United States Environmental Protection Agency Press Office (A-107) Washington DC 20460 SEPA Environmental News FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE English (703) 557-2710 COURT DENIES STAY OF The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District EFFECTIVE DATE OF GARBAGE TRUCK of Columbia Circuit announced on September 29, NOISE REGULATION 1980, that they had. denied a request for a stay of the Federal Noise Emission regulation for newly manufacturered garbage trucks. On October 1, 1979,the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a regulation to control the noise' emitted by garbage trucks that are manufactured after October 1, 1980. The National Solid- Wastes Management Associat ion (NSWMA), a trade associ ati on represent i ng manu- facturers and users of garbage trucks, challenged two elements of the regulation in a legal action. In addition, the association asked, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to stay the effective date of the regulation while the court was considering NSWMA's challenge. On September 29, 1980, the Court denied NSWMA's request for a stay. Therefore, the regulation went into effect on October 1, 1980. NSWMA's challenge to two elements of the regulation remains before the court for consideration. All manufacturers of garbage trucks that are manufactured after October 1, 1980 must comply with the provisions of the regulation. These provisions include: a maximum noise level for newly manufactured garbage trucks of 79 decibels measured at seven metres from the truck; the re- quirement for manufacturer-conducted testing to assure that these noise limits are being com- plied with; and the reporting of the test results to EPA. ------- |