Noise Regulations and Replacement Mufflers

[burkbuilds]

I've heard a lot of people on here refer to any exhaust modifications as "illegal" if they don't meet original factory specifications. I don't have a definitive answer, but I did google the EPA and some websites about the subject to see what I could find. From what I've read, and I haven't researched this in any great depth, the EPA basically lost funding for the Noise Control Act of 1972 and the Quiet Communities Act of 1978 in 1981, and they don't regulate anything to do with noise any more. Their position seems to be that local (State/County/City) government is responsible to make and inforce any regulations, but the Feds are basically out of it other than "guidelines" that they recommend, but no enforcement, except the FAA has control of airplane and airport noise regulation.
Here's a little of what I found on the EPA's site, I though you might want to read it. I welcome any comments, and I'd like to know if any of you live in areas where they have and enforce noise ordinances for vehicles.

EPA Noise Pollution Statement from their website:
http://publicaccess.custhelp.com/cgi-bi ... faqid=1765

Answer ID
1765

Last Updated
04/07/2009 03:22 AM





Does the EPA regulate noise? Where are there resources about noise pollution?

Question
Does the EPA regulate noise? Where are there resources about noise pollution?

Answer
Community noise
EPA does not have any regulatory authority governing noise in local communities. You should consult with your local governmental (e.g., city and county) authorities to see if there are local or state laws that might apply to your situation. In addition, many states run noise pollution programs. To contact your state environmental agency for more information on their programs and regulations, see http://www.epa.gov/epahome/state.htm
The Noise Pollution Clearinghouse, http://nonoise.org/ , provides many noise-related resources, including:
• EPA documents that are not on EPA's site: http://nonoise.org/epa.htm
• A list of citizen organizations that combat noise: http://nonoise.org/quietnet.htm
• Resources for noises from air bags, barking dogs, boom cars, construction, jet skis, leaf blowers, personal computers, racetracks, swimming pool filter motors, and vehicles http://nonoise.org/resource.htm
• A law library: http://nonoise.org/lawlib.htm
Other sources of noise
In the past, EPA coordinated all federal noise control activities through its Office of Noise Abatement and Control. In 1981, the Administration at that time concluded that noise issues were best handled at the state or local government level. As a result, the EPA phased out the office's funding in 1982 as part of a shift in federal noise control policy to transfer the primary responsibility of regulating noise to state and local governments. The Noise Control Act of 1972 and the Quiet Communities Act of 1978, however, were not rescinded by Congress and remain in effect today, although essentially unfunded.
Note that all federal noise regulations remain in effect, and are enforced by either EPA or a designated federal agency. These regulations cover standards for transportation equipment, motor carriers, low-noise-emission products, and construction equipment. You can view them at the Government Printing Office Web site at
http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/te ... v24_02.tpl (scroll to Subchapter G)
The individuals listed below can assist you with issues related to the federal noise regulations.
Ken Feith: feith.ken@epa.gov
Mailing Address:
6103A
USEPA Headquarters
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Washington, DC 20460
Ken Mittelholtz: mittelholtz.ken@epa.gov
Mailing Address:
2252A
USEPA Headquarters
Ariel Rios Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N. W.
Washington, DC 20460
• Airport noise: EPA still works on issues related to airport noise. Please contact one of the EPA individuals above for assistance.
• Aviation noise: Information about aircraft or plane noise can be obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration Web site on aircraft noise Issues, http://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/hea ... aft_noise/
In addition, the Federal Interagency Committee on Aviation Noise (FICAN) was formed in 1993 to provide forums for debate over future research needs to better understand, predict and control the effects of aviation noise, and to encourage new technical development efforts in these areas.
•
o FICAN: http://www.fican.org/
• Railroad/locomotive horn noise: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) Web site includes information on the Railroad Noise Emission Compliance Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR 210), http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/264
The FRA Web site also includes information about the 2005 Use of Locomotive Horns Final Rule at http://www.fra.dot.gov/us/content/1318
• Interstate motor carrier noise: The Federal Highway Administration's Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety Web site includes information on the Interstate Motor Carrier Noise Emission Compliance Regulations from the Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR 325) at http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/rules-regulati ... on_toc=730
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Part 325: Compliance with interstate motor carrier noise emission standards










Subpart G—Exhaust systems and tires
§325.91 Exhaust systems.
A motor vehicle does not conform to the visual exhaust system inspection requirements, 40 CFR 202.22, of the Interstate Motor Carriers Noise Emission Standards, if inspection of the exhaust system of the motor vehicle discloses that the system-
(a) Has a defect which adversely affects sound reduction, such as exhaust gas leaks or alteration or deterioration of muffler elements, (small traces of soot on flexible exhaust pipe sections shall not constitute a violation of this subpart);
(b) Is not equipped with either a muffler or other noise dissipative device, such as a turbocharger (supercharger driven by exhaust gases); or
(c) Is equipped with a cut-out, by-pass, or similar device, unless such device is designed as an exhaust gas driven cargo unloading system.

•




External Links Disclaimer: Please be aware that links to non-EPA sites do not imply any official EPA endorsement. Furthermore, EPA does not accept any responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at those locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. EPA does not guarantee the suitability of the information for any specific purpose.

[Easy Rider]

Originally Posted by burkbuilds

I've heard a lot of people on here refer to any exhaust modifications as "illegal" if they don't meet original factory specifications.

After scanning the text you provided, I come to a slightly different conclusion than you did.

"The Noise Control Act of 1972 and the Quiet Communities Act of 1978, however, were not rescinded by Congress and remain in effect today, although essentially unfunded.
Note that all federal noise regulations remain in effect, and are enforced by either EPA or a designated federal agency. These regulations cover standards for transportation equipment, motor carriers, low-noise-emission products, and construction equipment."

Now I do think that is kind of a joke because enforcement at the federal level is close to ZERO, as it has always been, except maybe AT the manufacturing stage.

So, what's your point in bringing this up ?? Do you favor obnoxiously loud pipes....on bikes....or cars.....or red-neck pickup trucks ??? Or do you think that we need be guided ONLY by the laws when formulating our behavior ??

Hot button issue for me.......YES, indeed it IS. :skull:

[burkbuilds]

No love of overly loud pipes here, just curious about what people actually encounter when they change exhausts. It's hard for me to believe that almost any of the Harley's I encounter could possibly be in compliance, but I see these guys come in by the hundreds to music festivals downtown in Chattanooga, shaking the streets and they pull right through the police barricades and park and the cops are standing there and I've never seen anyone hassled over it by the authorities.
I don't live in an area where they do ANY vehicle testing, but I have taken my parents cars through "emissions" testing in Chattanooga and I've never seen any equipment to even check the db level of anything, they basically look to make sure a car has a catalytic converter on it, no obvious holes in the exhaust pipes and stick a meter that measures particulate emissions in the tailpipe. My daughters car passed emissions last week in Atlanta and it's burning more oil than gasoline right now.
A few years ago I encountered a Jet ski running without any muffler and I flagged the guy down and asked him if he'd please ride somewhere else because we couldn't even talk to each other on the shore because he was so loud. He got mad and told me he was gonna go take the exhausts off of all his jet ski's and come back just to annoy me. So I called the cops because we were trying to spend some time with my dad who was dying of cancer, and this guy was just being a jerk. When the cops came they basically just asked him to leave but that was it, so I was just curious about what people actually encountered in their part of the country. I know the laws are on the books, but hey, it's still illegal to park your car in places here in the south unless you tie it to a hitching post, but nobody enforces that one either. I'm not really that big on having a lot of laws about everything, I wish people would just be considerate of each other and treat everyone else the way they'd like to be treated themselves. I guess what I've seen is that if you are a person of character, you'll probably do what you should whether there is a law or not, and if you lack character, you'll probably find a way around any law you don't like anyway, so what's the point.
I was kinda looking for a chart that showed a db level at a certain number of feet that was the "acceptable" upper end of noise from a bike I did find it, it's in one of the links that I pasted above, but it seemed pretty high to me, I think you'd have to be REALLY loud to be in violation!

[adrianinflorida]

To me, it's an issue of consideration. There probably aren't enough bikes on the road putting out enough pollution, overall, to make a major ecological problem due to emissions 'violations'. Wide open pipes on a bike sound obnoxious, to me. I live a block over from A1A down here, and pretty much 24/7 there's somebody running wide open with drag pipes at least a couple times an hour. I say to each his own ,when it doesn't infringe on others' rights to a little bit of sanity and quiet.

a vocal few of the Anti-Helmet law and/or loud pipe people take it to the extreme, as if they are being thrown into a gulag for being "Forced" to wear a helmet or to muffle their exhausts somewhat. Thankfully, they are the exception, and most bikers are decent people that don't want to step on anyone elses lives with overly loud pipes and try to keep it quiter when going through neighborhoods or riding lare at night.