Plumas County, CA Noise Ordinances: Industrial Noise (2026)

Stationary noise sources are significant in Plumas County - the EIR identifies lumber mills (Collins Pine in Chester, Sierra Pacific Industries in Quincy), co-generation plants, aggregate mining and processing, race tracks and shooting ranges as common industrial/resource-extraction sources. These are regulated through the 2035 General Plan Noise Element (Goal N-3.1) and zoning Section 9-2.413 (maximum allowable noise exposure within the Planning Land Use Category). Policy N-3.1.6 directs the County to protect important industrial and resource uses from encroachment by noise-sensitive uses, and to consider temporary/portable operations (wood processing, gravel recovery) individually, sited near existing resource-extraction or timber areas. The Noise Element's noise-ordinance implementation measure calls for noise-sensitive protection areas around sensitive uses, 'limited' combining/overlay zones on industrially zoned land that require mitigation of noise impacts which exceed 60 dB at the noise-sensitive site or cause interior levels above 45 dB (or existing levels, whichever is greater), and prohibition of new noise-sensitive uses within the noise contour around industrial sources. For construction at industrial sites, Table 3-5 allows up to 90 dBA Lmax at any time. New stationary sources are reviewed through CEQA and may be required to prepare a noise/acoustical study with attenuation recommendations.