduce service standards, rewriting the rules to give itself a pass for delayed deliveries at a time when one-third of customers are already seeing their three- to five-day deliveries arrive late.”

In its statement, the Postal Service also said it plans to invest as much as $12.1 million to turn the facility into a Local Processing Center, capable of handling package mailing, letters and flats, as well as bulk and permit mail. That decision was announced in April, the agency said.

Golden said his office heard about the change Monday evening and was “digging into the details to ensure everything is on the level.”

Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, called the Postal Service “a lifeline” for Mainers and said limiting operations in Hampden would have worsened already lengthy service delays across the state.

“This is a welcome development,” Pingree said in a statement Monday night, “but the work continues to make sure all Mainers can count on fast and reliable mail delivery.”

A spokesperson for Sen. Angus King, an independent, did not provide a response to the Postal Service’s reversal Monday night, citing the lateness of the announcement, but noted that the senator wrote a letter in March criticizing the proposed consolidation.

In that letter, King said the move would have represented “further setbacks to the revitalization of rural life,” and he urged the Postal Service to avoid chasing financial security by undermining service.

Maine Senate President Troy Jackson said in a statement Tuesday that the reversal was a “huge relief” for the community – “After all, livelihoods and local economies depend on it.”

Jackson sponsored a resolution earlier this year calling for the Hampden facility’s preservation.

“I want to thank everyone who contacted their elected officials, showed up at the public meetings, spoke out and fought to ensure the voices of rural Maine were heard,” Jackson said. “This victory is your victory.”