Resolution to Address Noise Pollution

The following Resolution was approved for adoption by the full Democratic National Committee at its meeting on February 4, 2023. 

Resolution Standing Up for Policies Addressing Environmental Noise Pollution And Calling for Reinstatement of Congressional Funding for the EPA Office of Noise Abatement and Control

WHEREAS, the scope and scale of environmental noise pollution is increasing dramatically across the United States; and 

WHEREAS, environmental noise pollution is a well-documented hazard to public health, public mental health, and biodiversity; and 

WHEREAS, the serious human health impacts of environmental noise pollution have been known for decades, and recent scientific reviews and guidance from the World Health Organization and the European Environment Agency provide evidence of significant health impacts at noise pollution levels lower than many people experience in daily life, and thus rank noise second only to air pollution as the most harmful environmental exposure for public health; and 

WHEREAS, an estimated 145 million Americans are at risk of harms from noise pollution, and tens of millions of Americans already experience physical and mental health harms from noise pollution, including hearing loss and tinnitus, hypertension, strokes, heart disease, heart attacks, diabetes, metabolic disorders, poor mental health, adverse reproductive outcomes, cumulative physical stress, and reduced life expectancy; and 

WHEREAS, noise can pose a serious threat to children’s physical and psychological health including learning and behavior; and 

WHEREAS, the causes of environmental noise pollution include road traffic; air traffic; recreational vehicles; industrial, commercial and energy facilities; sirens; outdoor powered equipment; consumer products; and new technologies such as cryptocurrency operations and drones; and 

WHEREAS, Black, brown, Indigenous, less-resourced, and urban communities are significantly more likely to experience higher levels of environmental noise pollution, compounding the impacts of other types of environmental pollution on health, mental health, cognitive and educational outcomes; and 

WHEREAS, many of the causes of environmental noise pollution are also the causes of air, water and soil pollution, which disproportionately impact Black, brown, Indigenous, less resourced and urban communities; and

WHEREAS, the costs of environmental noise pollution amount to hundreds of billions of dollars per year, and over $3.9 billion dollars would be saved annually by reducing U.S. noise-related hypertension and heart disease alone; and

WHEREAS, noise pollution is pervasive, even in environmentally protected areas, and environmental noise has profound impacts on biodiversity that exacerbate other drivers– such as the climate crisis– of the biodiversity crisis; and 

WHEREAS, many noise pollution interventions – such as tree-planting, urban greening, reduction in vehicle miles traveled and electrification of vehicles – are also important strategies to reduce air and climate pollution; and 

WHEREAS, pursuant to the Clean Air Act, the Noise Control Act of 1972 and the Quiet Communities Act of 1978, the EPA established and maintained the Office of Noise Abatement and Control (ONAC) to promulgate noise standards, require product noise labeling, develop low noise products, coordinate federal noise reduction programs, support State and local noise abatement, and support noise education and research, but significant efforts by ONAC to reduce noise pollution ended with termination of its funding in 1981; and 

WHEREAS, local and state agencies need federal monitoring, data and research, guidance, technical assistance, and funding to prevent the health harms of noise pollution, and under the Noise Control Act are prohibited from regulating noise in many circumstances; and

WHEREAS, the American Academy of Nursing advocates for the development “of national programs to educate the public and health care providers about common noise sources, the ubiquitous nature of noise, groups at higher risk for noise (e.g., children), and its effect on national health problems”; and

WHEREAS, the Democratic Party Platform states that Democrats will prioritize and invest in America’s public health and mental health, protect biodiversity, and “embed environmental justice, economic justice, and climate justice at the heart of our policy and governing agenda”; 

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the DNC holds environmental noise pollution to be a significant and costly driver of adverse health impacts on tens of millions of Americans, especially in environmental justice communities with greater exposure to road traffic and industrial and commercial noise, and an important contributor to biodiversity loss; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that federal support and guidance is needed to design and implement strategies to promote health equity and environmental justice, and to protect the nation’s physical and mental health, and biodiversity, through prevention of the harms of noise pollution; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the DNC urges Congress to promote the reduction of environmental noise through reinstating funding support for ONAC within the EPA, to involve all relevant federal agencies and to solicit input from tribal, state and local governments and relevant communities in developing and implementing a coordinated strategic national plan to reduce exposure to noise and improve health and environmental justice, coordinate approaches to control noise pollution, and inform and involve impacted communities; and 

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the DNC urges that federal siting and environmental approval processes and tools for new infrastructure take into consideration environmental noise pollution, cumulative environmental noise pollution, and compounding impacts of pollution from all sources in a location.