42 U.S.C. § 4905 — Noise emission standards for products distributed in commerce

(a) Proposed regulations.
(1) The Administrator^* must publish proposed regulations meeting subsection (c) for each product^* that (A) a section 4904(b)(1) report identifies, or includes in a class identified, as a major noise source; (B) in the Administrator's judgment can have a feasible noise-emission standard; and (C) is construction equipment, transportation equipment (including recreational vehicles and related equipment), a motor or engine (including equipment with one as an integral part), or electrical or electronic equipment.
(2)(A) Initial proposals must be published no later than 18 months after October 27, 1972. They apply to products identified as major noise sources in a section 4904(b)(1) report published on or before the initial proposals. (B) For a product identified in a later report, the Administrator must propose and publish its regulation no later than 18 months after that report.
(3) After proposals under paragraph (2), the Administrator must prescribe subsection (c) regulations unless the Administrator judges standards infeasible. The regulations may not be prescribed before six months after the proposals. They must be prescribed no later than (A) 24 months after October 27, 1972, for products covered by paragraph (2)(A), or (B) 24 months after publication of the identifying report for any other product.
(b) Authority to publish other regulations. The Administrator may propose subsection (c) regulations for a product not covered by the duty in (a) if the Administrator judges noise standards feasible and needed to protect public health and welfare. The Administrator may prescribe them no earlier than six months after publishing the proposal.
(c) Contents, other standards, participation, and revision.
(1) Every regulation under (a) or (b), and every revision, must include a noise-emission standard limiting the product's noise. In the Administrator's judgment, based on section 4904 criteria, it must be needed to protect public health and welfare. The Administrator must consider the amount and conditions of use, alone or with other noise sources, the noise reduction achievable with the best available technology, and compliance cost. The Administrator must appropriately consider health and welfare standards under other laws, including chapter 301 of title 49, the Clean Air Act, and the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. The noise standard must be a performance standard. A regulation may also include testing procedures needed to ensure compliance and manufacturer^* instructions about maintaining, using, or repairing the product.
(2) After publishing proposed regulations, the Administrator must give interested people an opportunity to participate in rulemaking as provided by the first sentence of 5 U.S.C. 553(c).
(3) The Administrator may revise a regulation by publishing proposed revised regulations and promulgating the revision no earlier than six months later. A revision making only technical or clerical corrections may be issued sooner if the Administrator finds that doing so is in the public interest.
(d) Manufacturer warranty and dealer costs.
(1) Starting on a regulation's effective date, the manufacturer of each new product^* covered by it must warrant to the ultimate purchaser^* and every later purchaser that, when sold, the product is designed, built, and equipped to comply with the regulation.
(2) The manufacturer must bear any dealer cost caused by paragraph (1). A franchise or other agreement may not shift that cost from the manufacturer to a dealer.
(3) If a manufacturer advertises the cost or value of noise-control devices or systems, the statement must give the cost or value attributed to them by the Secretary^* of Labor through the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For this purpose, the Secretary of Labor and representatives have the same access to a manufacturer's books and records as the Comptroller General has to an assistance recipient's records under section 311 of the Clean Air Act.
(e) State^* and local regulations.
(1) A State or political subdivision may not adopt or enforce (A) for a new product regulated by the Administrator under this section, a noise limit that is not identical to the Administrator's limit; or (B) for a component incorporated by the manufacturer into that product, a noise limit for the component when incorporated.
(2) Subject to sections 4916 and 4917, this section does not remove a State or political subdivision's right to control environmental noise^* or its sources by licensing, regulating, or restricting the use, operation, or movement of a product or combination of products.
(f) Revision petitions. After regulations for a product are issued, a State or political subdivision may ask the Administrator to revise the standard because a stricter subsection (c) standard is needed to protect public health and welfare. The Administration must publish notice of receiving the petition in the Federal Register and, within 90 days, must either (1) publish proposed revised regulations under subsection (c)(3), or (2) publish in the Federal Register a decision not to do so at that time, with a detailed explanation.