This is a practical guide. It is not a substitute for legal advice, but it shows what the process looks like from a resident's side and which mistakes most often cost time.
The short answer
For industrial noise from a company, write to the State Environmental Service and the Health Inspectorate. If the noise comes from a structure that may have been built without documentation, write to the municipal building authority as well. And always write to the company itself in parallel.
Step 1. Write to the company first
This seems pointless, but it is the most important step in the whole process and the one most often skipped.
The reason is simple: once the case reaches an authority, the first question to the company will be "did the residents contact you, and what did you reply?" If the answer is "they wrote five times and we did not respond", the company's position is considerably weaker. If there is no correspondence at all, the company can fairly say it did not know about the problem.
What to write:
- what exactly disturbs you (the equipment, the location, the times);
- since when;
- a specific request — not "solve it", but for example "install an acoustic enclosure";
- a request for a written reply.
Keep the delivery confirmations. They become evidence later.
Step 2. Document the noise
An authority needs facts, not feelings. Before submitting, gather:
- a log — date, time, duration, wind, how disturbing (scale 1–10);
- audio or video recordings with a visible timestamp;
- indicative readings from a phone app — always labelled as not accredited;
- neighbours' accounts — the more households, the more seriously the case reads.
The most common mistake
Presenting phone readings as proof. If your submission says "I measured 78 dB", the authority's first reply will be that the measurement is not accredited, and the conversation ends there. Write instead: "indicative, non-accredited, phone application, measured outdoors" — and it becomes useful supporting information rather than a claim that can be dismissed.
Step 3. The submission to the authorities
| Authority | What it does in noise cases |
|---|---|
| State Environmental Service | Supervises polluting activities including noise conditions in permits; can inspect and order measurements |
| Health Inspectorate | Assesses noise against hygiene requirements and the methodological soundness of measurements |
| Municipal building authority | Assesses the legality and operation of a structure, where the noise comes from one |
| Municipal police | Isolated night-time noise incidents, usually not industrial |
Submissions can be made by email. In Latvia they are handled under the Law on Submissions, and the general deadline for a reply is one month.
What to include
- The exact address and a description of the noise source.
- The time pattern and regularity ("continuous, including at night, since 2021").
- The approximate number of residents affected.
- Steps already taken — correspondence with the company, with dates.
- Specific numbered requests. For example: carry out an inspection; state whether a pollution permit has been issued and what noise conditions it sets; inform us of the decision taken.
- Contact details for the reply.
Step 4. If the answer is unsatisfactory
- Request the documents. Freedom-of-information rules give you the right to obtain what the authority holds — inspection acts, opinions, measurement reports.
- Ask methodological questions. If a measurement shows compliance, ask about method: was the evening and night period measured, were low frequencies assessed, was measurement uncertainty taken into account, what was the wind direction?
- Challenge the decision. Administrative procedure law provides an appeal route; the deadline is normally stated in the decision itself.
- Write to several authorities in parallel. In noise cases competence is split, and one authority often waits for another's opinion.
Do and don't
| Do | Don't |
|---|---|
| Write calmly and factually | Don't allege unlawful conduct |
| State a specific technical request | Don't demand closure — it weakens you |
| Keep all correspondence | Don't phone — write, so there is a record |
| Act together with neighbours | Don't exaggerate figures |
| Concede the points against you | Don't ignore steps the company does take |
That last row matters more than it looks. If you yourself concede that the daytime measurements prove nothing, your claim about the nights becomes more credible. Authorities distinguish very quickly between someone reporting a problem and someone waging a campaign.
How long it takes
The honest answer: a long time. First replies — one month. An on-site inspection — several months. Measurements, an opinion, a decision — several more. In the case described on this site, roughly two months passed between the first letter to the company and the point where three authorities were examining the matter simultaneously; there is still no final resolution.
Which is exactly why step 1 — writing to the company itself — is the most valuable one. A voluntary solution is always faster than an imposed one.
What this site documents
This article is published by the Jūrkalnes and Irlavas neighbourhood community. We document the industrial noise produced by the outdoor Nestro filter at SIA Livonia Print, Jūrkalnes iela 15/25, Riga. The installation has run 24 hours a day since 2021, and its hum reaches around 12 streets. The residents’ request to the company is a single one: fit an acoustic enclosure around the filter and sound insulation on the air ducts. The board member of SIA Livonia Print is Trond Erik Isaksen, and it is to him that the neighbourhood’s letters about the noise have been addressed.