We can't sleep! Northeast Tacoma asks city to repeal industrial noise exemption

In Northeast Tacoma, people say they're sleep-deprived.

In the hot summer months, they say they have to keep their windows shut. Many say they can't enjoy backyard barbecues.

The culprit, they say, is noise from industrial operations on the nearby Tideflats.

Some describe it as a continuous thunderstorm, others as a crashing or constant rumbling accompanied by backup beepers from trucks.

It happens at all hours of the night, said Ann Locsin, a board member of the Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council and a resident who lives near the port.

"The noise level, especially at night, is completely unacceptable. The noise keeps us up all night," Locsin said. "Any reasonable person who experienced the noise level we experience would agree."

It's gotten so bad, the Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council wants the City Council to repeal a noise exemption it passed in 2015 that gives Tideflats businesses an exemption from the city's noise ordinance when they're loading or unloading ships.

The neighborhood council's cause might have been helped recently when Schnitzer Steel/General Metals was hit with a noise violation unrelated to marine activities. Since the February violation, the city has worked with the company to develop a noise compliance plan, which was published last week. The plan includes several mitigating measures that are supposed to reduce the amount of noise from the plant.

"Since I joined the council two months ago, I've had several meetings with the Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council and with Schnitzer, and I feel pretty confident we can work out some kind of deal where everyone is satisfied with it," City Councilman Justin Camarata said. "I’m optimistic about it and look forward to seeing what they come up with."

Right now, there doesn't seem to be any movement toward a repeal of the noise exemption.

"I think the methodical next step is to see if those mitigation strategies work," said Councilman Ryan Mello, who was on the council when the exemption was passed. "I met with the company to better hear from their perspective firsthand to see what they're doing, and it sounded like they’re taking it seriously ... they were doing a number of things to be as good of neighbors as possible."

Noise-enforcement officers recorded the Schnitzer violation one night in January.

In a narrative with spy-novel tones, they noted it was after 11 p.m., cold and dreary. The three of them calibrated their instruments outside Schnitzer before heading up the hill to 1800 block of Point Woodworth Dr., a residential area that had generated scores of noise complaints.

"The complaint was to research sound emitting from the operations of Schnitzer Steel/General Metals after 10 p.m.," according to the report. "Upon arrival we could hear that metal operations were active. The ship that was docked was not being loaded and there was no staging of vehicles. What we did hear was a conveyor belt and some squeaking and grinding of metal noise along with a backing-up beeping noise."

The operation of a conveyor belt and grinding of metal aren't covered by the noise exemption.

According to city rules, after 10 p.m. the maximum allowable outdoors sound level is 5 decibels over the ambient sound level, which were running in the mid-50s range. That night, the loudest measurement from Schnitzer was recorded at 5.9 decibels over ambient noise levels.

"It is worthy to note that the ambient (noise) was dropping quickly the later it got and Schnitzer Steel was maintaining a mid-50s decibel level," the report said.

Schnitzer appealed the violation, and last week the city released a noise-compliance plan it worked with the company to produce.

The company, which has been working with a sound engineer to figure out ways to reduce noise, lists three things it's already done:

▪ Limit loading of rail cars after 10 p.m. and end completely the loading of rail cars with heavy metal scrap after 10.

▪ Build a "sound abatement curtain," a heavy rubber curtain that reduces noise emissions associated with material entering the joint products plant.

▪ Erect a two-sided wall in the joint products sorting tower to reduce escaping sound.

Schnitzer also plans to build a 15-foot wall across the front of the facility.

"Bordering the eastern side of the yard, the wall is designed to reduce general yard activity sound emissions and will also offer a significant improvement to the public face of the operation," according to the noise-reduction plan.

Pending permits, that wall could be built by the end of August.

Schnitzer has agreed to provide the city with a "sound memorandum" prepared by an acoustical engineer to break down the noise-reducing measures and explain why and how they're expected to work. The company also agreed to attend a public meeting of the Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council. Schnitzer spokesman Colin Kelly said the date hasn't been set.

"We’ve been part of the Tacoma community for a long time, so we’re committed to being a good neighbor," Kelly said last week.

He wouldn't say what the acoustic modifications are costing the company, but described them as a significant investment. And, he said, the issue of noise hasn't come up previously at the Tacoma plant, or at the company's other facilities.

"The facility has been there over 40 years and Schnitzer took over in 1995, and this is the first time a noise issue like this has come up," he said.

Some Northeast residents who have fought against the noise exemption aren't satisfied with the plan and say they're still seeking a repeal of the noise exemption.

They also want monitoring of current and future noise levels so they can have tangible evidence of whether the sound reduction measures are working.

"There is no quantification of the expected noise reduction. There is no commitment of monitoring or maintaining noise reductions. There is no mention of noise reductions of the shredder," said Yvonne McCarty, chair of the Northeast Tacoma Neighborhood Council. "Their outside consultant says the barrier must be tall enough to break the line of sight, and from the Northeast Tacoma communities on the bluff, a 15-foot wall most definitely will not."

Part of their request apparently has been granted.

City staff said Monday it will be measuring to get an idea of the baseline and to figure out whether Schnitzer's improvement measures are working. There will be two random noise measurements per week, with the first measurement taken from Viewpoint Park, off Norpoint Way Northeast.

The second location is further up the hill, along Norpoint Way Northeast where Schnitzer noise typically can't be heard, the city said.

This story was originally published June 25, 2018 at 4:56 PM with the headline "We can't sleep! Northeast Tacoma asks city to repeal industrial noise exemption."