That’s what it’s all about:
- Silence is a precious commodity in densely populated and industrialised areas
- Federal government has issued regulations on noise abatement
- FOEN mandated to review existing regulations
The Confederation has issued regulations on noise abatement that lay down framework conditions for industry and transport in particular. The Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) was mandated by Parliament to review the existing regulations. In the current year, the FOEN is conducting a comprehensive economic assessment (VOBU) of nine possible measures, analysing their noise-reducing effect and economic consequences in connection with traffic noise. The regulations for the construction and licensing of vehicles and aircraft are to continue to be coordinated internationally. The FOEN aims to present the findings transparently to important representatives from industry and the cantons and to discuss implications with them.
The Association of the Freight Industry (VAP) will be actively involved and contribute the industry’s perspective. The FOEN will complete the VOBU by the end of 2023 and the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) will decide on the further procedure and publish this at the beginning of 2024. We will report on new findings here.
The following focal points are considered:
- Adjustment of the limit values for road, rail and air traffic noise
- Adjustment of the assessment period (rest period)
- Standardisation of the sensitivity levels
- Simplification of the noise classification regime (restriction of the protection of existing buildings)
- Dynamisation of noise protection (temporary relief)
- Clarification of measures (definition of test criteria)
- Strengthening transparency (disclosure of relief)
- Strengthening of the polluter-pays principle (compensation for advance payments)
