January 24, 2026 Dear EPA Representative, I am writing to file a complaint of noise from I-270, h
January 24, 2026
Dear EPA Representative,
I am writing to file a complaint of noise from I-270, higher than 66 decibels. I am also asking for your guidance and help. Can you help or refer me to an individual or organization that could help resolve issues with I-270 noise and air pollution?
I live in Unincorporated St. Louis County, Missouri. My home (in the St. Louis Metropolitan area) is in the Orchard Lakes Subdivision, which borders the east side of I-270, approximately one mile north of Olive Boulevard (in Creve Coeur, Missouri) and one mile south of the Page Avenue flyover ramp located in Maryland Heights, Missouri. This ramp was completed in 2011, without a sound wall assessment for my community. Through the years, individuals have asked the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to evaluate the highway noise and implement an abatement plan.
In 2025, because of severe health issues that are related to I-270 noise and air pollution, I took up the cause of getting a 1.5-mile sound wall constructed on the east side of I-270 adjacent to residential properties in the Orchard Lakes Subdivision from Olive Boulevard to about .5 miles before Page Avenue. I have limited my efforts to my subdivision because I am not legally empowered to speak on behalf of anyone else.
Under job number J6U1045B, the MoDOT built a sound wall on the west side of I-270 (about two miles from my home) in the Dawn Valley Subdivision, Maryland Heights, Missouri. This project was financially sponsored using funding approved by PL 109-59 and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). The ARRA of 2009 is still being used to fund various highway projects. During the timeframe of the Dawn Valley sound wall planning/construction, according to our Home Owner Association Board members and long-time residents who attended a meeting with MoDOT, the Orchard Lakes Subdivision was promised a sound wall at a later date because of a lack of funds. As of today, MoDOT has refused multiple pleas for a TYPE II sound wall project to mitigate highway noise. Highway noise volume (in 2025) in my backyard consistently reaches (LAeq of) 96.5 decibels, much higher than the NEPA safety threshold of 66 decibels.
In 2012, MoDOT finished adding lanes to the east and west sides of I-270 between Olive Boulevard and Page Avenue. This project was known as the I-141/Page Avenue and Olive Boulevard Connector with job number 6U0807. A sound study was not conducted for project 6U0807 on the east side of I-270. A resident from the west side of I-270 claims a sound study was conducted around 2006, before the completion of the Maryland Heights project. I have been unable to confirm this claim because MoDOT has refused to grant me access to specifically requested records or denied the availability of documents. In 2025, the MoDOT declined to address the issue of sound abatement for the Orchard Lakes Subdivision with their standard policy statement of "MoDOT does not participate in stand-alone retrofit noise barrier projects ..." I am committed to helping residents of my community resolve the extenuating and hazardous environmental conditions that individuals living near I-270 experience daily.
Please help me:
Please register this as my formal complaint with your agency.
Can your organization help me navigate the appropriate channels and procedures to have your organization address this issue?
Help guide me to get the MoDOT to resolve the I-270 noise/air pollution issue?
Thank you for taking the time to read my email. Regardless of an affirmative or negative reply, I eagerly await your response.
Sincerely,