Quiet Communities Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3001 To reestablish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control in the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 23, 2019 Ms. MENG (for herself, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MOORE, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LYNCH, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. GALLEGO, Mr. LIPINSKI, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Miss RICE of New York, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Mr. CASE, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. RASKIN, Mrs. LOWEY, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. SAR- BANES, Mr. BEYER, Mr. SHERMAN, Mr. PETERS, Mr. TED LIEU of Cali- fornia, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. BROWN of Maryland, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, and Mr. ESPAILLAT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To reestablish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control in the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3001 IH SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quiet Communities 2 Act of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds that: 5 (1) Approximately 28,000,000 Americans are 6 afflicted with some hearing loss and it has been esti- 7 mated that 10,000,000 of these impairments are at 8 least partially attributable to damage from exposure 9 to noise. 10 (2) For millions of Americans, noise from air- 11 craft, vehicular traffic, and a variety of other 12 sources is a constant source of torment. Millions of 13 Americans are exposed to noise levels that can lead 14 to sleep loss, psychological and physiological damage, 15 and work disruption. 16 (3) Chronic exposure to noise has been linked 17 to increased risk of cardiovascular disorders, learn- 18 ing deficits in children, stress, and diminished qual- 19 ity of life. 20 (4) Excessive noise leading to sleep deprivation 21 and task interruptions can result in untold costs on 22 society in diminished worker productivity. 23 (5) Pursuant to authorities granted under the 24 Clean Air Act of 1970, the Noise Control Act of 25 1972, and the Quiet Communities Act of 1978, the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3001 IH Environmental Protection Agency established an Of- 1 fice of Noise Abatement and Control. Its responsibil- 2 ities included promulgating noise emission stand- 3 ards, requiring product labeling, facilitating the de- 4 velopment of low emission products, coordinating 5 Federal noise reduction programs, assisting State 6 and local abatement efforts, and promoting noise 7 education and research. However, funding for the 8 Office of Noise Abatement and Control was termi- 9 nated in 1982 and no funds have been provided 10 since. 11 (6) Because the Environmental Protection 12 Agency remains legally responsible for enforcing reg- 13 ulations issued under the Noise Control Act of 1972 14 even though funding for these activities were termi- 15 nated, and because the Noise Control Act of 1972 16 prohibits State and local governments from regu- 17 lating noise sources in many situations, noise abate- 18 ment programs across the country lie dormant. 19 (7) As population growth and air and vehicular 20 traffic continue to increase, noise pollution is likely 21 to become an even greater problem in the future. 22 The health and welfare of our citizens demands that 23 the Environmental Protection Agency, the lead Fed- 24 eral agency for the protection of public health and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3001 IH welfare, once again assume a role in combating noise 1 pollution. 2 SEC. 3. REESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF NOISE ABATE- 3 MENT AND CONTROL. 4 (a) REESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 5 Environmental Protection Agency shall reestablish within 6 the Environmental Protection Agency an Office of Noise 7 Abatement and Control. 8 (b) DUTIES.—The responsibilities of the Office in- 9 clude the following: 10 (1) To promote the development of effective 11 State and local noise control programs by providing 12 States with technical assistance and grants to de- 13 velop the programs, including the purchase of equip- 14 ment for local communities. 15 (2) To carry out a national noise control re- 16 search program to assess the impacts of noise from 17 varied noise sources on mental and physical health. 18 (3) To carry out a national noise environmental 19 assessment program to identify trends in noise expo- 20 sure and response, ambient levels, and compliance 21 data and to determine the effectiveness of noise 22 abatement actions, including actions for areas 23 around major transportation facilities (such as high- 24 ways, railroad facilities, and airports). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3001 IH (4) To develop and disseminate information and 1 educational materials to the public on the mental 2 and physical effects of noise and the most effective 3 means for noise control through the use of materials 4 for school curricula, volunteer organizations, radio 5 and television programs, publications, and other 6 means. 7 (5) To develop educational and training mate- 8 rials and programs, including national and regional 9 workshops, to support State and local noise abate- 10 ment and control programs. 11 (6) To establish regional technical assistance 12 centers which use the capabilities of university and 13 private organizations to assist State and local noise 14 control programs. 15 (7) To undertake an assessment of the effec- 16 tiveness of the Noise Control Act of 1972. 17 (c) PREFERRED APPROACHES.—In carrying out its 18 duties under this section, the Office shall emphasize noise 19 abatement approaches that rely on local and State activi- 20 ties, market incentives, and coordination with other public 21 and private agencies. 22 (d) STUDY.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Using funds made available 24 to the Office, the Administrator shall carry out a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3001 IH study of airport noise. The Administrator shall carry 1 out the study by entering into contracts or other 2 agreements with independent scientists with exper- 3 tise in noise measurements, noise effects, and noise 4 abatement techniques to conduct the study. 5 (2) CONTENTS.—The study shall examine the 6 selection of noise measurement methodologies by the 7 Federal Aviation Administration, the threshold of 8 noise at which health impacts are felt, and the effec- 9 tiveness of noise abatement programs at airports 10 around the Nation. 11 (3) REPORT.—Not later than 24 months after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator 13 shall transmit to Congress a report on the results of 14 the study, together with specific recommendations 15 on new measures that can be implemented to miti- 16 gate the impact of aircraft noise on surrounding 17 communities. 18 SEC. 4. GRANTS UNDER QUIET COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 19 Section 14(c)(1) of the Noise Control Act of 1972 20 (42 U.S.C. 4913(c)(1)) is amended— 21 (1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of subpara- 22 graph (C); and 23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3001 IH ‘‘(E) establishing and implementing train- 1 ing programs on use of noise abatement equip- 2 ment; and 3 ‘‘(F) implementing noise abatement 4 plans;’’. 5 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 6 There is authorized to be appropriated for each of 7 fiscal years 2020 through 2024 $21,000,000 for activities 8 of the Office of Noise Abatement and Control reestab- 9 lished under section 3. 10 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3001.IH H3001 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS