|
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that it will remove a provision in the 10-day-old Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, which will require the rule to apply to all homes built before 1978. The new mandate is expected to be enforced this July.
The change marks a significant increase in the number of homes to which the rule will apply, from an estimated 9.4 million to about 79 million, although the EPA itself estimates that about 38 million homes still contain lead paint.
The agency also gave notice that it is writing an additional rule that will require more complex dust-wipe or clearance testing, effectively requiring remodelers to fill the role of lead-paint abatement workers. If approved, this rule would become effective in July 2011.
The announcement was made on Earth Day, the day that the new lead-based paint training and certification requirements for remodelers went into effect.
The rule currently requires remodelers and all other contractors disturbing more than six square feet of painted surfaces in pre-1978 homes to attend the required training and submit firm certification. It also dictates lead-safe work practices, pre-renovation consumer education, and record keeping practices – but with the opt-out currently in place, this only applies to homes inhabited by children under the age of six or pregnant women.
NAHB fought hard for the delay of the certification rule, citing lack of trainers, ineffective lead-based paint test kits, long delays in the firm certification process, and other issues. These concerns signaled a general lack of preparedness to enforce the rule, which may result in reducing consumers’ ability to find enough qualified remodelers and other contractors for work in pre-1978 homes.
Now that the rule is law, NAHB is recommending that its members avoid all work in pre-1978 homes unless they have completed their training and certification requirements. Members can find a list of EPA-accredited trainers using this link.
EPA Assistant Administrator Steve Owens and National Program Chemicals Division Director Maria Doa took questions from NAHB Remodeler members at their Board of Trustees meeting on April 23. The removal of the so-called opt-out provision will only magnify the shortage of certified remodelers because it increases the scope of target housing, members told the agency.
In its justification for removing the opt-out, the EPA said that the rule is “not sufficiently protective for children under age 6 and pregnant women,” and will result in “fewer homes being purchased with lead hazards created by renovation, repair and painting activities.”
In addition, removing the opt-out provides “protection for family pets, as lead poisonings resulting from renovations have been documented in both cats and dogs,” the EPA document said.
Owens told the standing-room only crowd that EPA would “work with NAHB to make the transition as smooth as it could be,” promising that those remodelers who had submitted the paperwork and fees for firm certification and completed their training by April 22 – but had not yet received that certification in the mail from the EPA – would not be prosecuted. “You’re good to go,” Owens said.
He also agreed with concerns that the agency had been slow to get the word out to consumers and contractors about the rule’s requirements. “Certainly, we could have had more awareness,” Owens said.
The agency has partnered with the non-profit Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development on a public relations campaign targeted to homeowners, and EPA officials spent the week conducting “a boatload of radio interviews,” he said.
However, the EPA is not concerned that the lack of certified remodelers will affect the Obama Administration and Congress’s plans to offer incentives for weatherizing the nation’s older housing stock. “The Department of Energy does not think there will be any impact,” Owens told attendees at the meeting.
When remodelers talked about the economic impact of the rule – with one Colorado member saying that he has already lost bids because of the added expense, and an Alaska member explaining why the rule is likely to add between $7,000 and $10,000 to the cost of a major home addition project – Doa shook her head. Owens affirmed the EPA’s estimates of between $8 and $187 per project. “We stand by our analysis,” he said.
The agency said it would also clarify for NAHB members whether the rule applied to homes built before 1978 or completed before 1978.
In addition to removing the opt-out provision, the rules to take effect sometime this July would require remodelers to give any records, including the checklist confirming that they followed the required lead-safe work practice steps, to their customers within 30 days of completing their work.
The EPA also announced that it will soon propose to amend the rule to also apply to public and commercial buildings. The agency will likely submit the rule for comment sometime after the clearance testing comment period is over this summer.
NAHB is hosting a free lead rule webinar for members on May 20 at 2:00 p.m. Eastern to answer questions about removal of the opt-out provision and to offer guidance to remodelers on managing other requirements of the rule. Registration for this event will be available shortly.
For more information, visit www.nahb.org/leadpaint or contact
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
at 800-368-5242 x8211.
|
Download
