Number: 1978-14
WHEREAS, noise pollution is an unwanted yet pervasive by-product of human activity; and
WHEREAS, humans and wildlife never before have sustained the cumulative exposure to noise that prevails today; and
WHEREAS, some 2,000 square miles of urban and suburban lands are impacted severely by noise from commercial aviation and freeway traffic; and;
WHEREAS, it is estimated that more than 78 million persons nationwide are exposed routinely to noise levels in excess of that found safe by the Environmental Protection Agency for the protection of public health and welfare with an adequate margin of safety; and
WHEREAS, the sources of environmental noise, such as jet aircraft, trucks, buses, motorcycles, autos, construction equipment, power mowers and saws and snowmobiles and other off-road vehicles, have grown rapidly in number and in use during the last decade; and
WHEREAS, under current law, the regulation of noise and the establishment of ambient noise levels are primarily nonfederal responsibilities;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation in annual meeting assembled March 16-19, 1978, in Phoenix, Ariz., hereby urges that state and federal governments enact and enforce adequate controls on environmental noise, including numerical limits on emission of motor vehicles and stationary sources; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urges the Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Aviation Administration to utilize all existing authority to provide a meaningful reduction in present noise emissions from trucks, buses, railroads, and aircraft operating in interstate commerce; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Environmental Protection Agency be encouraged to move expeditiously in establishing noise standards for new products, including those frequently found to intrude upon the use and enjoyment of public lands and other natural areas; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Environmental Protection Agency, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and other concerned federal agencies by urged to expand cooperatively their respective reseach programs to provide needed information about the impacts of environmental noise upon representative classes of wildlife, and, to this end, that the Congress provide adequate funding for such purposes.