EPA Increases Lead Paint Rule Enforcement

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has "begun stepping up its inspections and enforcement" of its Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule for lead paint, according to the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

During an NAHB-sponsored webinar for the rule, the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Don Lott said his agency will be taking more enforcement actions in 2012 for the rule than it did in 2011. Last year, the EPA took three enforcement actions in the 38 states where it oversees RRP enforcement; 12 states enforce the rule on their own, including Alabama, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

The agency's highest priority is ensuring companies are using the proper lead-safe work practices, Lott said, as well as ensuring companies are following proper training and recordkeeping guidelines. Lott, associate director of the EPA’s Waste and Chemical Enforcement Division, noted that his agency is weighting violations more heavily when human health is put directly at risk.

The EPA is employing several enforcement strategies, but it is relying primarily on tips reported via its hotline, (800) 424-5323, and compliance website to seek violators. Lott said that, on average, the EPA receives 400 tips and complaints per month reporting uncertified firms and unsafe lead work practices. Those tips have led to about 1,000 compliance inspections of job sites to date, and, as a result, it was found that 60 percent of contractors on those job sites were uncertified.

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