Noise pollution has over the years become a matter of important public concern, particularly due to its potential implications on our health and quality of life. Joseph Farrugia’s Talking Point yesterday, entitled When The Authorities Hear No Evil, raised a number of pertinent points in this regard.
It so happens that the Malta Environment and Planning Authority has over the last few weeks carried out an exercise of public consultation on the draft noise action plan and strategic noise maps. The draft plan does not consider the effect of entertainment outlets on noise pollution and other forms of neighbourhood noise. Not because Mepa has purposely excluded it but because the plan was formulated to address the requirements of the EU Environmental Noise Directive (Directive 2002/49/EC), transposed into Maltese law by the Assessment and Management of Environmental Noise Regulations, 2004.
It is a peculiar feature of the EU Environmental Noise Directive that it defines “environmental noise” in a very specific sense, such as noise from designated major roads and aircraft transport sources. The directive does not cover workplace noise, construction noise, entertainment noise, noise nuisance, fireworks noise, consumer product noise and noise transmission within and between dwellings and other forms of “neighbourhood noise” that are possibly the most frequent sources of noise-related complaints in Malta.
“Neighbourhood noise”, although falling outside the parameters of the EU Noise Directive and the strategic noise maps drafted to implement it, should not and cannot be ignored or treated lightly. On the contrary, we must do our utmost to regulate this type of noise more effectively at the national level. But in doing so we must acknowledge that, at present, responsibilities for regulating noise are spread across a myriad of regulatory entities.
For example, the Malta Tourism Authority, the Trade Licensing Department and the police regulate conditions under which entertainment establishments operate and this includes conditions related to noise.
The Occupational Health and Safety Authority is involved as far as noise within the working environment is concerned.
The Department of Environmental Health steps in where there are noise-related concerns over public health.
The Building Regulations Office imposes specific conditions in relation to noise emanating from construction activities.
The police force is the primary agency for enforcing the law in relation to nuisance.
Transport Malta regulates noise from transport, while the recently-established Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority regulates noise-related parameters when placing certain types of consumer products on the market.
Local councils are at the forefront of dealing with noise-related complaints from the public and Mepa is responsible for regulating “environmental noise”.
Needless to say, all these different entities are operating under the umbrella of different legislative instruments and it does not come as a surprise that the institutional and legal framework for dealing with neighbourhood noise is consequently rather complex and, unfortunately, not as effective as it should be.
For these reasons, the government has, over the past few months, initiated a process intended to pave the way towards improving the method in which this form of pollution is controlled.
Firstly, we want to ensure that neighbourhood noise is formally recognised as a policy priority on a par with other forms of pollution. In recent weeks, we discussed neighbourhood noise among government entities and with non-governmental organisations active in this field, such as the Noise Abatement Society of Malta, which are rendering a sterling service in raising awareness on the impacts of noise pollution on health and quality of life. Several proposals have emerged from this discussion and these have been reflected in the draft National Environment Policy, which will be launched for public consultation on Monday.
The draft policy addresses the need to review legislation related to the control of neighbourhood noise, to assess the scope for legal consolidation and the possibility of introducing objective noise level standards. Acknowledging that coordination among the different agencies is the key to dealing with the noise pollution effectively, the policy further envisages the setting up of an inter-ministerial action group to coordinate response to noise-related concerns, deal with contraventions and raise public awareness on the issue.
Some of these actions are already taking place and a prominent environmental law expert has been commissioned to perform a review of existing legislation.
We want to make sure that our laws and regulations dealing with noise are simple, clear and implementable. We also want to ensure that we have clear national standards and thresholds regarding permitted level of noise from various activities and that the authorities have the necessary legal power and practical means to control the activities that exceed these thresholds.
An assessment report and re-commendations for improving the present legal framework, capacity building measures and methods to improve coordination are expected to be finalised in November.
As a result, the government will have a clear way forward on how best to consolidate our efforts in addressing noise pollution more effectively. The ultimate intention is to have a one-stop shop, whereby any citizen can refer his/her complaint regarding any noise issue to a single focal point and the complaint is then channelled to the relevant authorities and is dealt with in an effective manner because, ultimately, noise matters.
Dr de Marco is Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, the Environment and Culture