October 10, 1972
Page 34465
ENVIRONMENTAL NOISE CONTROL ACT – AMENDMENT
AMENDMENT NO. 1740
(Ordered to be printed and to lie on the table.)
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, in the near future, the Senate may consider S. 3342, the Environmental Noise Control Act of 1972. In addition to amendments which I may propose to those sections of the bill related to aircraft noise, I will offer an amendment, which I am submitting today, to section 408 (e) (2) to assure that States and localities will not be preempted from controlling environmental noise at the source through limitation on sale of noisy products which exceed local standards. This amendment to protect the right of States and localities to set and enforce stricter controls is cosponsored by Mr. BUCKLEY, Mr. BROOKE, Mr. CASE, Mr. HATFIELD, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MCINTYRE, Mr. PELL, and Mr. STEVENSON.
I am advised that State and local officials who have examined the pending bill believe that such an amendment is essential. They contend that, without authority to regulate sale for use, current State and local noise control laws and ordinances will be impossible to enforce. If States and localities only have authority to control noise at the time of use, the administrative burden on State and local enforcement agencies will be overwhelming. The capacity of States and localities to enforce stricter noise pollution controls must be maintained.
There is no objection to a preemption provision which protects the manufacturer against conflicting State standards and enforcement actions where such conflicting standards are demonstrated to be an unreasonable burden on commerce. At the same time, a State or local government should have authority to restrict the sale for use of any product which will emit unacceptable noise levels. The only burden this will place on the manufacturer is the limitation of not selling products in States or communities which have banned the sale of such products – a legitimate exercise of State police power.