Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023 (SA)

South Australia Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023 under the Environment Protection Act 1993

Contents Part 1—Preliminary 1 Short title 2 Commencement 3 Interpretation 4 Principal land uses and land use categories 5 Indicative noise levels 6 Application of policy 7 Amendment of policy without following normal procedure (section 32 of Act) Part 2—Objects of policy 8 Objects of policy Part 3—Measurement procedure 9 Application of Part 10 Instrumentation 11 Noise‑affected premises and measurement place 12 General procedures 13 Source noise level procedures 14 Ambient and background noise level procedures 15 Rounding Part 4—General noise control provisions 16 Application of Part 17 Compliance with noise goals satisfies general environmental duty 18 Criteria for determining action to deal with non‑complying noise from noise source Part 5—Development authorisation applications 19 Development authorisation applications Part 6—Special noise control provisions—frost fans 20 Interpretation 21 Operation of frost fans Part 7—Guidance documents 22 Wind farms 23 Issue of environment protection orders to give effect to guidelines Schedule 1—Noise excluded from policy (clause 6) 1 Interpretation 2 Noise excluded from policy Schedule 2—Repeal of Environment Protection (Noise) Policy 2007 Legislative history

Part 1—Preliminary 1—Short title This policy may be cited as the Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023. 2—Commencement This policy comes into operation on a day to be fixed by the Governor by notice in the Gazette. 3—Interpretation (1) In this policy— Act means the Environment Protection Act 1993; ambient noise at a place affected by noise from a noise source means the noise at the place other than the noise from the noise source; ambient noise level (continuous) means the value, expressed in dB(A), of a continuous steady sound that, for the period over which the measurement is taken using fast time weighting, has the same mean square sound pressure as the ambient noise level which varies with time when measured in accordance with Part 3; ambient noise level (maximum) means the value, expressed in dB(A), of the highest instantaneous noise level measured using fast time weighting during measurement of the ambient noise level (continuous); background noise level means the noise level that, according to a measurement taken using fast time weighting in accordance with Part 3, is equalled or exceeded for 90% of the period over which the measurement is taken; building includes a structure and part of a building or structure; characteristic, in relation to noise from a noise source, means a tonal, impulsive, low frequency, intermittent or modulating characteristic of the noise that is determined by the Authority or another administering agency, in accordance with the Guidelines for the use of the Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023 published by the Authority as in force from time to time, to be fundamental to the nature and impact of the noise; dB(A) means decibels measured using the "A" weighting network of a sound level meter; extraneous noise means— (a) noise caused by wind (such as wind on vegetation or the microphone diaphragm), insects, animals, birds, aircraft or unusual traffic conditions or any other infrequently occurring event; or (b) noise that the Authority or another administering agency determines to be of a significant level and the result of an organised activity that might be discontinued, reduced or relocated; fast time weighting means a setting of a sound level meter to a "fast" or "F" response; habitable room means any room that is not a storage area, bathroom, laundry or toilet; impulsive characteristic—a noise has an impulsive characteristic if it has a dominant characteristic consisting of a single pressure peak, or a sequence of such peaks, or a single burst with multiple pressure peaks whose amplitude decays with time, or a sequence of such bursts; indicative noise level for a noise source means the indicative noise level determined for the noise source under clause 5; intermittent characteristic—a noise has an intermittent characteristic if the noise level increases noticeably and rapidly, and holds the higher level for a noticeable period, on at least 2 occasions during the assessment period that applies under clause 13(1)(b); land use category means a category of land use determined under clause 4 for the purpose of determining the indicative noise level for a noise source or the relevant allowable noise level for noise‑affected premises; low frequency characteristic—a noise has a low frequency characteristic if it has a characteristic that dominates the overall noise with content between 20 hertz and 250 hertz; modulating characteristic—a noise has a modulating characteristic if the noise level has a noticeable and cyclic variation in frequency or amplitude; noise‑affected premises—see clause 11; noise designated area means an area to which the Planning and Design Code applies (whether described in the Code as a zone or subzone or otherwise) that is— (a) made subject to a set of land use rules by the provisions of the Code; and (b) not itself further divided by the Code into areas that are made subject to separate sets of land use rules; noise level means sound pressure level in dB(A); noise source means a commercial or industrial premises at which an activity is undertaken, or a machine or device is operated, resulting in the emission of noise; Planning and Design Code or Code means the Planning and Design Code under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016; premises means land, or the whole or part of a building or vessel; principal land use—see clause 4; quiet noise designated area—a noise designated area is a quiet noise designated area if the land uses under the Planning and Design Code provisions that make land use rules for the noise designated area are principal land uses that all fall within either or both of the following land use categories: (a) Residential; (b) Rural living; relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for premises means the Planning and Design Code provisions that make land use rules for the noise designated area in which the premises are situated; source noise level (continuous) means the value, expressed in dB(A), of a continuous steady sound that, for the period over which the measurement is taken using fast time weighting, has the same mean square sound pressure as the noise level which varies over time when measured in relation to a noise source and noise‑affected premises in accordance with Part 3; source noise level (maximum), in relation to a noise source, means the value, expressed in dB(A), of the highest instantaneous noise level using fast time weighting during the measurement of the source noise level (continuous) in relation to the noise source and noise‑affected premises; tonal characteristic—a noise has a tonal characteristic if it has a perceptible and definite pitch or tone. (2) In this policy, a reference to an Australian Standard or an Australian/New Zealand Standard is a reference to the Standard as varied from time to time. 4—Principal land uses and land use categories (1) The Authority will, for the purposes of this policy, determine if a land use referred to in the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for a noise designated area is a principal land use for the purposes of determining the land use category or categories that apply under this policy in respect of the area by reference to— (a) in the first instance—the Desired Outcomes provisions of the Code that apply in respect of the noise designated area; and (b) to the extent that further clarification or specificity is required— (i) in the second instance—the Performance Outcomes provisions of the Code that apply in respect of the noise designated area; and (ii) in the third instance—the Designated Performance Features provisions of the Code that apply in respect of the noise designated area. (2) For the purposes of subclause (1), the Authority may also have regard to the Guide to the Planning and Design Code prepared by the Department for Trade and Investment, as in force from time to time. (3) The use of a particular land use term in a relevant Planning and Design Code provision for a noise designated area will be taken to correspond to a particular land use category for the purposes of this policy in accordance with the Guidelines for the use of the Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023 published by the Authority, as in force from time to time. (4) The land use category or categories within which a principal land use under the Planning and Design Code falls is to be determined by the Authority in accordance with the Guidelines for the use of the Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023 published by the Authority, as in force from time to time. (5) The allocation of a noise designated area to a particular land use category or categories for the purposes of this policy will be determined by the Authority in accordance with the Indicative noise factor guidelines for the Environment Protection (Commercial and Industrial Noise) Policy 2023 published by the Authority, as in force from time to time. (6) If there is disagreement as to— (a) whether a land use referred to in the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for a noise designated area is a principal land use; or (b) which land use category a principal land use under the Planning and Design Code falls within, the issue is to be determined, for the purposes of this policy, by the Authority after consultation with the State Planning Commission. 5—Indicative noise levels (1) Subject to this clause, the indicative noise level for a noise source is to be determined as follows: (a) where— (i) the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise source fall within a land use category specified in Table 1 in subclause (9); and (ii) the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise‑affected premises fall within the same category as the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise source, by reference to indicative noise factors set out in Table 1 in subclause (9); (b) in any other case—by reference to indicative noise factors set out in Table 2 in subclause (9). (2) When measurements to determine the source noise level (continuous) are taken— (a) between 7.00 a.m. and 10.00 p.m. on the same day—an indicative noise factor used to determine the indicative noise level for the noise source is found in Table 1 or 2 in the column under the heading "Day"; or (b) between 10.00 p.m. on one day and 7.00 a.m. on the following day—an indicative noise factor used to determine the indicative noise level for the noise source is found in Table 1 or 2 in the column under the heading "Night". (3) An indicative noise factor is also selected from Table 1 or 2 by reference to a land use category (and an indicative noise factor for a land use category is found in the table in the column alongside the land use category). (4) If the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise source and the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise‑affected premises all fall within a single land use category, the indicative noise level for the noise source is the indicative noise factor for that land use category. (5) Subject to subclause (6), if the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise source and the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise‑affected premises do not all fall within a single land use category, the indicative noise level is the average of the indicative noise factors for the land use categories within which those land uses fall. (6) Subclause (5) does not apply if the noise designated area in which the noise source is situated is separated from the noise designated area in which the noise‑affected premises are situated by another noise designated area that is (on an imaginary straight line joining the noise source and the noise‑affected premises) at least 100 metres wide, but instead subclause (4) applies as if the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise source were the same as the principal land uses under the relevant Planning and Design Code provisions for the noise‑affected premises. (7) A figure resulting from the calculation of an average under subclause (5) must, if it contains a fraction, be rounded to the nearest whole number. (8) Despite the other provisions of this clause, if the measurement place is within a habitable room but cannot be located at an open window, the indicative noise level for the noise source is— (a) the lowest end of the design sound level range set out in Australian and New Zealand Standard AS/NZS 2107:2016: Acoustics — Recommended design sound levels and reverberation times for building interiors, determined by the Authority to be the relevant level; or (b) 20 dB(A) less than the indicative noise level that would, but for this subclause, apply, whichever is the greater. (9) Tables