July 3, 2019

Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet

For immediate release

Contact:
Ted Rueter
877-664-7366
[email protected]

Chapel Hill: Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet today called on its constituents to contact members of Congress to support H.R. 3001, “The Quiet Communities Act of 2019,” which would reestablish the federal noise pollution control office within the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The bill was introduced on May 23, 2019 by Representative Grace Meng (D., New York) and has 34 co-sponsors. In her “Dear Colleague” letter, Representative Meng wrote: “For millions of Americans,” noise is “a constant source of torment.”  Meng notes that “chronic exposure to excessive noise can lead to sleep deprivation, task interruptions,” and many other negative consequences, “which result in untold costs on society in diminished work productivity.”

Meng states that the “Quiet Communities Act of 2019” would establish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control within the US EPA: “Noise abatement programs across the country currently lie dormant. While the EPA retains the authority to study the effects” of noise pollution and to “make recommendations to mitigate these effects,” it is “unable to do so without a functioning office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC).”

The bill has been sent to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce (which is chaired by Representative Frank Pallone, a Democrat from New Jersey) as well as the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (which is chaired by Representative Peter DeFazio, a Democrat from Oregon).

Within the Transportation and Infrastructure committee, the bill was referred to the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials, which is chaired by Representative Daniel Lipinski, a Democrat from Illinois.

Please ask your member of the US House of Representative to support H.R. 3001. Contact information for your House member is here:

Please also ask your members of the US Senate to introduce and support the “Quiet Communities Act of 2019.”  Contact information for your Senators is here.

Noise Free America: A Coalition to Promote Quiet is a national citizens’ organization devoted to noise reduction.