Allegany County, MD Noise Ordinances: Decibel Limits (2026)

The Code of Allegany County does not set a general noise ordinance for unincorporated areas; its one dBA-based standard sits inside Chapter 446, Salvage Yards. Under § 446-7, any salvage yard licensed by the County Commissioners must operate under a set of conditions, and Subsection H sets "Maximum Allowable Noise Levels for Receiving Land Use Categories" measured in dBA, split by day and night and by the zoning of the land receiving the noise. The limit is 75 dBA around the clock where the receiving land is Industrial, 67 dBA by day and 62 dBA by night where it is Commercial, and 65 dBA by day and 55 dBA by night where it is Residential (§ 446-7(H)(1)).

The Allegany County Health Department or the Maryland Department of the Environment also regulates these standards (§ 446-7(H)(2)). Related operating conditions in the same section keep salvage yards to business hours of 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays with no Sunday operation outside the Industrial Zoning District (§ 446-7(A)), require screening so dismantling does not create "undue noise or disturbance to persons residing on or using land or premises in the vicinity" (§ 446-7(E)), and bar burning of tires, batteries or insulated wire (§ 446-7(B)).

A salvage yard operator who exceeds the noise table or breaks these operating conditions faces enforcement under § 446-8: a written notice with a thirty-day compliance window, then a civil citation.