PROTECTION AGAINST NOISE

In order to fulfil the institutional protection requirement stemming from the right to a healthy environment, the state should pass a regulation for the protection against noise and vibration as well, which enshrines the protection level reached and contains legal institutions based on prevention.

Based on the lessons of individual cases, our office has launched a comprehensive examination in order to be able to formulate guidelines for the legal practice and legislative proposals for the revision of the regulation. In the framework of the examination we carried out thematic consultations with several environmental inspectorates, the chief inspectorate and the ministry. Our aim was to get to know and to process the good practices developed during the course of public administration procedures and the major problems of legal practice emerged in the procedures of environmental authorities. To discuss the issues of protection against noise in a broad professional circle, we organized a conference on the 6th of October, 2010 with the participation of the authorities, municipalities and professional organizations. We have summarized the result of our comprehensive examination in a draft statement outlining our proposals concerning the reform of the regulation of protection against noise. The draft was circulated in a broad circle for harmonization in order to guarantee to the maximum extent the sound professional foundations of the complex legislative proposal which is to be submitted finally to the government.

Of the individual “noisy” cases handled by FGO perhaps the one of Hungaroring was the most remarkable. In the case of the car and motor race circuit, hosting international car races as well, the client complained that the various events, test-races, practice sessions with extremely high noise levels have become everyday features. The noise effects caused render the lives of the inhabitants in the neighbourhood impossible, with the noise burden limit exceeded by a significant level. In 2006 the inspectorate obliged the operator to undertake an environmental audit. The documentation submitted by the operator did not cover the presentation of all the activities from the aspects of protection against noise and vibration. The material did not contain solution proposals, nor action plans needed to achieve the reduction of noise. However the documentation was suitable to justify the overshoot of noise burden limit values, but the environmental inspectorate did not take measures. We have stated that the environmental inspectorate exempted two races illegally from the limit values and did not take resolute measures to reduce the noise for years. Consequently the right to a healthy environment was violated, therefore we have initiated a supervision procedure at the Ministry of Rural Development. This case was also significantly covered by the press and as a reaction the operator of the extremely popular race circuit launched a media campaign. The central message of this campaign stressed that if Hungaroring was to observe all the environmental provisions, it would have to be closed. As far as we are concerned, we can agree with this conclusion…

Press release - The Hungarian Parliamentary Commissioner for Future Generations has published his propositions concerning the regulation of the protection against noise