Lead Paint Updated: Commercial Buildings, Clearance Testing, and Chance to Comment

Posted on June 28, 2010 by Timothy R. Hughes

As we originally posted on April 30, EPA has issued notice that its recent lead paint regulations may be changing.  Specifically, EPA published a proposed rule on May 6 providing for clarifications and changes in clearance testing.  For commercial contractors thinking they were spared from worrying about lead paint regulation, EPA also issued an advance notice of proposed rule making on May 6 discussing extension of lead paint regulations into commercial and public buildings.

Those interested in commenting on the regulations should step up and do so rapidly.  In the case of the extension into commercial buildings, there is no specific rule proposed at this point so this process will likely take some time.  Nevertheless, the best chance to participate in shaping this discussion is to engage from the start.  Our friend Sean Lintow at SLS Construction continues to provide detailed commentary and has developed an extensive set of comments that may be of interest to contractors following the discussion,

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Lead Paint Regulations Changing: Owner Exception Going Away, Commercial Structures Coming Soon??

Posted on April 30, 2010 by Timothy R. Hughes

Bug eyedThe EPA's new lead regulations officially went into effect on April 22.  As expected, EPA has promptly issued notice that it intends to change the regulations to remove the "opt out" provision.  The opt-out created an exemption from the regulations where a home owner certified that no child under 6 or pregnant woman occupied the home and that the home was not a child-occupied facility.  The new change will take effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The removal of the opt out provision was expected and followed a litigation challenge from various advocacy groups.  That litigation resulted in a consent settlement with EPA whereby EPA committed to propose several changes including removal of the opt-out provision.

The bigger news may be that EPA also announced its "intention to regulate the renovation, repair, and painting of public and commercial buildings[.]"   Hopefully the next wave of this roll-out will be less chaotic than the first but the track record thus far is not promising.

A special thanks for our friend Sean Lintow of SLS Construction.  Sean knows this issue inside and out and his blog has tremendous detailed technical information for those looking to delve deeper into the regulations.

Earlier posts:

Lead Paint Regulations April 22: Are You Ready?  Is Anyone??

Renovators Beware: Lead Paint Regulations Change in April

Image by endora57

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Lead Training Class Information in Virginia

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Timothy R. Hughes

Our blog has been inundated with hits on our two blog posts regarding the EPA's new lead paint regulations, Renovators Beware: Lead Paint Regulations Change in April and Lead Paint Regulations April 22: Are You Ready?.  We have fielded a number of questions from folks looking for information on classes and certification with the EPA.

I thought it would be helpful to provide a link where you can sign up for such training with The Training Network.  Just click on schedule of classes for information on specific dates and locations.  I would encourage folks to consider signing up for the classes held in Chantilly by the Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.  We are very active with that organization and they are doing excellent training and advocacy work for the home building industry.

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Lead Paint Regulations April 22: Are You Ready? Is Anyone??

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Timothy R. Hughes

lead paintThe next wave of the EPA's lead paint regulations take effect on April 22.  These regulations will impose new training, certification, work practice and record keeping requirements on contractors performing renovations on structures built prior to 1978.

Reports that we are hearing indicate that the EPA's roll-out of the program has been less than clear.  Some people have struggled to find sufficient openings or available training classes.  Our friend Sean Lintow (@slsconstruction on twitter) reports that in some states, the state governments are taking over the certification process with EPA's blessing, throwing the validity of currently issued certifications into question.

A number of people have asked me specific, important questions which I would like to give my take on, which can be viewed below the break: 

I would also invite our readers to chime in because this is uncharted territory here so feel free to debate if you think my take is wrong!

  1. Do the regulations apply to projects that are underway?  Yes -  I see no exception or grandfathering in the regulations for existing projects.  745.81 provides that no firm may perform or offer to perform renovations without a certification.
  2. Can I simply use certified subcontractors as a general contractor? No - 745.80(b) requires that firms performing renovations be certified, and the renovation definition is very broad.  You may be able to delegate some of the specific on-site responsibilities to another certified renovator, but it looks to me like all the general contractors require the certification.
  3. What is the testing exception?  You can demonstrate through testing that the structure is free of paint over specific lead concentration levels (745.82).
  4. What about the owner's residence?  The training requirements (745.90) and work practice standards (745.85) do not apply to renovation of the owner's residence where it is not a child-occupied facility, no pregnant woman lives there, and the owner signs off that the firm will not be required to follow the work practices.  This exception does not appear to remove the certification requirements under 745.89, so arguably general contractors on these projects still need certification.
  5. How should I be handling documentation of renovations?  You need to follow the record keeping requirements of 745.86 for 3 years.  These include documentation of all required tests, notices and acknowledgments.  For the work itself, you need to document compliance with the work practices, assignment of a certified renovator to the project, provision of required training to workers, and post-renovation cleaning.

All of this is coming in the next several weeks and contractors absolutely must take this regulation very seriously.  I would recommend several steps, by no means exhaustive:

  1. Establish a checklist for verifying the construction date of every structure you are renovating.
  2. For structures built prior to 1978, create a check-list of all required notices, documents, acknowledgments and steps (SLS has a good general timeline to start from).
  3. Update your contracts and subcontracts accordingly to establish certification requirements, disclosure requirements, and clear indemnification provisions where appropriate to address lead paint and regulatory compliance.
  4. Ensure internal compliance with training requirements for the job, namely that the certified renovator provides training for all personnel working on the job and proper procedures.
  5. Document, preferably photographically, compliance with all work standards.  For example, take pictures of the required containment and sealing of vents.  Keep the pictures!
  6. If you have not signed up for classes or certification, do so immediately!  The EPA has 90 days to process, so you run the risk of having a lag time after the regulations take effect April 22.

More info:

Renovators Beware: Lead Paint Regulations Change in April 

EPA Lead Paint Regulations

 
 
Image by wayneandwax

 
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Renovators Beware: Lead Paint Regulations Change in April

Posted on January 22, 2010 by Timothy R. Hughes

EPA Renovate Right Brochure

Owners, developers and builders working in the renovation arena beware: the EPA's new regulations on lead paint take effect on April 22, 2010.  The regulations are contained at Title 40, Part 745 of the Code of Federal Regulations.  There are some very important highlights:

Effective April 21, no firm may offer or perform renovations in "target housing" without certification (40 CFR 745.81). Target housing means any housing constructed prior to 1978, so renovators working in homes, apartments or condominiums built prior to 1978 need to take this seriously.

There are only very limited exceptions, such as where a certified inspector has determined the project is free of lead paint beyond permitted levels (40 CFR 745.82). Projects with no children or pregnant woman that are owner occupied can also qualify for excluding coverage, but only if the owner signs off that the firm is not required to meet the regulatory practices (40 CFR 745.82).

  • Firm's performing renovations have extensive obligations to give disclosure and notice to building occupants in writing prior to renovation, including providing mandating EPA publications (40 CFR 745.84)
  • The regulations further include specific work practice standards, so watch out for potential employee personal injury claims and OSHA inspections and violations as well (40 CFR 745.85)
  • Even relatively minor work is swept up in the requirements: generally work disrupting more than 6 square feet of painted area is regulated (40 CFR 745.80, 745.83)
  • Persons and firms performing work in this arena must provide their customers the EPA's brochure, Renovate Right (40 CFR 745.81)(please note: the publication requirement is already in effect, so if you are not doing that now, you need to start immediately!).

On a final note, there is an entire training and certification regime established by the EPA.  In a down economy, this may be a good area to jump in and develop expertise and a market niche.

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