Quiet Communities Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4178 To reestablish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control in the Environmental Protection Agency, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JUNE 15, 2023 Ms. MENG (for herself, Mr. BEYER, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mr. CA´RDENAS, Ms. CHU, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. LYNCH, Mr. NADLER, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. SCHIFF, and Mr. SAR- BANES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined 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 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Quiet Communities 4 Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4178 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) approximately 28,000,000 individuals in the 3 United States are afflicted with some hearing im- 4 pairment, and it has been estimated that 10,000,000 5 of those impairments are at least partially attrib- 6 utable to damage from exposure to noise; 7 (2) for millions of individuals in the United 8 States, noise from aircraft, vehicular traffic, and a 9 variety of other sources is a constant source of tor- 10 ment; 11 (3) millions of individuals in the United States 12 are exposed to noise levels that can lead to sleep 13 loss, psychological and physiological damage, and 14 work disruption; 15 (4) chronic exposure to noise has been linked to 16 increased risk of cardiovascular disorders, learning 17 deficits in children, stress, and diminished quality of 18 life; 19 (5) excessive noise leading to sleep deprivation 20 and task interruptions can result in untold costs to 21 society as a result of diminished worker productivity; 22 (6) pursuant to the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 23 7401 et seq.), the Noise Control Act of 1972 (42 24 U.S.C. 4901 et seq.), and the Quiet Communities 25 Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 4901 note; Public Law 95– 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4178 IH 609; 92 Stat. 3079), the Environmental Protection 1 Agency established and maintained an Office of 2 Noise Abatement and Control, which has not re- 3 ceived funding since 1982; 4 (7) responsibilities of the Office of Noise Abate- 5 ment and Control included promulgating noise emis- 6 sion standards, requiring product labeling, facili- 7 tating the development of low-noise-emission prod- 8 ucts, coordinating Federal noise reduction programs, 9 assisting State and local noise abatement efforts, 10 and promoting noise education and research; 11 (8) because the Environmental Protection 12 Agency remains legally responsible for enforcing reg- 13 ulations issued under the Noise Control Act of 1972 14 (42 U.S.C. 4901 et seq.), even though funding for 15 the activities of the Office of Noise Abatement and 16 Control described in paragraph (7) was terminated, 17 and because that Act prohibits State and local gov- 18 ernments from regulating noise sources in many sit- 19 uations, noise abatement programs across the 20 United States lie dormant; and 21 (9) as population growth and air and vehicular 22 traffic continue to increase, noise pollution is likely 23 to become an even greater problem in the future, 24 and the health and welfare of individuals in the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4178 IH United States demands that the Environmental Pro- 1 tection Agency, the lead Federal agency for the pro- 2 tection of public health and welfare, once again as- 3 sume a role in combating noise pollution. 4 SEC. 3. REESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF NOISE ABATE- 5 MENT AND CONTROL. 6 (a) REESTABLISHMENT.—The Administrator of the 7 Environmental Protection Agency (referred to in this sec- 8 tion as the ‘‘Administrator’’) shall reestablish within the 9 Environmental Protection Agency an Office of Noise 10 Abatement and Control (referred to in this section as the 11 ‘‘Office’’). 12 (b) DUTIES.—The responsibilities of the Office shall 13 include— 14 (1) promoting the development of effective 15 State and local noise control programs by providing 16 States with technical assistance and grants to de- 17 velop those programs, including the purchasing of 18 equipment for local communities; 19 (2) carrying out a national noise control re- 20 search program to assess the impacts of noise from 21 varied noise sources on mental and physical health; 22 (3) carrying out a national noise environmental 23 assessment program— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4178 IH (A) to identify trends in noise exposure 1 and response, ambient levels, and compliance 2 data; and 3 (B) to determine the effectiveness of noise 4 abatement actions, including actions for areas 5 around major transportation facilities (such as 6 highways, railroad facilities, and airports); 7 (4) developing and disseminating to the public 8 information and educational materials relating to the 9 mental and physical effects of noise and the most ef- 10 fective means for noise control through the use of 11 materials for school curricula, volunteer organiza- 12 tions, radio and television programs, publications, 13 and other means; 14 (5) developing educational and training mate- 15 rials and programs, including national and regional 16 workshops, to support State and local noise abate- 17 ment and control programs; 18 (6) establishing regional technical assistance 19 centers to use the capabilities of institutions of high- 20 er education and private organizations to assist 21 State and local noise control programs; and 22 (7) undertaking an assessment of the effective- 23 ness of the Noise Control Act of 1972 (42 U.S.C. 24 4901 et seq.). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4178 IH (c) PREFERRED APPROACHES.—In carrying out the 1 duties of the Office under subsection (b), the Office shall 2 emphasize noise abatement approaches that rely on local 3 and State activities, market incentives, and coordination 4 with other public and private agencies. 5 (d) STUDY.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall 7 carry out a study of aircraft noise and the effects of 8 that noise on surrounding communities. 9 (2) CONTRACTS AND OTHER AGREEMENTS.— 10 The Administrator shall enter into contracts or 11 other agreements with independent scientists with 12 expertise in noise measurements, noise effects, and 13 noise abatement techniques to conduct the study 14 under paragraph (1). 15 (3) CONTENTS.—The study under paragraph 16 (1) shall examine— 17 (A) the selection of noise measurement 18 methodologies by the Federal Aviation Adminis- 19 tration; 20 (B) the threshold of aircraft noise at which 21 health impacts are felt; and 22 (C) the effectiveness of aircraft noise 23 abatement programs at airports around the 24 United States. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4178 IH (4) REPORT.— 1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years 2 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Ad- 3 ministrator shall submit to Congress a report 4 on the results of the study conducted under 5 paragraph (1). 6 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report sub- 7 mitted under subparagraph (A) shall include 8 specific recommendations on new measures that 9 can be implemented to mitigate the impact of 10 aircraft noise on surrounding communities. 11 (e) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The Noise Pollu- 12 tion and Abatement Act of 1970 (Public Law 91–604; 84 13 Stat. 1709) is repealed. 14 SEC. 4. GRANTS UNDER QUIET COMMUNITIES PROGRAM. 15 Section 14 of the Noise Control Act of 1972 (42 16 U.S.C. 4913) is amended— 17 (1) in subsection (b)— 18 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 19 by striking ‘‘but not limited to’’; 20 (B) in paragraph (2) by striking ‘‘sections 21 6, 7, and 8 of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘section 22 6 or 8 of this Act, or section 44715 of title 49, 23 United States Code’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 4178 IH (C) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 1 through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), 2 respectively, and indenting appropriately; 3 (2) in subsection (c)— 4 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1) 5 by striking ‘‘but not be limited to’’ and insert- 6 ing ‘‘in accordance with the Federal authority 7 pursuant to this Act to regulate sources of 8 noise in interstate commerce’’; 9 (B) in paragraph (1)— 10 (i) in subparagraph (C) by striking 11 ‘‘and,’’ at the end; 12 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 13 (A) through (D) as clauses (i) through 14 (iv), respectively, and indenting appro- 15 priately; and 16 (iii) by adding at the end the fol- 17 lowing: 18 ‘‘(v) establishing and implementing 19 training programs on use of noise abate- 20 ment equipment; and 21 ‘‘(vi) implementing noise abatement 22 plans;’’; 23 (C) by striking the undesignated matter 24 following paragraph (5); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 4178 IH (D) by redesignating paragraphs (1) 1 through (5) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), 2 respectively, and indenting appropriately; and 3 (3) by redesignating subsections (a) through (g) 4 as paragraphs (1) through (7), respectively, and in- 5 denting appropriately. 6 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 7 There is authorized to be appropriated for the Office 8 of Noise Abatement and Control reestablished under sec- 9 tion 3(a) $25,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 10 through 2028. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 05:55 Jul 21, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4178.IH H4178 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS