Scranton, PA Noise Ordinances: Industrial Noise (2026)

Scranton uses a two-track approach to industrial noise. The general receiving-district table at Section 317-8 sets the I-G and I-L (general industrial / light industrial) limit at 78 dB(A) measured 10 feet inside the industrial property line, at all times and days; other non-residential receiving lots are at 70 dB(A). The receiving-property-protection rule at Section 317-6 supplies the boundary case: where a residential district adjoins, abuts or is bounded by an industrial district, the residential receiver may not be exposed to more than 65 dB(A) at 10 feet inside the residential property line. The same 65 dB(A) applies where a public right-of-way abuts or runs contiguous with an industrial-zone boundary. If a sound barrier is built, the cap becomes 75 dB(A); the barrier must be set back into the industrial property by a distance at least equal to its height, must be decorative masonry, and must include an evergreen tree barricade on the residential side spaced at no more than 10 feet apart. Loading/unloading is independently barred under Section 317-7(A)(11) between 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. when noise crosses a residential boundary, with a carve-out for municipal and utility services on the public right-of-way. Section 317-7(A)(16) reaches industrial vibration above the perception threshold at the property boundary unless a variance is issued. Variances under Chapter 317 are issued by the Zoning Enforcement Officer in the role of Noise Control Officer. State and federal layers: Pennsylvania DEP regulates noise from quarries and certain mining operations through 25 Pa. Code; common-law private nuisance is available in Lackawanna County Court of Common Pleas. Federal EPA Noise Control Act authority (42 U.S.C. Section 4901) has been unfunded since 1982 and is not enforced.