S.I. No. 549/2018 - European Communities (Environmental Noise) Regulations 2018

1. The District Electoral Division of Tibradden.

2. That part of the District Electoral Division of Glencullen situated west of an imaginary line drawn as follows

Commencing at the junction of Slate Cabin Lane and Woodside Road, thence in a south-easterly direction and proceeding along Woodside Road and Ballyedmonduff Road to the county boundary at Glencullen Bridge.

Part 3 Agglomeration of Limerick

The “agglomeration of Limerick” means the city of Limerick together with the included areas in the county of Limerick and the included areas inthe county of Clare.

The included areas in the county of Limerick are:-The Electoral Divisions of:-

Ballycummin

Limerick South Rural

In the Electoral Division of Ballysimon, the townlands of:-

Ballybrennan

Ballysimon

Ballysimon (Dickson)

Ballysimon (Staunton)

Ballysimon Commons

Coolyhenan

Drombanny

Dromroe

Garryglass

Kilbane

Killonan

Knockananty

Milltown

Newcastle

Newtown

Peafield

Sreelane

Towlerton

In the Electoral Division of Ballyvarra, the townlands of:-

Ballyclogh

Casteltroy

Garraun

Garraunykee

Rivers

Woodstown

In the Electoral Division of Roxborough, the townlands of:-

Bohereen

Ballyclogh

Ballysheedy West

Derrybeg

Derryknockane

Rathurd

Rootiagh

Routagh

Roxborough

The included areas in the county of Clare are:-

The Electoral Division of Ballyglass.

In the Electoral Division of Cappavilla, the townlands of:-

Clooncarhy

Derryfada

Garraun

Gilloge

Strawickeen

GIVEN under the Official Seal of the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment,

14 December 2018.

RICHARD BRUTON,

Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation)

These Regulations replace Environmental Noise Regulations 2006 (

S.I. No. 140 of 2006

). They transpose EU Directive 2002/49/EC

4

relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise as amended by Commission Directive (EU) 2015/996

5

establishing common noise assessment methods and replacing Annex II of EU Directive 2002/49. The EU Directive aims to provide a common framework to avoid, prevent or reduce, on a prioritised basis, the harmful effects of exposure to environmental noise. For the purposes of these Regulations, environmental noise means unwanted or harmful outdoor sound created by human activities, including noise emitted by means of transport, road traffic, rail traffic, air traffic, and from sites of industrial activity including those defined in Annex I to Council Directive 96/61/EC

6

concerning integrated pollution prevention and control. The types of noise not included are noise that is caused by the exposed person, noise from domestic activities, noise created by neighbours, noise at workplaces or noise inside means of transport or due to military activities in military areas.

4 OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12 — 25.

5 OJ L 168, 1.7.2015, p 1 — 823.

6 O.J. No. L 257 of 10.10.1996, p. 26 — 40.

The Regulations set out a two-stage process for addressing environmental noise. Firstly, noise must be assessed through the preparation of strategic noise maps for areas and infrastructure falling within defined criteria, e.g. large agglomerations major roads, railways and airports. Secondly, based on the results of the mapping process, the Regulations require the preparation of noise action plans for each area concerned. Every five years from the data of preparation of the noise maps and action plans, and whenever there is a major development affecting noise, the maps and plans are required to be reviewed and revised, if necessary. The fundamental objective of action plans is the prevention and reduction of environmental noise.

The Regulations designate noise-mapping bodies and action planning authorities for the making and reviewing of strategic noise maps and action plans. Primary responsibility for both noise mapping and action planning is assigned to local authorities. While a number of other bodies also have noise mapping functions, they will be carried out on behalf of the local authorities concerned.

The Regulations designate the Environmental Protection Agency as the National Authority for the purposes of the Regulations. The Agencys role includes supervisory, advisory and coordination functions in relation to both noise mapping and action planning, as well as reporting requirements for the purpose of the Directive.

The Regulations provide for strategic noise maps and action plans and revised noise maps and action plans to be made available to the general public. They also provide for public consultation on proposed action plans and the review of action plans, and for the results of public consultation to be taken into account in finalising action plans or reviews of action plans.

1 OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12 — 25.

2 OJ L 168, 1.7.2015, p 1 — 823.

3 O.J. No. L.334 of 17.12., pp. 17 — 119

4 OJ L 189, 18.7.2002, p. 12 — 25.

5 OJ L 168, 1.7.2015, p 1 — 823.

6 O.J. No. L 257 of 10.10.1996, p. 26 — 40.

3. Each action plan should contain estimates in terms of the reduction of the number of people affected (annoyed, sleep disturbed, or other).

FIFTH SCHEDULE

DATA TO BE SENT TO THE COMMISSION

The data to be sent to the Commission are as follows

4. Strategic noise mapping will be used for the following purposes

— the provision of the data to be sent to the Commission in accordance with Regulation 5(4) and the Fifth Schedule

— a source of information for the general public in accordance with Regulation 13,

— a basis for action plans in accordance with Regulation 12.

Each of those applications requires a different type of strategic noise map.

5. Minimum requirements for the strategic noise maps concerning the data to be sent to the Commission are set out in paragraphs 1.5, 1.6, 2.5, 2.6 and 2.7 of the Fifth Schedule.

6. For the purposes of informing the general public in accordance with Regulation 13 and the development of action plans in accordance with Regulation 12, additional and more detailed information must be given, such as

— a graphical presentation,

— maps disclosing the exceeding of a limit value,

— difference maps, in which the existing situation is compared with various possible future situations,

— maps showing the value of a noise indicator at a height other than 4 m where appropriate.

The Agency may lay down rules on the types and formats of these noise maps.

7. Strategic noise maps for local or national application must be made for an assessment height of 4 m and the 5 dB ranges of L

den

and L

night

as required in the Fifth Schedule.

8. For agglomerations separate strategic noise maps must be made for road-traffic noise, rail-traffic noise, aircraft noise and industrial noise. Maps for other sources may be added.

FOURTH SCHEDULE

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR ACTION PLANS

9. (1) Noise mapping bodies shall use the common assessment methods contained in the Annex.

(2) Harmful effects may be assessed in accordance with the Second Schedule.

Quiet areas

10. (1) An action planning authority may following consultation with the Agency and with the approval of the Minister delimit quiet areas in agglomerations where particular requirements on exposure to environmental noise shall apply, as determined by the Agency

(2) An action planning authority may following consultation with the Agency and with the approval of the Minister delimit quiet areas in open country that are undisturbed by noise from traffic, industry or recreational activities.

Strategic Noise Maps

11. (1) The noise-mapping body or bodies concerned shall, no later than 30 June 2022, make or review the strategic noise map, or revised strategic noise map, as appropriate, for each of the following areas, in respect of the calendar year 2021:—

(

a

)(i) the agglomeration of Cork;

(ii) the agglomeration of Dublin;

(iii) the agglomeration of Limerick;

(

b

) a major road;

(

c

) a major railway; and

(

d

) a major airport.

(2) Strategic noise maps or revised strategic noise maps shall satisfy the minimum requirements set out in the Third Schedule.

(3) Noise-mapping bodies shall co-operate, as appropriate, with their counterparts in neighbouring Member States of the European Union with regard to the strategic noise mapping of border areas.

(4) A noise map shall be reviewed by the noise-mapping body and, if necessary, revised not later than five years after the date on which it was made.

(5) Noise-mapping bodies shall provide the Agency with information required for the purposes of Regulation 5(5) no later than one month after the date on which a map or revised map is made.

Action Plans

12. (1) The action planning authority or authorities concerned shall, no later than 18 July 2023, following consultation with the Agency, make or review the action plan, or revised action plan, if appropriate, for each of the following areas—

(

a

)(i) the agglomeration of Cork;

(ii) the agglomeration of Dublin;

(iii) the agglomeration of Limerick;

(

b

) places near a major road;

(

c

) places near a major railway; and

(

d

) places near a major airport.

(2)(

a

) Subject to prior consultation with the Agency and to subparagraph (

b

), the action planning authority or authorities concerned, as the case may be, shall determine the measures to be included in an action plan or a revision of an action plan.

(

b

) Each action plan or revision of an action plan shall address priorities which—

(i) may be identified on the basis of exceedances of any relevant noise limit value or other relevant criteria established by the Agency in accordance with subparagraph (3), and

(ii) shall, in the first instance, address the most important area or areas, as the case may be, established by strategic noise mapping.

(3)(

a

) Without prejudice to any relevant statutory limit value for noise, the Agency may, following consultation with noise-mapping bodies and action planning authorities, establish other relevant criteria for action plan priorities for road- traffic noise, rail-traffic noise, aircraft noise around airports and noise on industrial activity sites, to be applied in the revision of action plans and shall, no later than 18 July 2023, notify the Minister and the Minister of Transport, Sport and Tourism of such criteria.

(

b

) The Agency shall notify the Commission of any additions or changes to such criteria.

(4) An action plan or a review of an action plan shall—

(

a

) include an assessment against the minimum requirements set out in the Fourth Schedule, and

(

b

) have as its objective that of also protecting quiet areas in an agglomeration and quiet areas in open country.

(5) Action planning authorities shall ensure that—

(

a

) the public are consulted on action plans, reviews and revisions of action plans;

(

b

) the public are given early and effective opportunities to participate in the making or revisions of action plans;

(

c

) the results of public participation are taken into account in finalising action plans or revisions of action plans;

(

d

) the public are informed of the decisions taken in relation to action plans and revisions of action plans;

(

e

) reasonable time-frames are adopted to allow sufficient time for each stage of public participation.

(6) If the obligation to carry out a public participation procedure arises simultaneously from this Directive and any other European act, action planning authorities may provide for joint procedures in order to avoid duplication.

(7)(

a

) Action planning authorities shall be responsible for the making of action plans and the review and, where necessary, revision of action plans.

(

b

) An action plan shall be reviewed and, if necessary, revised

(i) in the event of a material change in environmental noise in the area concerned, or

(ii) if requested by the Agency

(iii) not later than five years after the date on which it was made or last reviewed.

(8) Action planning authorities shall co-operate as appropriate with their counterparts in neighbouring Member States of the European Union with regard to the making or review of action plans for border areas.

(9) Action planning authorities shall ensure that, for the purpose of Regulation 5(5), a summary of each action plan or revised action plan is sent to the Agency no later than one month after the date on which the action plan or revised action plan, as the case may be, was made.

(10) From 18 July 2019 Action planning authorities shall report to the Agency on all actions taken under each action plan or revised action plan in the previous 12 months.

Access to Information

13. (1) Noise mapping bodies and action planning authorities shall, in accordance with the provisions of the

European Communities Act 1972

(Access to Information on the Environment) Regulations 2007 (

S.I. No. 133 of 2007

), as amended, make strategic noise maps and revised strategic noise maps and, action plans and revised action plans available to the public and disseminate them by any appropriate means, including through the use of available information technologies.

(2) Information for the public on noise maps, action plans and revised action plans shall be clear, comprehensive and accessible, and shall include a summary of the most important points.

(3) Strategic noise maps, revised strategic noise-maps, action plans and revised action plans shall be made available to the public no later than one month after the date on which they are made.

Reporting

14. (1) The Agency shall furnish the Commission with information from strategic noise maps and summaries of action plans as referred to in the Fifth Schedule within six months of the dates set out in Regulations 11 and 12.

(2) The Agency, following consultation with noise-mapping bodies, action planning authorities and the Minister, shall, no later than 30 June 2020, and not later than every five years thereafter, notify the Commission of all agglomerations, all major roads, all major railways and airports within the territory of the State.

Revocation

15. The Environmental Noise Regulations 2006 (

S.I. No. 140 of 2006

) are revoked.

FIRST SCHEDULE

NOISE INDICATORS

Part I

Definition of the day-evening-night level L

den

.

The day-evening-night level L

den

in decibels (dB) is defined by the following formula

in which

— L

day

is the A-weighted long-term average sound level as defined in ISO 1996-2: 1987, determined over all the day periods of a year,

— L

evening

is the A-weighted long-term average sound level as defined in ISO 1996-2: 1987, determined over all the evening periods of a year,

— L

night

is the A-weighted long-term average sound level as defined in ISO 1996-2: 1987, determined over all the night periods of a year;

in which

— the day is 12 hours, the evening four hours and the night eight hours. The Agency may decide to shorten the evening period by one or two hours, and lengthen the day and/or the night period accordingly, provided its decision is the same for all noise sources; the Agency shall provide the Commission with information on any systematic difference from the default option,

— the Agency shall decide the start of the day, and consequently the start of the evening and the start of the night; the respective default values shall be 07.00 19.00 and 23.00 local time. The Agencys decision shall be the same for all noise sources;

— a year is a relevant year as regards the emission of sound and an average year as regards the meteorological circumstances;

and in which

— the incident sound is considered, which means that no account is taken of the sound that is reflected at the facade of the building under consideration (as a general rule, this implies a 3 dB correction in case of measurement).

The height of the L

den

assessment point depends on the application

— in the case of computation for the purpose of strategic noise mapping in relation to noise exposure in and near buildings, the assessment points must be 4,0 ± 0,2 m (3,8 to 4,2 m) above the ground and at the most exposed facade; for this purpose, the most exposed facade will be the external wall facing onto and nearest to the specific noise source; for other purposes other choices may be made,

— in the case of measurement for the purpose of strategic noise mapping in relation to noise exposure in and near buildings, other heights may be chosen but they must never be less than 1,5 m above the ground, and results should be corrected in accordance with an equivalent height of 4 m,

— for other purposes such as acoustical planning and noise zoning other heights may be chosen, but they must never be less than 1,5 m above the ground, for example for

— rural areas with one-storey houses,

— the design of local measures meant to reduce the noise impact on specific buildings,

— the detailed noise mapping of a limited area, showing the noise exposure of individual buildings.

Part II

Definition of the night-time noise indicator

The night-time noise indicator L

night

is the A-weighted long-term average sound level as defined in ISO 1996-2: 1987, determined over all the night periods of a year;

in which

— the night is eight hours as defined in Part 1,

— a year is a relevant year as regards the emission of sound and an average year as regards the meteorological circumstances, as defined in Part 1,

— the incident sound is considered, as laid down in Part 1,

— the assessment point is the same as for L

den

.

Part III

Supplementary noise indicators

In some cases, in addition to L

den

and L

night

, and where appropriate L

day

and L

evening

, it may be advantageous to use special noise indicators. Some examples are

— the noise source under consideration operates only for a small proportion of the time (for example, less than 20 % of the time over the total of the day periods in a year, the total of the evening periods in a year, or the total of the night periods in a year),

— the average number of noise events in one or more of the periods is very low (for example, less than one noise event an hour; a noise event could be defined as a noise that lasts less than five minutes; examples are the noise from a passing train or a passing aircraft),

— the low-frequency content of the noise is strong,

— LAmax, or SEL (sound exposure level) for night period protection in the case of noise peaks,

— extra protection at the weekend or a specific part of the year,

— extra protection of the day period,

— extra protection of the evening period,

— a combination of noises from different sources,

— quiet areas in open country,

— the noise contains strong tonal components,

— the noise has an impulsive character.

SECOND SCHEDULE

ASSESSMENT METHODS FOR HARMFUL EFFECTS

Dose-effect relations should be used to assess the effect of noise on populations. The dose-effect relations introduced by future revisions of Annex III of the Directive in accordance with Article 13(2) will concern in particular

— the relation between annoyance and L

den

for road, rail and air traffic noise, and for industrial noise,

— the relation between sleep disturbance and L

night

for road, rail and air traffic noise, and for industrial noise.

If necessary, specific dose-effect relations could be presented for

— dwellings with special insulation against noise as defined in fifth Schedule,

— dwellings with a quiet façade as defined in fifth Schedule,

— different climates/different cultures,

— vulnerable groups of the population,

— tonal industrial noise,

— impulsive industrial noise and other special cases.

THIRD SCHEDULE

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS FOR STRATEGIC NOISE MAPPING

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

25

th December

, 2018.

I, RICHARD BRUTON, Minister for Communications, Climate Action and the Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by

section 3

of the

European Communities Act 1972

(No. 27 of 1972) and for the purpose of giving effect to Directive (EC) 2002/49/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 June 2002 relating to the assessment and management of environmental noise

1

, as amended by Commission Directive (EU) 2015/996 of 19 May 2015 establishing common noise assessment methods

2

hereby make the following regulations

Citation and commencement