Sponsor
Robert Menendez
Representative · D-NJ
Representative · D-NJ
The bill forces regular EPA reviews to keep noise standards current and better protect communities from harmful noise, but it creates recurring administrative burdens and potential regulatory uncertainty that could strain agency resources and raise costs for governments and businesses.
Communities exposed to high noise levels (including urban and rural communities and disadvantaged neighborhoods) will get more up-to-date protection because the EPA must review and, if necessary, update noise criteria within 2 years and at least every 10 years thereafter.
Environmental justice and environmental outcomes may improve as updated criteria can incorporate newer science and mitigation approaches that reduce disproportionate noise burdens on vulnerable communities.
State and local governments and regulated entities gain greater regulatory predictability and agency accountability because the law imposes a statutory schedule for EPA reviews.
Utilities, local governments, and other regulated businesses may face increased regulatory uncertainty and potential compliance costs if frequent reviews lead to changes in noise criteria.
EPA staff and resources could be strained by the mandated review schedule, diverting attention from other environmental priorities and slowing other agency work.
A statutory review timetable could incentivize procedural updates or paperwork even when no substantive scientific change exists, increasing administrative burden for state and local governments.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires an initial federal review of noise-control criteria within 2 years and recurring reviews at least every 10 years, and directs revisions when necessary.
Official title: To amend the Noise Control Act of 1972 to establish a deadline for revising or supplementing noise criteria.
Introduced December 23, 2025 by Robert Menendez · Last progress December 23, 2025
Requires the federal agency administrator responsible for noise control criteria to perform a formal review of those criteria within 2 years of the law's enactment and at least once every 10 years after that, and to revise or supplement the criteria when necessary. The bill also makes minor technical edits to the existing statute's wording and subsection numbering.