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III. Environmental Setting, Impacts,and Mitigations <br /> H. Noise <br /> The residence at 9690 Austin Road would be exposed to noise from road traffic as well as <br /> landfill equipment and activities including truck travel and waste dumping within the landfill <br /> property. Table HIMA shows calculated noise levels along selected road segments;traffic- <br /> generated noise is discussed separately in the section below. On the basis of a peak-hour traffic <br /> of 63 trips per hour,traffic along this section of the road would generate a noise level of about 62 <br /> dBA,Leq at about 50 feet from the center of the road. Under the project,landfill equipment <br /> would be operating within 500 feet of the residence at 9690 Austin Road. Road traffic and <br /> landfill trucks and equipment combined have the potential to cause noise levels to exceed 75 <br /> dBA,Leq, at the residence. This was estimated by adding a noise level of 90-95 dBA,Leq,from <br /> landfill equipment and a noise level of 67 dBA,Leq,from haul trucks (within the landfill <br /> property) at 500 feet from the residence, and using a three dBA attenuation rate with distance. A <br /> traffic-generated noise level (from traffic along Austin Road)of 66 dBA,Leq, (See Table III.H.4) <br /> at 50 feet from the center of Austin Road would exacerbate the noise impact. These noise events <br /> would have more of a disturbing and intrusive effect when they occur during noise-sensitive <br /> times,such as before 7:00 a.m. <br /> TABLE III.H.4: CALCULATED NOISE LEVELS ALONG SELECTED ROADS <br /> Noise Levels/a/ <br /> Road Segment Future With <br /> Existing' Base(2005) Project(2005) <br /> Austin Road north of landfill entrance 66 74 75 <br /> Austin Road, south of landfill entrance 62 66 66 <br /> French Camp Road 66 68 68 <br /> Mariposa Road 70 75 75 <br /> /a/ Noise levels were calculated on the basis of morning peak-hour traffic volumes using the <br /> FHWA basic traffic noise prediction model. Posted speed limits were used, and noise was <br /> calculated at a distance of about 50 feet from the center of the roadway. <br /> SOURCE: Environmental Science Associates,Inc. <br /> The combined effect of these noise sources at the residence at 9690 Austin Road would be a <br /> noise level increase of more than a five dBA. Since landfill equipment and operations would <br /> III.H.12 <br />