Evaluating rural noise levels using audibility and community response

Defining potential noise impacts in rural areas can be a challenge, especially when the predicted noise source is less than a fixed ordinance limit in an area with low ambient sound levels. In 2002, Cavanaugh and Tocci presented an InterNoise paper summarizing their approach for evaluating sound from outdoor concert venues. Their paper defines empirical relationships between different single-number noise metrics, such as Lmax, L1, L10 and Leq, and presents criteria for evaluating outdoor concert audibility and the expected community response related to ambient sound levels. This paper uses case studies to illustrate how this approach is also useful for evaluating noise levels in populated, low-ambient rural areas, and describing potential neighbor reactions for several types of projects. Author: Sean Connolly