Project Site Noise Control

This new case involves a "serious" violation by L&I against a general contractor (Mowat) for excessive noise at a project work site.  The project involved erection of noise walls adjacent to I-5 in Seattle to keep freeway noise from a Capitol Hill neighborhood.  In addition to the obvious and significant freeway noise, there was noise from a generator, a forklift and the like. The Court upheld the citation, holding that earplugs which reduced the noise by at least two-thirds weren't enough because the GC had a duty to mitigate the noise at the source.  No word from the Court on whether that required the GC to stop all passing traffic on I-5 as well...