Legislative Intent of the Noise Act with Respect to Traffic Noise Control

A bill on the protection of public health against noise and for noise control in the municipal environment ("Noise Act") has the character of a Codex due to the issue of noise control in the municipal environment affecting the competence of many departments. An effective solution to this problem requires not only a comprehensive legislative approach, but also the necessity of coordination. It is proposed to set up a National Council of Noise that would work within the Office of the Government. The bill is designed to maximally apply the principles of subsidiarity and shared responsibility. To control the health impact of traffic noise in the outdoor area the previous legally enforceable system of one-figure noise limits is being abandoned and a new noise zone system is proposed. The noise limits should be used in this instance in accordance with the practice in other European countries as an interval of values (zones), which will be respected in noise control. The emphasis for the protection of public health against noise is placed on the protection of the interiors of buildings for housing, education, health and social purposes, where the level of health risks is minimized by setting an obligatory noise limit, which is the same for all noise zones and all noise sources.