
From the U.S. Code Online via GPO Access
[wais.access.gpo.gov]
[Laws in effect as of January 23, 2000]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
  January 23, 2000 and December 4, 2001]
[CITE: 42USC4905]

 
                 TITLE 42--THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE
 
                        CHAPTER 65--NOISE CONTROL
 
Sec. 4905. Noise emission standards for products distributed in 
        commerce
        

(a) Proposed regulations

    (1) The Administrator shall publish proposed regulations, meeting 
the requirements of subsection (c) of this section, for each product--
        (A) which is identified (or is part of a class identified) in 
    any report published under section 4904(b)(1) of this title as a 
    major source of noise,
        (B) for which, in his judgment, noise emission standards are 
    feasible, and
        (C) which falls in one of the following categories:
            (i) Construction equipment.
            (ii) Transportation equipment (including recreational 
        vehicles and related equipment).
            (iii) Any motor or engine (including any equipment of which 
        an engine or motor is an integral part).
            (iv) Electrical or electronic equipment.

    (2)(A) Initial proposed regulations under paragraph (1) shall be 
published not later than eighteen months after October 27, 1972, and 
shall apply to any product described in paragraph (1) which is 
identified (or is a part of a class identified) as a major source of 
noise in any report published under section 4904(b)(1) of this title on 
or before the date of publication of such initial proposed regulations.
    (B) In the case of any product described in paragraph (1) which is 
identified (or is part of a class identified) as a major source of noise 
in a report published under section 4904(b)(1) of this title after 
publication of the initial proposed regulations under subparagraph (A) 
of this paragraph, regulations under paragraph (1) for such product 
shall be proposed and published by the Administrator not later than 
eighteen months after such report is published.
    (3) After proposed regulations respecting a product have been 
published under paragraph (2), the Administrator shall, unless in his 
judgment noise emission standards are not feasible for such product, 
prescribe regulations, meeting the requirements of subsection (c) of 
this section, for such product--
        (A) not earlier than six months after publication of such 
    proposed regulations, and
        (B) not later than--
            (i) twenty-four months after October 27, 1972, in the case 
        of a product subject to proposed regulations published under 
        paragraph (2)(A), or
            (ii) in the case of any other product, twenty-four months 
        after the publication of the report under section 4904(b)(1) of 
        this title identifying it (or a class of products of which it is 
        a part) as a major source of noise.

(b) Authority to publish regulations not otherwise required

    The Administrator may publish proposed regulations, meeting the 
requirements of subsection (c) of this section, for any product for 
which he is not required by subsection (a) of this section to prescribe 
regulations but for which, in his judgment, noise emission standards are 
feasible and are requisite to protect the public health and welfare. Not 
earlier than six months after the date of publication of such proposed 
regulations respecting such product, he may prescribe regulations, 
meeting the requirements of subsection (c) of this section, for such 
product.

(c) Contents of regulations; appropriate consideration of other 
        standards; participation by interested persons; revision

    (1) Any regulation prescribed under subsection (a) or (b) of this 
section (and any revision thereof) respecting a product shall include a 
noise emission standard which shall set limits on noise emissions from 
such product and shall be a standard which in the Administrator's 
judgment, based on criteria published under section 4904 of this title, 
is requisite to protect the public health and welfare, taking into 
account the magnitude and conditions of use of such product (alone or in 
combination with other noise sources), the degree of noise reduction 
achievable through the application of the best available technology, and 
the cost of compliance. In establishing such a standard for any product, 
the Administrator shall give appropriate consideration to standards 
under other laws designed to safeguard the health and welfare of 
persons, including any standards under chapter 301 of title 49, the 
Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.], and the Federal Water Pollution 
Control Act [33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.]. Any such noise emission standards 
shall be a performance standard. In addition, any regulation under 
subsection (a) or (b) of this section (and any revision thereof) may 
contain testing procedures necessary to assure compliance with the 
emission standard in such regulation, and may contain provisions 
respecting instructions of the manufacturer for the maintenance, use, or 
repair of the product.
    (2) After publication of any proposed regulations under this 
section, the Administrator shall allow interested persons an opportunity 
to participate in rulemaking in accordance with the first sentence of 
section 553(c) of title 5.
    (3) The Administrator may revise any regulation prescribed by him 
under this section by (A) publication of proposed revised regulations, 
and (B) the promulgation, not earlier than six months after the date of 
such publication, of regulations making the revision; except that a 
revision which makes only technical or clerical corrections in a 
regulation under this section may be promulgated earlier than six months 
after such date if the Administrator finds that such earlier 
promulgation is in the public interest.

(d) Warranty by manufacturer of conformity of product with regulations; 
        transfer of cost obligation from manufacturer to dealer 
        prohibited

    (1) On and after the effective date of any regulation prescribed 
under subsection (a) or (b) of this section, the manufacturer of each 
new product to which such regulation applies shall warrant to the 
ultimate purchaser and each subsequent purchaser that such product is 
designed, built, and equipped so as to conform at the time of sale with 
such regulation.
    (2) Any cost obligation of any dealer incurred as a result of any 
requirement imposed by paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be borne 
by the manufacturer. The transfer of any such cost obligation from a 
manufacturer to any dealer through franchise or other agreement is 
prohibited.
    (3) If a manufacturer includes in any advertisement a statement 
respecting the cost or value of noise emission control devices or 
systems, such manufacturer shall set forth in such statement the cost or 
value attributed to such devices or systems by the Secretary of Labor 
(through the Bureau of Labor Statistics). The Secretary of Labor, and 
his representatives, shall have the same access for this purpose to the 
books, documents, papers, and records of a manufacturer as the 
Comptroller General has to those of a recipient of assistance for 
purposes of section 311 of the Clean Air Act [42 U.S.C. 7611].

(e) State and local regulations

    (1) No State or political subdivision thereof may adopt or enforce--
        (A) with respect to any new product for which a regulation has 
    been prescribed by the Administrator under this section, any law or 
    regulation which sets a limit on noise emissions from such new 
    product and which is not identical to such regulation of the 
    Administrator; or
        (B) with respect to any component incorporated into such new 
    product by the manufacturer of such product, any law or regulation 
    setting a limit on noise emissions from such component when so 
    incorporated.

    (2) Subject to sections 4916 and 4917 of this title, nothing in this 
section precludes or denies the right of any State or political 
subdivision thereof to establish and enforce controls on environmental 
noise (or one or more sources thereof) through the licensing, 
regulation, or restriction of the use, operation, or movement of any 
product or combination of products.

(f) Publication of notice of receipt of revision petitions and proposed 
        revised regulations

    At any time after the promulgation of regulations respecting a 
product under this section, a State or political subdivision thereof may 
petition the Administrator to revise such standard on the grounds that a 
more stringent standard under subsection (c) of this section is 
necessary to protect the public health and welfare. The Administration 
shall publish notice of receipt of such petition in the Federal Register 
and shall within ninety days of receipt of such petition respond by (1) 
publication of proposed revised regulations in accordance with 
subsection (c)(3) of this section, or (2) publication in the Federal 
Register of a decision not to publish such proposed revised regulations 
at that time, together with a detailed explanation for such decision.

(Pub. L. 92-574, Sec. 6, Oct. 27, 1972, 86 Stat. 1237; Pub. L. 95-609, 
Sec. 5, Nov. 8, 1978, 92 Stat. 3081.)

                       References in Text

    The Clean Air Act, referred to in subsec. (c)(1), is act July 14, 
1955, ch. 360, 69 Stat. 322, as amended, which is classified generally 
to chapter 85 (Sec. 7401 et seq.) of this title. For complete 
classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out 
under section 7401 of this title and Tables.
    The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, referred to in subsec. 
(c)(1), is act June 30, 1948, ch. 758, as amended generally by Pub. L. 
92-500, Sec. 2, Oct. 18, 1972, 86 Stat. 816, which is classified 
generally to chapter 26 (Sec. 1251 et seq.) of Title 33, Navigation and 
Navigable Waters. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, 
see Short Title note set out under section 1251 of Title 33 and Tables.

                          Codification

    In subsec. (c)(1), ``chapter 301 of title 49'' substituted for ``the 
National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 [15 U.S.C. 1381 et 
seq.]'' on authority of Pub. L. 103-272, Sec. 6(b), July 5, 1994, 108 
Stat. 1378, the first section of which enacted subtitles II, III, and V 
to X of Title 49, Transportation.


                               Amendments

    1978--Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 95-609 added subsec. (f).

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in sections 4902, 4903, 4907, 4909, 
4912, 4913, 4914, 4915, 4916, 4917 of this title.
