Minister Mario de Marco said the issue of noise featured prominently as a public concern in several localities
Bianca Caruana
The government is proposing a White Paper to tackle noise pollution classing it together with environment pollution resulting in criminal liability.
“The law will be placing noise pollution at the same level as any other form of pollution. Noise pollution will also include vibrations resulting from noise. There are laws already in existence but those breaking the law will now be punished as such if this goes through,” Head of the Environmental Law Department of the University of Malta Simone Borg said.
An assessment performed by Borg revealed that the current legal framework related to noise control is fragmented and the responsibility for regulating various aspects of noise is shared amongst several authorities which can be confusing for those wishing to report annoyances.
“With a few exceptions, objective noise level thresholds for neighbourhood noise are largely absent from noise-related legislation, and this makes it difficult for those who suffer from excessive noise to prove the fact of nuisance in court. This is why the White Paper stresses the need for a preventive, apart from a remedial, approach,” Borg said.
“The White Paper also proposes the establishment of a customer care helpline for noise-related issues and a Noise Control Board to be entrusted with a mandate to further the development of noise regulation in accordance with recommended guidelines,” Minister for Tourism, Culture and the Environment Mario de Marco said.
The Noise Control Board would be made up of the representatives of the regulatory bodies currently involved in sectoral noise prevention and control, possible also involving a representative from a NGO active in the field.
The customer care helpline will be available to anyone who has a complaint regarding any form of noise and will deal with direct the complaints to authorities responsible.
Launching the White Paper on the prevention, abatement and control of neighbourhood noise for public consultation, de Marco said that while considering the EU obligations on noise, the White Paper goes a step further and includes local considerations.
“The issue of noise featured prominently as a public concern in submissions received in the process of formulating the National Environment Policy, and this is a clear signal that the problem of excessive noise must be addressed,” de Marco said.
De Marco said that excessive noise can negatively affect not only on human health and quality of life, but also the state of the environment, including biodiversity and ecosystems. “Noise is a form of pollution, and therefore should be treated as such. The government has embarked on an exercise to review and improve the legal system and institutional arrangements to better control the problem of excessive noise.”
The minister said that the goal of the White Paper is to stimulate public debate on the issue to assist the government in formulating, and eventually implementing measures to improve present legal and institutional framework.
“It is intended to control of various forms of excessive noise, including noise from transport, places of entertainment, one off events, industrial or construction activities, or noise within neighbourhoods,” de Marco said.
Amongst other recommendations, the White Paper proposes new legislation for the control of neighbourhood noise, as well as the introduction of objective noise level thresholds based on World Health Organisation guidelines.
Amendments for improved enforcement, coordination amongst the authorities, harmonisation and the mainstreaming of noise-related issues in regulatory tools such as permitting were also included for debate.
The White Paper can be downloaded from: http://www.tsdu.gov.mt/noise
Questions and suggestions can be emailed to noise.mtce@gov.mt.
Consultation will close on 15 of April 2012.