A Fyshwick dance party that sparked a raft of noise complaints over the weekend was exacerbated by a vibrating roller door, according to the Environment Protection Agency.
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The rave, held in a private warehouse on Dairy Road on March 17-18 and billed as the after-party for the government-funded Art, Not Apart festival, was so loud the music was heard as far away as Googong, 12 kilometres away and over the NSW border.
The noise also sparked numerous complaints to ACT and NSW police, and Art, Not Apart festival producer Dave Caffery has apologised.
"We regret that [Saturday's] event was audible in residential areas and sincerely apologise to anyone adversely effected," Mr Caffery said.
"It seems that everyone, including us, are shocked the sound carried through Fyshwick, across the border, through Queanbeyan's industrial area and into suburbia.
"We would not have conducted this event if this was a known possibility."
Because it was held on private premises and was a BYO event, the organisers did not need a permit.
The 18-plus Tech Yes event took place outside the BlocHaus bouldering centre and in a nearby warehouse, about one kilometre from the nearest homes.
About 1300 people attended the event, and ACT Emergency Services confirmed that paramedics attended the premises four times early Sunday for suspected drug overdose cases.
A spokeswoman from the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that permits for events are "generally only required when events are held on public land and for other factors such as if there is a sale of liquor or an impact on traffic which would require a Temporary Traffic Management Plan. This was not the case with this event."
But she said the agency had responded to at least five noise complaints throughout the night, and that event organisers acted on the complaints as soon as they were made aware of them.
"The organisers took the advice of the EPA when they attended and worked quickly to act on recommendations and advice," the spokeswoman said.
And it turned out it was the vibrating door, rather than the music, that was causing the heaviest noise pollution.
"When the EPA attended the venue on Sunday morning, they identified that some of the noise was being exacerbated by a roller door which was closed and vibrating," she said.
Ironically, it was once the door was opened that the noise level reduced to an acceptable level.
"The door was lifted by the organisers and noise readings were again taken by the EPA and levels had reduced to a point where the noise complied with the standard for the industrial area," the spokeswoman said.
