DearColleague.us

Letter

Grace Meng

From the office of:

Grace Meng

Sending Office: Honorable Grace Meng
Sent By:
Helen.Beaudreau@mail.house.gov

        Request for Cosponsor(s)

Reduce Airplane Noise – Re-establish EPA Office of Noise Abatement & Control (ONAC)

Endorsed by: Noise Free America

Original cosponsors: Brownley, Case, Fitzpatrick, Gallego, Jayapal, Lee (Barbara), Lipinski, Lowey, Lynch, Moore, Napolitano, Norton, Raskin, Rice, Rouda, Ruppersberger, Schakowsky, Speier, Suozzi

Deadline to be an original cosponsor: Tomorrow – Thursday, May 23 at 10AM

Dear Colleague,

For millions of Americans, noise from aircraft is a constant source of torment, even if they don’t live right near an airport, but under a regular flight path. Chronic exposure to excessive noise can lead to sleep deprivation, task interruptions, among other
negative consequences which result in untold costs on society in diminished work productivity.

Please join me as an original cosponsor of the “Quiet Communities Act of 2019,” a bill that would reestablish the Office of Noise Abatement and Control in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Noise abatement programs across the country
currently lie dormant. While the EPA retains the authority to study noise effects and make recommendations to mitigate these effects and limit environmental exposure to noise, it is unable to practically do so without a functioning Office of Noise Abatement
and Control (ONAC).

As population growth and air traffic continue to increase, noise pollution is likely to become an even greater problem in the future. Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is tasked with air transport-related noise concerns. It is responsible
for developing flight paths and regulating the airline industry, but the FAA neither has the resources nor the mission priorities to adequately address intolerable levels of noise.

It is time to allow the EPA the resources it requires to resume its role in combating noise pollution and include flight noise in its jurisdiction by re-establishing ONAC. This bill would require the EPA Administrator, using funds made available to the Office,
to carry out a study of airport noise and examine the Federal Aviation Administration’s selection of noise measurement methodologies, health impact thresholds, and abatement program effectiveness.

To be an original cosponsor this legislation or for any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Helen Beaudreau of my staff at (202) 225-2601 or
helen.beaudreau@mail.house.gov.  

Sincerely,

__/s/________________________

Grace Meng
 

Related Legislative Issues

Selected legislative information: Environment, HealthCare, Transportation

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