A cite for sore ears.

The Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), a panel that advises U.S. agencies on procedural matters, finds the nation's primary noise-abatement program unique. ACUS reports in the July 8 Federal Register that this all-but-comatose Environmental Protection Agency program appears to represent the only instance "where Congress has eliminated the funding for an ongoing program that preempts state and local [regulatory] actions - without also ending the statutory authorization for that program or addressing the preemptive effect of existing regulations."

The Reagan administration's 1981 decision to strip all funds from EPA:S noise-control program placed the Noise Control Act of 1972 in limbo (SN: 8/17/91, p.100). For instance, it left several proposed noise-control standards pending for a decade.

In its report, ACUS recommends that EPA analyze the effects of having few noise regulations on the books and virtually no means for any other government agency to step in and fill the gap. After EPA advises the appropriate congressional committees on its findings, ACUS recommends that Congress either repeal the noise act or delegate specific noise-control responsibilities to EPA - and earmark funds for them. ACUS expects to reiterate these recommendations in letters to EPA and Congress within the next week or two.