This noise is particularly disturbing
When you're just about to fall asleep
The rumble of the exhaust pipe came up
It usually lasts until two or three o'clock in the morning
The elevated traffic is noisy and the residents are unbearable
The Oriental Avenue Elevated Highway in Nantong, Jiangsu Province, is an important part of the city's expressway network and was completed and opened to traffic in 2013. This road connects the main urban area of Nantong, the development zone and the Suxitong Park, and it takes one hour to reach Shanghai from the south through the river.
In order to improve the housing conditions, Chen Yong purchased a newly opened real estate next to the elevated highway of Dongfang Avenue and moved in. The real estate is close to the elevated road, and the noise of traffic and vehicle horns can be heard clearly. Chen Yong was so disturbed that he sealed the balcony and installed soundproof glass, but the noise could still be heard at night. Especially in the early hours of the morning, the loud noise from the start and stop of some heavy muck trucks seriously affected the family's sleep.
The elevated two-way six-lane Oriental Avenue, with no traffic lights, and good road conditions, make it the first choice for some people to drag race late at night and bomb the streets. In the summer, the roar of the drag racing crowd continues until two or three o'clock in the morning. Chen Yong and nearby residents with elderly people and children were very uncomfortable.
There are more than 20,000 households in the communities along the road, and more than 3,000 households in close proximity to the traffic arteries. Since 2020, the public has continuously reported to the Jiangsu Provincial Comprehensive Supervision Platform for Pollution Prevention and Control the situation of elevated noise disturbance on Dongfang Avenue. After receiving clues, the People's Procuratorate of Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone launched an investigation and visit. Some high-rise residents reported that some vehicles kept honking their horns when there was a traffic jam on the elevated highway on a rainy day, and the noise had a great impact on them.
In order to solve the problems of the people as soon as possible, the Jiangsu Provincial People's Procuratorate set up a special case, with Procurator General Shi Shishi personally serving as the lead prosecutor, and asked the provincial, municipal and county procuratorial organs to simultaneously set up a case-handling team headed by the procurator general at the same level to comprehensively promote noise pollution control.
The causes of noise pollution are complex, and who is responsible for the treatment
China's "Acoustic Environment Quality Standards" distinguishes five types of acoustic environment functions, of which four types of areas refer to areas within a certain distance on both sides of traffic arteries that need to prevent traffic noise from having a serious impact on the surrounding environment. The noise limit of the Class 4A sound environment functional area to which Dongfang Avenue belongs is 70 decibels during the day and 55 decibels at night. Prosecutors conducted noise monitoring in the neighborhood near the east line of Dongfang Avenue, and the results showed that the maximum noise value at night was 60.6 decibels and the minimum value was 56.4 decibels, exceeding the prescribed noise limit.
The prosecutor investigated the source of the elevated noise on Dongfang Avenue and found that there was not only traffic noise naturally generated by vehicles on the road, but also man-made vehicle horns and the roar of illegally modified vehicles "bombing the street".
According to the staff of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, the Dongfang Avenue Elevated Highway was built in 2013, and the communities along the route were all delivered around 2020. Prior to the delivery of the community, there had been no complaints about the disturbance of the Oriental Avenue. Therefore, in this case, according to the regulations, the community developer should take noise reduction measures or bear the cost of treatment.
The developer said that they had taken noise reduction measures in accordance with regulations when building the house, setting aside 50 meters of soundproof green belt, installing soundproof windows for residents adjacent to the elevated highway, and the houses delivered at that time were also accepted. Now the problem of excessive noise is mainly caused by the rapid development of the city, so they should not be held responsible.
Prosecutors believe that noise pollution comes from multiple sources, and so should its treatment paths. Whether it is the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau on the "road" side, the developer on the "housing" side, and other relevant units involved in the case, they should all bear the responsibility for governance and rectification obligations. After the completion of the viaduct, the transportation department should repair and maintain the road. In the case that the noise is still exceeded, the developer should install a sound insulation screen for the elevated in accordance with the regulations.
On April 27, 2023, the local procuratorate issued a procuratorial recommendation to the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, suggesting that the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau urge real estate developers and operators to build sound insulation screens and implement road maintenance and maintenance supervision duties.
The developer has financial difficulties and is unable to rectify it
The project promotes the linkage construction of various departments
After the procuratorial suggestion was issued, the relevant units quickly responded to the requirements of the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau and organized manpower to maintain the road. About 4,000 meters of acoustic screens were installed in five communities along the Oriental Avenue Viaduct, and four developers completed the installation, but one never took action.
Regarding this phenomenon, the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau explained to the procuratorate that the developer was facing the dilemma of not being able to deliver the house normally due to difficulties in capital turnover, and could not afford the cost of about 1.4 million yuan for the construction of a 500-meter sound insulation screen. If developers are forced to take the money to build, it may be the last straw that crushes them. Considering the practical difficulties of enterprises, the Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau is coordinating with various parties, and the procuratorate has therefore extended the rectification period again and again.
In October 2023, half a year after the procuratorial recommendation was issued, the developer still has not installed sound screens. In the face of continuous complaints from nearby residents, the task force decided to perform its legal supervision duties and defend the public interest through litigation.
Under the promotion of the project, the Management Committee of Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone requested the Finance Bureau, Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau, Ecology and Environment Bureau and other departments of the Development Zone to actively cooperate to ensure that the construction of the last 500 meters of sound insulation screens will be completed by the end of 2023. Since the enterprise is unable to bear the construction cost, the financial department of the development zone will contribute capital in advance, and the enterprise will repay the loan after the completion of the project.
In order to determine whether the enterprise has the ability to repay, the prosecutor further investigated the assets of the enterprise and found that the enterprise still has assets such as parking spaces. If you are unable to repay the loan in the future, you can also raise funds through mortgages, auctions of parking spaces and other assets.
After the minutes of the meeting were signed, the finance department allocated 1.4 million yuan to install the last 500 meters of sound insulation screens. So far, 4,000 meters of sound insulation screens have been installed.
While promoting the installation of sound insulation screens, the procuratorial organs are also promoting the rectification of noise such as the roar of illegally modified motor vehicles bombing the street and honking horns. The Nantong Municipal People's Procuratorate issued a procuratorial reminder letter to the public security traffic police department, suggesting that the traffic police department establish and improve the sonar capture and monitoring system, collect noise such as "long whistle" and "bombing the street" in real time, and increase the investigation and punishment of illegal acts. Today, sonar capture systems have been built in some key sections.
With the joint implementation of road maintenance, the installation of sound insulation screens, and the establishment of a sonar capture system, the noise pollution of the elevated highway of Dongfang Avenue has finally been controlled. In November 2023, the prosecutor again inspected the home and found that the noise emissions along the line met the national standards, and the procuratorial recommendations were implemented. Under the promotion of the project, the residents of the community along the Oriental Avenue Elevated Highway are looking forward to a long-lost peace.
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Q1:
The Jiangsu Provincial Procuratorate has solved a number of problems of noise disturbance that the masses have strongly complained about through special projects, including the "old and difficult" problem of disturbing the people on the Nantong Oriental Avenue Elevated Expressway, what do you think about this?
A1:
The handling of this case fully demonstrates the advantages and characteristics of procuratorial public interest litigation in protecting the public interest. In this case, we can feel the difficulty of traffic noise pollution prevention and control, because it involves a lot of subjects, especially when the law clearly states that the subject who should be responsible is not able to actively perform its responsibilities because of its objective ability, how the dispute can be well resolved, and the procuratorate needs to engage in some more flexible and dynamic activities within the framework of the law, and these behaviors are fully reflected in the case.
Q2:
We also noticed the question of what is the value of the regulators who designate noise pollution to improve the relevant systems?
Q2:
This value is significant. "The law is not enough on its own", but the more complex the law, the more difficult it is to enforce. The Noise Pollution Prevention and Control Law has nine articles that stipulate 19 responsibilities, and it is not clear which department will be responsible for it, but rather that the local government will designate the corresponding department. Such a system design will make local governments unable to actively and effectively perform their duties due to various subjective or objective reasons. Procuratorial public interest litigation reminds the government to pay attention to designated duties through litigation, which not only effectively promotes the implementation of relevant legal provisions, but also plays a very good role in urging the government to strictly enforce the law.
Q3:
Now that the road network is becoming more and more developed, what methods should be used to prevent the recurrence of such problems?
A3:
First of all, for roads and buildings, whether in planning or layout, there should be a more scientific design in advance to ensure a reasonable distance and solve the problem from the source. Secondly, there are many means of noise prevention and noise reduction in the field of science and technology, and the law can incorporate some mature technologies as some basic requirements. Finally, the prevention and control of noise pollution is related to everyone in the final analysis, only every ordinary citizen is truly aware of the importance of tranquility, truly aware that tranquility is also an important indicator of the environment, and realize that everyone should have the right to live in a quiet environment, as well as the obligation not to easily disturb the peace of others, the legal system related to noise prevention and control will be truly valued and effectively implemented.
Source: CCTV "Today's Statement" B51