516Ads.com – EPA LEAD Rule: Good Intentions Gone Awry

Below please find information provided by Long Island businessman David Zere. Dave knows his stuff; provides quality info and on this issue we want to help spread the word!  

Remodelers and other contractors who work in homes built before 1978 are being urged to complete the application for firm certification that will be required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as part of the Lead Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting rule that goes into effect on April 22, 2010.  It is suspected that dangerous exposure to lead based paint leads to thousands of child illnesses per year nationwide.  Although I agree with the essence of the legislation, there will be a tremendous effect on the contracting community, especially the small guys.  I spoke with ten contractors this week alone and they are beside themselves.  Not only are things terrible out there in the marketplace for them, but this could pour salt in the wounds.

Here is a brief history of the legislation.  In 1992, The Democrat-majority in Congress passed the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 and President George Bush signed it into law.  I read the bill cover to cover and it’s pretty stringent.  It had provisions in it that demanded ”promulgation” which made it so the Executive branch of the Federal government had to enforce the implementation of the legislation.  It also allowed for anyone to sue the EPA to enforce these new regulations if the government didn’t.  Furthermore, in 2005, then U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-Illinois) lead the charge and introduced legislation to enforce promulgation of this legislation by the EPA.  He did so because Chicagohad tens of thousands of HUD style housing built before 1978 that were in need of repair.  In 2005, then President George W. Bush’s administration fought the implementation of the Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act’s regulations on contractors and recommended that the program be a voluntary one for contractors to participate in not a mandatory one, but that full disclosure still needed to be given to homeowners and residents on each lead-based renovation job according to the law.

Well, now the day has come where due to the efforts of Sierra Club litigation among others, the EPA has been forced to promulgate the regulations contained in the original bill and the current administration supports the decision.  It intentions may be good but the regulations are seriously flawed and will hurt contractors.

I spoke with the NAHB Lead Based Paint division this evening for some time and they gave me a complete history on this ongoing issue.  No one group locally is really fighting the almost impossible requirements of the legislation for local contractors. 

NARI (National Association of Remodelers) should be the ones taking the lead on this battle but as per a conversation with the NARI Executive Director at their monthly meeting last week, she stated that they absolutely do no get involved in any legislative affairs.  A potentially fatal flaw in their group’s structure, by not lobbying for their industry.  I was wondering what LIBI Remodelor’s Council was doing to fight this issue.  I realize that we are primarily new home and commercial builders but it does affect any contractor who performs a wide array of home improvements on a home that was built before 1978. 

A painting contractor told me today that everyone needs to buy HEPA vacuums and loads of other material that will place a huge burden on them.  Every contractor has to under go certification classes by April 22, 2010.  Failure to comply or violate any portion of the statue will lead to fines of $37,500 per day.  The regulations do not address or are vague on some issues that haven’t been addressed properly according to contractors I have spoken to and some of the requirements are not practical.  For example, plastic has to be laid down 10 ft. from a home and all power washing water and cleaning agents have to be recaptured in full.  If there are hedges in the way wrapped scaffolding has to be supplied and plywood placed above the hedges.  Then if you want to put a ladder on top of that you have to cut holes in the plywood, put the ladder through and duct tape the bottom of the ladder to the plywood to prevent seepage.  The equipment that must be purchased include barriers and signs, tape, heavy plastic sheeting, knives and utility blades, Sandpaper and sanding sponges, mist spray bottles, chemical strippers, power tools with high effiiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuum attachments, low temperature heat guns, HEPA vacuum cleaners, eye wear, shoe covers, n-100 rated respirators, etc.

A cumbersome scenario may be about to unfold to a lack of vision and pragmatism on the government’s behalf.  This combined with other economic issues including lack of construction, financing and the MTA Tax could make a bad situation worse for thousands of Long Island’s contractors.  I had a meeting with Senator Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) and asked him to help with the needs of the contractors nationwide and to see if there was anything the US Senate could do to help with the promulgation of these unreasonable regulations.  He said that he would to talk to hi staff about it.  I understand the Senator James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma) and David Vitter (R-Louisiana) against some of the regulations as well.  The National Association of Remodelers, the Long Island Builders Institute and the Painting & Decorating Contractors all need to get together and use their clout and tell our Federal level government officials that our industry can’t be saddled with this burden unless more reasonable regulations are put in place with a longer compliance timeline.