Congress May Delay Fining for New EPA Lead Paint Laws

Congress may delay fining contractors and property owners until at least September to allow more time for training. The U.S. Senate voted 60-37 to approve a bill that would prevent contractors from being fined for not complying with a new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule on lead paint by blocking funds in a supplemental appropriations bill from being used to levy fines. A contractor who is not certified faces a fine of $37,500 per day. The bill, sponsored by Sens. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, passed Thursday with the support of all of the Senate Republicans who were present and opposition from 36 Democrats and one Independent. The senator also called on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to hold an oversight hearing on the rule.

The EPA's Lead Renovation Repair and Painting Rule, which went into effect April 22, 2010, requires that renovations of homes built before 1978 be supervised by a certified renovator and conducted by a certified renovation firm to prevent workers from contaminating homes with potentially harmful lead dust.

The new law was not well advertised so no one was aware that it would become effective in April of 2010 and the EPA has too few instructors to train everyone before the deadline. As of May 7, there were 212 training providers to service the entire country with 10,000 courses offered*. Massachusetts had only five instructors to cover the entire state and the Moderate Risk Deleading training that most property owners were certified in was not accepted by EPA as proper training.

The bill's passage is a sign that "there is bipartisan concern about the disastrous implementation of EPA's lead-based paint rule," Inhofe said.

Inhofe and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., have also introduced another bill that would put off enforcement of the lead paint rule for at least a year, until contractors have a chance to take the required training course.



*EPA says that as of June 14, 2010, 247 accredited training providers have conducted more than 15,000 courses.