Review of the Implementation of Directive 2002/49/EC on Environmental Noise

Project Objectives

The key objectives of the project are as follows:

• To review the implementation of the key provisions of the Directive by the 27 Member States;
• To develop proposals for the amendment of the Directive, as appropriate; and
• To develop an Action Plan outlining further implementation strategies and Community action on environmental noise, as appropriate.

Review of Implementation

The review of implementation will gather and evaluate the experiences gained over the past five years in implementing the Environmental Noise Directive at Member State level. In undertaking this review, the project consortium has contacted Member State officials to request their feedback on key aspects of the implementation process, including methodologies, timeframes, developing noise maps and action plans and the associated costs and benefits. Member States have been encouraged to identify any problems in implementing the requirements of the END and to propose possible elements for revision.

Policy Proposals and Recommendations

Based on the material gathered under the review of implementation, the project consortium will develop possible policy proposals and recommendations for the review process.

Action Plan on Noise

The final objective of the project is to identify appropriate packages of possible Community policy measures which could form part of a Commission Action Plan. The development of the Action Plan will involve two steps, the identification of possible measures and policies and an assessment of their expected impact. Drawing on a literature review and consultation with experts on noise, we will develop a comprehensive inventory of realistic policies and measures that are used for the control of environmental noise. We will then undertake an assessment of the different options and their compatibility, with the aim of generating a number of possible policy packages that are associated with different levels of ambition in the control of environmental noise.

This project is being delivered by a consortium consisting of Milieu Ltd, Risk and Policy Analysis Ltd. and TNO. The lead organisation is Milieu Ltd., with RPA providing input on policy and impact assessment and TNO providing technical expertise on noise control measures.