TagQuiet Communities(5)

A federal court ruled in 2023 that the EPA had unreasonably delayed for over 40 years in carrying out its legal duties under the Noise Control Act of 1972, which requires the agency to regulate environmental noise, publish noise-related reports, and help state and local governments develop noise control programs. Although President Reagan defunded the EPA's noise office in 1982, Congress never actually repealed the Noise Control Act, meaning the EPA's obligations under the law remained in force. The court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs, finding the EPA's inaction on four key counts unlawful.

H.R. 4178, the Quiet Communities Act of 2023, is a bill introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives on June 15, 2023, that seeks to reestablish the EPA's Office of Noise Abatement and Control, which has received no funding since 1982. The bill highlights the serious health impacts of noise pollution — including hearing loss, cardiovascular disorders, sleep deprivation, and learning deficits in children — affecting millions of Americans exposed to noise from aircraft, vehicular traffic, and other sources. Because the EPA remains legally responsible for enforcing noise regulations while lacking an active office to do so, and because federal law limits state and local governments from regulating many noise sources, the bill argues that noise abatement programs across the country have effectively lain dormant.