Sierra
Club’s Bluestem Action Alert for November, 2002
River
Prairie Group
Please make one phone call to your state representative and ask him/her to UPHOLD Governor Ryan’s Amendatory veto for Senate Bill 2155.
Senate Bill 2155 would grant off-road vehicle (ORV) riding facilities protection from lawsuits resulting from noise pollution. This bill takes away the rights of adjacent property owners including, private residences, schools, hospitals, nursing homes, and parks and recreation areas, to bring nuisance/noise pollution suits against ORV facilities. Off road vehicles, (dirt-bikes and 4-wheelers), produce noise levels of 81-111 decibels. Scientific research has shown that continued exposure to sound levels exceeding 70 decibels can be harmful to hearing and cause increases in heart rate, blood pressure and blood cholesterol.
Persistent exposure to noise pollution can lead to chronic stress diseases such as ulcers or high blood pressure.
In addition to harmful effects on humans, off-road vehicles can have a negative impact on the environment. Noise from an average motorcycle can be heard up to 7000 feet away, with louder engines ranging up to 11,500 feet, a distance of over two miles. Similar to humans, exposure to ORV noise can result in hearing damage or even loss and has severe consequences for animals dependent on their hearing for finding prey, avoiding predators, and breeding. Long-term impacts include altered movement patters, behavioral changes, and stress related health problems.
The Sierra Club supports Governor Ryan’s Amendatory Veto as it limits the negative environmental impact of ORV facilities and protects the rights of property owners to defend themselves against these harmful health effects by amending SB2155 to include:
*Protecting the rights of property owners who have already sought legal protection from a facility
*limit its applicability to ORV facilities already in existence and
*not granting protection for “willful or wanton misconduct in the operation of the ORV facility.
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