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or dissipate depending on local weather conditions and activities causing the odors. The odor rule included procedures for odor testing, using a six-member panel of people to determine whether a particular smell was detectable at various levels of dilution. It established "odor units" and limits on the number of odor units in the air at various points (at the stack, at the property line, in adjacent industrial or residential areas). In 1969, when the rule was adopted, the testing procedure was approved by the American Society for Testing and Materials. In 1986, that organization dropped its approval of the odor-testing procedure. Because the MPCA would not be able to present a good case if an industry were to contest alleged violations in court, the MPCA dropped the odor rule. That does not mean that the MPCA is giving up on protecting the public from odors in situations where odorous emissions are actually harmful to the environment or public health. It does mean that odors that can be considered merely "nuisance" in nature can be best handled either by the local governing authority or by legal action by the affected parties. For those odorous emissions that are "pollution" in the sense that they harm human health or the environment, the MPCA will limit emissions in its permits for the facilities causing problems. Substances considered to be toxic air pollutants similarly will be regulated by limiting emissi<;ms through permit conditions. Testing of emissions from the stacks or in the ambient air determines how much of these substances are being released and provides reliable data for enforcing the permit terms. Noise Noise that disturbs resident's rest, conversation, and peace of mind is another Doc. # 2.05, Page 2 Here's what we suggest you do when your residents call with complaints about continuing problems with noise. Remember, sometimes businesses are unaware of the noise problems they create, and the solutions can be simple. 1. Contact the source of the noise to attempt an immediate, voluntary solution ( or encourage your resident to do so). As with odors, we suggest that you maintain records of these complaints. 2. You may want to take action based on your local nuisance ordinance. Even if the noise violates the state rule, the MPCA's enforcement process is relatively cumbersome, and enforcing noise violations is not as high a priority for the agency as enforcing more serious threats to public welfare and the environment. 3 . You may ask the MPCA to monitor the noise. If the noise violates the state noise rule, local or MPCA enforcement is the next step. 4. If the noise does not violate the state rule, your nuisance ordinance is your best bet. The affected resident also has the option of initiating legal action against the facility causing the noise. frequent subject of complaints to local governments and the MPCA. Obviously, barking dogs, noisy parties, and similar events are not situations in which the state should get involved. Minnesota has a noise rule enforced by the MPCA for continuing situations in which noise may be a problem. Many municipalities have adopted the state noise rule as a local ordinance and are able to enforce it successfully. However, many noises may be unquestionably annoying to your residents and still not violate the noise rule. Those are most effectively regulated by local nuisance ordinances.