Quiet Communities, Inc. v. EPA: Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief

A 2023 federal lawsuit filed against the EPA argues that the agency has ignored its legal duties under the Noise Control Act for over 40 years, ever since it shut down its noise regulation offices in 1982. The plaintiffs, a nonprofit noise-reduction organization and an affected Massachusetts resident, are asking the court to force the EPA to resume studying and regulating noise pollution as Congress originally required. While not specific to Sea-Tac Airport, the case has broad implications for communities nationwide suffering from unregulated noise pollution, including airport noise.

Notes

Complaint filed June 7, 2023 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (Case No. 1:23-CV-1649) by Quiet Communities, Inc. and Jeanne M. Kempthorne against the United States Environmental Protection Agency and Administrator Michael S. Regan. Plaintiffs seek to compel EPA to perform nondiscretionary statutory duties under the Noise Control Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 4901–4918, and allege violations of the Administrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §§ 701–706. Claims arise from EPA’s 1982 shutdown of the Office of Noise Abatement and Control and abandonment of noise regulation duties for four decades. Relief sought under 42 U.S.C. § 4911, 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1361, 2201–2202, and 5 U.S.C. § 706(1).

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