Pasco, WA Noise Ordinances: Aircraft Noise (2026)

Pasco is home to the Tri-Cities Airport (PSC), but aircraft noise is not controlled by the Pasco Municipal Code. Pasco's noise ordinance, PMC Chapter 9.130, adopts the Washington State environmental noise standard (Chapter 173-60 WAC), and that state rule specifically exempts aircraft. Under WAC 173-60-050, sounds originating from aircraft in flight, and sounds that originate at airports and are directly related to flight operations, are exempt from the state's maximum permissible noise levels. Above the state exemption sits federal authority: the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has primary jurisdiction over aircraft operations, flight paths and aircraft noise certification, which broadly preempts local regulation of aircraft in flight. As a result, there is no Pasco decibel limit, curfew or fine that applies to airplanes overhead or to flight operations at the Tri-Cities Airport. Residents with aircraft-noise concerns are generally directed to the airport authority or the FAA rather than to city code enforcement. To be clear and honest: this entry does not cite any Pasco ordinance section setting aircraft-noise limits, because none exists; the governing rules are the WAC 173-60-050 exemption and federal FAA authority. Ground-based, non-flight noise sources at an airport could still fall under the general PMC 9.130 limits, but flight operations themselves do not.