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2017 SESSION

17101065D
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 233
Offered January 11, 2017
Prefiled November 30, 2016
Requesting the Virginia Department of Transportation to develop, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, procedures to measure and assess the noise impact on neighborhoods that were previously studied for noise impact but ineligible for noise abatement mitigation remedies at the time of the study. Report.
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Patron-- Favola
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, procedures for noise studies and noise abatement measures and noise abatement criteria help protect the public health and welfare and ensure livability in communities of the Commonwealth; and

WHEREAS, traffic noise impacts should be periodically reevaluated in fast-growing areas of the Commonwealth to ensure highway traffic noise does not substantially increase to excessive levels; and

WHEREAS, once noise impact is identified, certain abatement measures are eligible for federal funding; and

WHEREAS, protection of the public health and welfare is an important responsibility that the Federal Highway Administration helps to accomplish through noise abatement measures; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Virginia Department of Transportation be requested to develop, in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration, procedures to measure and assess the noise impact on neighborhoods that were previously studied for noise impact but ineligible for noise abatement mitigation remedies at the time of the study. In developing such procedures, the Virginia Department of Transportation (the Department) shall consider growth in population and traffic and whether increased development in surrounding areas since the time of previous studies may have substantially increased noise impact in affected neighborhoods and shall determine criteria for such neighborhoods to be reevaluated to determine if they are eligible for federal funding for noise abatement measures.

All agencies of the Commonwealth shall provide assistance to the Department for the development of these procedures, upon request.

The Department shall submit to the Governor and the General Assembly no later than the first day of the 2018 Regular Session of the General Assembly an executive summary and report of its progress in meeting the directives of this resolution for publication as a House or Senate document. The executive summary and report shall be submitted as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents and reports and shall be posted on the General Assembly's website.