The Noise Control Act of 1972 established a U.S. national policy to promote an environment for all Americans to be free from noise that jeopardizes their health and welfare. In the past, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) coordinated all federal noise control activities through its Office of Noise Abatement and Control. The EPA phased out the office's funding in 1982 as part of a shift in federal noise control policy to transfer the primary responsibility of regulating noise to state and local governments.