,i  #aaeth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #beci  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,may #ah1 #bjag,ms4  
,meng 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,crowley1 ,mr4 
,gallego1 ,mr4 ,quigley1 ,mr4 ,suozzi1  
,ms4 ,norton1 ,ms4 ,schakowsky1 ,ms4    
,speier1 ,mr4 ,capuano1 ,miss ,rice of  
,new ,york1 ,mr4 ,smith of ,washington1 
and ,ms4 ,eshoo7 introduced the         
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,energy and ,commerce1
 and in addition to the ,committee on   
,transportation and ,infrastructure1 for
 a period to be subsequently determined 
by the ,speaker1 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 ,agency1 and 
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,quiet   
,communities ,act of #bjag4  #b4        
,findings ,congress finds that3  7#a7   

,approximately #bh1jjj1jjj ,americans   
are afflicted with some hearing loss and
 it has been estimated that #aj1jjj1jjj 
of these impairments are at least       
partially attributable to damage from   
exposure to noise4  7#b7 ,for millions  
of ,americans1 noise from aircraft1     
vehicular traffic1 and a variety of     
other sources is a constant source of   
torment4 ,millions of ,americans are    
exposed to noise levels that can lead to
 sleep loss1 psychological and          
physiological damage1 and work          
disruption4  7#c7 ,chronic exposure to  
noise has been linked to increased risk 
of cardiovascular disorders1 learning   
deficits in children1 stress1 and       
diminished quality of life4  7#d7       
,excessive noise leading to sleep       
deprivation and task interruptions can  
result in untold costs on society in    
diminished worker productivity4  7#e7   
,pursuant to authorities granted under  
the ,clean ,air ,act of #aigj1 the      
,noise ,control ,act of #aigb1 and the  

,quiet ,communities ,act of #aigh1 the  
,environmental ,protection ,agency      
established an ,office of ,noise        
,abatement and ,control4 ,its           
responsibilities included promulgating  
noise emission standards1 requiring     
product labeling1 facilitating the      
development of low emission products1   
coordinating ,federal noise reduction   
programs1 assisting ,state and local    
abatement efforts1 and promoting noise  
education and research4 ,however1       
funding for the ,office of ,noise       
,abatement and ,control was terminated  
in #aihb and no funds have been provided
 since4  7#f7 ,because the              
,environmental ,protection ,agency      
remains legally responsible for         
enforcing regulations issued under the  
,noise ,control ,act of #aigb even      
though funding for these activities were
 terminated1 and because the ,noise     
,control ,act of #aigb prohibits ,state 
and local governments from regulating   
noise sources in many situations1 noise 

abatement programs across the country   
lie dormant4  7#g7 ,as population growth
 and air and vehicular traffic continue 
to increase1 noise pollution is likely  
to become an even greater problem in the
 future4 ,the health and welfare of our 
citizens demands that the ,environmental
 ,protection ,agency1 the lead ,federal 
agency for the protection of public     
health and welfare1 once again assume a 
role in combating noise pollution4  #c4 
,reestablishment of office of noise     
abatement and control  7a7              
,reestablishment ,the ,administrator of 
the ,environmental ,protection ,agency  
shall reestablish within the            
,environmental ,protection ,agency an   
,office of ,noise ,abatement and        
,control4  7b7 ,duties ,the             
responsibilities of the ,office include 
the following3 7#a7 ,to promote the     
development of effective ,state and     
local noise control programs by         
providing ,states with technical        
assistance and grants to develop the    

programs1 including the purchase of     
equipment for local communities4  7#b7  
,to carry out a national noise control  
research program to assess the impacts  
of noise from varied noise sources on   
mental and physical health4  7#c7 ,to   
carry out a national noise environmental
 assessment program to identify trends  
in noise exposure and response1 ambient 
levels1 and compliance data and to      
determine the effectiveness of noise    
abatement actions1 including actions for
 areas around major transportation      
facilities 7such as highways1 railroad  
facilities1 and airports74  7#d7 ,to    
develop and disseminate information and 
educational materials to the public on  
the mental and physical effects of noise
 and the most effective means for noise 
control through the use of materials for
 school curricula1 volunteer            
organizations1 radio and television     
programs1 publications1 and other means4
  7#e7 ,to develop educational and      
training materials and programs1        

including national and regional         
workshops1 to support ,state and local  
noise abatement and control programs4   
7#f7 ,to establish regional technical   
assistance centers which use the        
capabilities of university and private  
organizations to assist ,state and local
 noise control programs4  7#g7 ,to      
undertake an assessment of the          
effectiveness of the ,noise ,control    
,act of #aigb4  7c7 ,preferred          
,approaches ,in carrying out its duties 
under this section1 the ,office shall   
emphasize noise abatement approaches    
that rely on local and ,state           
activities1 market incentives1 and      
coordination with other public and      
private agencies4  7d7 ,study  7#a7 ,in 
general ,using funds made available to  
the ,office1 the ,administrator shall   
carry out a study of airport noise4 ,the
 ,administrator shall carry out the     
study by entering into contracts or     
other agreements with independent       
scientists with expertise in noise      

measurements1 noise effects1 and noise  
abatement techniques to conduct the     
study4  7#b7 ,contents ,the study shall 
examine the selection of noise          
measurement methodologies by the        
,federal ,aviation ,administration1 the 
threshold of noise at which health      
impacts are felt1 and the effectiveness 
of noise abatement programs at airports 
around the ,nation4  7#c7 ,report ,not  
later than #bd months after the date of 
enactment of this ,act1 the             
,administrator shall transmit to        
,congress a report on the results of the
 study1 together with specific          
recommendations on new measures that can
 be implemented to mitigate the impact  
of aircraft noise on surrounding        
communities4  #d4 ,grants under quiet   
communities program ,section #ad7;c77#a7
 of the ,noise ,control ,act of #aigb   
7#db ,u4,s4,c4 #diac7;c77#a77 is        
amended-- 7#a7 by striking and at the   
end of subparagraph 7,c72 and  7#b7 by  
adding at the end the following3  7,e7  

establishing and implementing training  
programs on use of noise abatement      
equipment2 and  7,f7 implementing noise 
abatement plans2  4  #e4 ,authorization 
of appropriations ,there is authorized  
to be appropriated for each of fiscal   
years #bjah through #bjbb #ba1jjj1jjj   
for activities of the ,office of ,noise 
,abatement and ,control reestablished   
under section #c4