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4 Environmental Analysis <br /> 4.13 Noise <br /> 4.13.1.4 Existing Sound Environment <br /> The Project is bounded to the north by grazing land, rural residences, the West Patterson Pass, <br /> and the Union Pacific Railroad. To the east lies grazing land and open space. Rural residences, <br /> grazing land, and open space bound the Project to the south. The Project is bounded by rural <br /> residences, grazing land, and the PG&E Tesla Substation to the west. <br /> The most significant sources of noise in the vicinity of the Project are vehicular traffic on Interstate <br /> 580 and the local street network. Railroad trains intermittently generate noise levels that are <br /> significant along the railroad tracks. General aviation aircraft using the Tracy Municipal Airport <br /> also contribute to intermittent noise levels. Noise is also generated on individual parcels whether <br /> industrial, office, retail or residential. <br /> The San Joaquin County 2035 General Plan EIR contains ambient noise monitoring results at <br /> several locations within the County. The closest monitoring location is approximately 2.5 miles <br /> northeast of the Project site and shows an Leq ranging from 39-45 dBA during the morning, 44-50 <br /> dBA during the afternoon, and 40-47 dBA during the night. The General Plan also shows an Lmax <br /> ranging from 51-66 dBA during the morning, 58-78 dBA during the afternoon, and 47-68 dBA <br /> during the night. <br /> 4.13.2 Regulatory Setting <br /> 4.13.2.1 Federal <br /> Federal Transit Administration and Federal Railroad Administration Standards <br /> Although the FTA standards are intended for federally funded mass transit projects, the impact <br /> assessment procedures and criteria included in the FTA (2018) Transit Noise and Vibration <br /> Impact Assessment Manual routinely are used for projects under review by local jurisdictions that <br /> have not adopted their own vibration impact standards. The FTA and Federal Railroad <br /> Administration have published guidelines for assessing the impacts of ground-borne vibration <br /> associated with rail projects, which have been applied by other jurisdictions to other types of <br /> projects. The FTA's threshold of architectural damage for conventional sensitive structures from <br /> ground-borne vibration is measured as 0.2 inch per second PPV or 94 VdB (decibel units of <br /> 1 micro-inch per second). The FTA measure of human annoyance at residential uses is 72 VdB <br /> for"Frequent Events," or fewer than 70 vibration events of the same kind per day. <br /> Occupational Safety and Health Act <br /> Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (29 U.S.C. §651 et seq.), the <br /> U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) adopted regulations (29 <br /> Code of Federal Regulations §910.95) designed to protect workers against the effects of <br /> occupational noise exposure. These regulations list limits on noise exposure levels as a function <br /> of the amount of time during which the worker is exposed. The regulations further specify <br /> requirements for a hearing conservation program (§1910.95(c)), a monitoring program <br /> (§1910.95(d)), an audiometric testing program (§1910.95(g)), and hearing protection <br /> (§1910.95(i)). There are no federal laws governing community noise. <br /> Although no federal noise regulations exist, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) <br /> has published noise guidelines (USEPA 1974). The USEPA guidelines recommend a day/night <br /> Griffith Energy Storage Project 4.13-6 Tetra Tech/2022120675 <br /> Draft Environmental Impact Report August 2023 <br />