Frequent complaints from residents about ship operations that affect sleep
Yixing, Jiangsu Province: The procurator suggested good measures for noise control at night
"The decibel is 41.7 now." It is the occasional insects and wind that break the silence of the residential area. In the water service area near the residential area, the boats are parked in order in the designated area. Recently, when the People's Procuratorate of Yixing City, Jiangsu Province "looked back" on a public interest litigation case of traffic noise pollution, the police again confirmed that the problem of noise from ship operations at night, which plagued the residents of the community, had been effectively solved.
In July 2023, the Public Interest Litigation Department of Yixing Procuratorate found that Mr. Wang, a resident of a community in the jurisdiction, frequently complained about the problem of ship noise affecting sleep at night. After investigation and visit, the prosecutor found that the noise mentioned by Mr. Wang came from the Yixing Water Service Area on the Wushen Canal, which is only 100 meters away from the community.
The Wushen Canal is an important inland waterway between the Taihu Lake water system and the Yangtze River. It connects Wuhu and Shanghai in Anhui Province, and is known as the "water highway". Yixing Water Service Area is built according to the anchorage in the west of the city. It integrates ship machinery maintenance area, water gas station, storage area, supermarket and restaurant, providing comprehensive services for ships and crew. The whole water service area is bustling, and ships of up to 1000 tons often berth or sail after rest at night. The noise generated by the nighttime operation of the ship is like thunder, which disturbs the normal life of residents in adjacent communities.
According to the mandatory national standard "Environmental Quality Standard for Noise" issued in 2008, the residential area belongs to Class 1 acoustic environment functional area, and the noise limit at night is 45 decibels. The public interest litigation procuratorial department of the hospital carried out noise monitoring on the residential area, and the results showed that the average noise at night was 55 decibels, exceeding the specified noise limit. It is confirmed that the noise mainly comes from the ship operation in the water service area. The court put the case on file for investigation because it harmed the public interest.
In August 2023, Yixing Municipal Procuratorate will make and issue procuratorial recommendations to relevant competent departments, urging them to take effective measures in time to perform their supervision and management responsibilities.
After the issuance of the procuratorial recommendations, the competent authorities attached great importance and actively implemented the main responsibility. On the one hand, increase the publicity of noise reduction, set warning lines at the upstream and downstream of the anchorage through the platform of "Water Traffic Safety Monitoring and Early Warning System" to remind the ships not to stop at the anchorage after 9 p.m., so as to avoid noise disturbing the residents; On the other hand, notice boards and LED screens shall be erected at eye-catching positions in the water service area to play slogans in a rolling manner, reminding passing ships to reasonably arrange access time. At the same time, the competent department strengthened its supervision and management responsibilities, strengthened its investigation and punishment, investigated and punished ships without corresponding valid inspection certificates according to law, and effectively improved its supervision ability. In November 2023, the hospital carried out noise detection on the residential quarters involved, and found that the noise at night had been controlled within 45 decibels, meeting the requirements of relevant regulations.
It is understood that since the deepening of noise pollution control in March last year, the Institute has taken the initiative to perform its legal supervision duties and deepen the traceability control. Up to now, it has collected more than 40 problem clues, filed 4 cases, urged the resolution of more than 30 problems, and solved the noise pollution supervision problems.
