Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 46 - COMMUNITY NOISE CONTROL
Section 11-46-2 - Definitions
' As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:
"Activity" means an act or combination of acts which create noise, and which is associated with any excessive noise source.
"Agricultural activities" means any or all activities necessary or incidental for the purpose of agricultural functions, such as land cultivation, crop production, and harvesting.
"Ambient or background noise" means the totality of sounds in a given place and time, independent of the sound contribution of the specific source being measured.
"Applicant" means a person or persons responsible for, the excessive noise source.
"Authorized emergency vehicles" means police and fire vehicles; private and public ambulances; and state and county vehicles used for emergencies.
"Best available control technology" means any limitation based on the maximum degree of noise reduction which would be emitted from any excessive noise source which the director, on a case-by-case basis, considering environmental and economical impacts and other costs, determines is achievable for that source through application of production processes or available methods, systems, and techniques. If the director determines that technological or economic limitations would make the imposition of the provisions of this chapter infeasible, a design, equipment, work practice, or operational standard, or a combination thereof, may be prescribed instead to satisfy the requirement for the application of the best available control technology.
"Complaint" means any written charge filed with the department that a person is violating any provision of this chapter or order adopted pursuant to this chapter.
"Construction activities'' means any or all activities, including but not limited to those activities necessary or incidental to the erection, demolition, assembling, renovating, installing, or equipping of buildings, public or private highways, roadways, premises, and parks.
"Construction equipment" means any device designed and intended for use in construction, including but not limited to any air compressor, pile driver, bulldozer, pneumatic hammer, steam shovel, derrick, crane, tractor, grader, loader, power saw, pump, pneumatic drill, compactor, on-site vehicle, and power hand tool.
"Construction site" means any or all areas, necessary or incidental for the purpose of conducting construction activities.
"Council" means the legislative body of a county.
"County" means the city and county of Honolulu, county of Hawaii, county of Kauai, or county of Maui, State of Hawaii.
"dBA" means the A-weighted sound level or unit of measurement describing the total sound level of all noises as measured with a sound level meter using the "A" weighting network.
"Decibel" means the unit for measuring the volume of sound, equal to twenty times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the pressure of the sound measured to the reference pressure, which is twenty micropascals (0.0002 dynes per square centimeter).
"Department" means the department of health, State of Hawaii.
"Device" means any mechanism or instrument which is designed to or which actually produces sound when operated or handled.
"Director" means the director of the department of health, State of Hawaii, or the director's duly authorized agent.
"Dwelling" means a room or rooms connected together constituting an independent housekeeping unit lor an individual or a family, containing facilities for bathing or cooking, or both.
"Emergency" means any condition which would require immediate attention or corrective action to avoid probable danger to property, or to the health and safety of people.
"Equipment" means any or all devices used in an operation or activity.
"Excessive noise" means the presence of sound as measured by standard testing devices, and of a volume, or in quantities, and for durations, as established by this chapter.
"Excessive noise source" means any stationary noise source; and any equipment related to agricultural, construction, and industrial activity which emits sound in excess of the maximum permissible sound levels specified in section 11-46-4, as measured at any point at or beyond the property line.
"HRS" means Hawaii Revised Statutes.
"Holiday" means a day observed by federal or by state law for suspension of operations in whole or part.
"Impulsive noise" or "impact noise" means any sound with a rapid rise and decay of sound pressure level, lasting less than one second, caused by sudden contact between two or more surfaces, or caused by a sudden release of pressure, including but not limited to any hammering, pile driving, and explosion.
"Industrial activities" means any or all activities necessary or incidental to manufacturing, refining, or processing of materials and products.
"Maximum permissible sound levels" means the sound levels assigned to zoning districts, as established by the director. The maximum permissible sound levels are specified in section 11-46-4(a).
"Muffler" means a mechanical apparatus designed to allow the flow of gas, air, and steam, and to reduce the noise created by intake from or exhaust to the atmosphere by such flow.
"Noise" means any sound that may produce adverse physiological or psychological effects or interfere with individual or group activities, including but not limited to communication, work, rest, recreation, or sleep.
"Noise pollution" means noise emitted from any excessive noise source in excess of the maximum permissible sound levels.
"Off-hour roadwork" means any roadway construction between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m., which would require a variance from the director. For the purpose of this definition, roadway construction shall be limited to any activity, necessary or incidental to reconstruction or resurfacing of public or private highways or roads.
"On-site vehicles" means fuel-, electric-; and air-powered vehicles, stationary and mobile, which are operated within the boundaries of a construction site or agricultural or industrial premises.
"Open space" means any zoning district or parcel essentially free of structures that serves the purpose of visual relief and buffering from building or structural mass.
"Operate" means perform or conduct any activity associated with an excessive noise source.
"Owner" means the owner of the freehold of the premises or lesser estate therein, or mortgagees thereof, a lessee or agent of any of the aforementioned persons, a lessee of a device or the lessee's agent, a tenant, operator, or any other person who has regular control of the premises, or of an equipment, or of a device.
"Party" means each person or agency named as party or properly entitled to be a party in any court or agency proceeding.
"Permit" means written authorization from the director to operate any excessive noise source.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, trust estate or any other legal entity, or the State or any of its political subdivisidns.
"Premises" means any property, including its structure and other surrounding property, which is used as a dwelling, or as a place of business, or as a place to construct, manufacture, or conduct any activity.
"Property line boundary" means a line drawn through the points of contact of adjoining lands, apartments, condominiums, townhouses or duplexes, owned, rented, or leased by different persons; a demarcation or a line of separation of properties; and also, for any two or more buildings sharing common grounds, the line drawn midway between any two said buildings. For the purpose of this chapter, the property line includes all points on a plane formed by projecting the property line in a manner deemed appropriate by the director.
"Public space" means any zoning district or parcel used, owned, or managed by the federal government, the State of Hawaii, or the counties to fulfill a governmental function, activity, or service for public benefit, including but not limited to libraries, satellite city halls, public schools, and post offices.
"School activity" means a public or private school function for students up through the twelfth grade which is approved by the school principal or an authorized representative.
"Sound" means an oscillation in pressure, particle displacement, particle velocity, or other physical parameter, in a medium with internal forces that causes compression and rarefaction of that medium. The description of sound may include any characteristic of such sound, including duration, intensity, and frequency.
"Sound level" means the sound pressure level obtained by the use of a sound level meter and frequency weighting network, such as A, B, or C, as specified in American National Standards Institute specifications for sound level meters.
"Sound level meter" means an instrument or combination of instruments, which meets or exceeds the requirement for a type I or type II sound level meter as specified in the American National Standard Institute, ANSI SI.4-1983, specifications for sound level meters.
"Sound pressure level" means twenty times the logarithm to the base ten of the ratio of the measured sound pressure to the reference sound pressure of 0.0002 dynes per square centimeter or twenty micropascals.
"Stationary noise source" means any mechanical source of noise fixed in or on a station, course, or mode within any premises, including but not limited to mechanical air conditioning units, exhaust systems, generators, compressors, pumps, or other similar equipment.
"Variance" means a special written authorization from the director to cause or emit excessive noise in a manner or amount in excess of applicable standards, or to do an act that deviates from the requirements of this chapter or any rules adopted under chapter 342F, HRS.
"Zoning districts" means the land use districts established by rules or ordinances adopted by council, legislature, county, or state government agencies.
