The standard has been published since 27 February 2026, but the instrument for verifying compliance with it has not. Article 22 of D.S. No. 14/2024 requires the Superintendence of the Environment to establish the measurement and prediction protocols within six months of the decree’s publication — that is, before 27 August 2026. Chile’s Ministry of the Environment has already prepared the technical proposal that will serve as their basis, and put it to public consultation in April. It is worth knowing what it contains, because it will determine how your project’s noise gets measured.
Not one protocol, but three
Article 22 does not refer to a single document. It requires at least three protocols, reflecting the particular emission characteristics of each type of source: one for general stationary sources, one for wind farms and one for energy transmission or transport infrastructure. The technical proposal states it explicitly: the protocols are drawn up by the SMA on the basis of a proposal prepared by the Ministry of the Environment. That proposal was published in the Official Gazette on 27 April 2026 through Exempt Resolution No. 1,957, opening the public consultation period.
What it would require in the field
The proposal settles a number of things currently left to the judgement of whoever takes the measurement. Instruments must be class 1 or 2 integrating-averaging sound level meters with A-weighting, recording the equivalent continuous level and the maximum level on fast response. External measurements are taken between 1.2 and 1.5 metres above the ground and at least 3.5 metres from reflecting surfaces, avoiding positions where the receptor has its own air conditioning or pumps. Internal measurements are taken in the most affected room, at three points roughly 0.5 metres apart. As for wind, measuring below 5 metres per second is preferred, with a windscreen and an anemometer. And in urban areas the limit is derived from the applicable territorial planning instrument and its permitted land uses: where there is doubt, through a Prior Information Certificate, and where there is a dispute, the regional Ministry of Housing and Urban Development interprets it (this is very similar to current practice under D.S. No. 38/11 of the MMA).
What the wind industry has most at stake
For wind farms, the proposal would obtain the rural background noise level using the same procedure as general sources, and would set a single limit for the daytime period and another for the night-time period. That departs from how wind farms have been assessed in Chile since 2020, when the SEA published its specific guide: by wind speed ranges, with continuous monitoring of at least fourteen days. The distinction is not a minor one, and the standard itself acknowledges it: its article 16 refers to general stationary sources as those other than wind farms.
How we help
We reviewed the proposal in detail and submitted formal observations during the public consultation, in May 2026. Among them, a re-analysis of the data from the Ministry’s own study showing that the validation criterion for wind farm noise emission curves can give better results if all the criteria are applied and the one with the highest R² is then selected (the proposal is sequential and stops applying criteria once R² ≥ 0.6), and proposed wording for the chapter on rural background noise at wind farms (among other observations).
If your project will have to demonstrate compliance under this standard, book a 20-minute call and we will look at what it means for your case.
He leads Acústica Austral’s environmental noise and vibration studies for the SEIA across energy, port and infrastructure projects, and has contributed to reference work for Chile’s Ministry of the Environment.
Meet the team →Free resources for your project
Guide to the D.S. N°14/2024 and the acoustic checklist for entering the SEIA, in PDF. We email them to you.