The NAHB has been really proactive in working to amend and correct the EPA’s Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule. Finally, the House of Representatives responded and added some bipartisan legislation to alter LRRP rule to allow for exceptions and sensible exclusions to not stifle building and punish homeowners with older homes. The EPA rule was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives just today as the “Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2013 (H.R. 2093)”.
It’s identical to the previous legislation that was introduced in the last session except that the bill reinstates (thankfully) the LRRP Lead Paint Rule opt-out provision. When the EPA rule removed the opt-out provision in the initial legislation, it doubled the number of homes that qualified for the rule and added over $300 million in annual compliance costs to the already-struggling remodeling industry—and, since the opt-out was only valid for non-pregnant and child-free homes, it did this without making any young children safer.
LRRP Lead Paint Rule Opt-out Provision Details
This LRRP rule opt-out provision allows homeowners without small children or pregnant women residing in the home to opt-out of requiring contractors to work within LRRP compliance rules. This means remodelers can work on older homes without having to fill out the myriad of paperwork and face potential penalties. It also provides an exemption for “emergency” renovations. The requirement that recertification training be “hands-on” is also removed, meaning that remodelers no longer have to travel to training facilities out of their region just to keep up their certification.
Congress calls these “adjustments”. We call them “common sense”. In any case, it’s great to see this new rule and amendment get reintroduced and we hope that logic will prevail. The current rule is far too punitive on homeowners who don’t face any serious issues to themselves or their family from lead paint. The resulting increase in costs and paperwork was more than a little unreasonable.
The bipartisan bill, companion legislation to S. 484, was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), along with 21 original co-sponsors.
“H.R. 2093 [the LRRP Lead Paint Rule opt-out provision] will make common-sense improvements to the EPA’s lead paint rule for homeowners and remodelers who must comply with the regulation’s costly work practices and record keeping requirements.”
NAHB Remodelers Chairman Bill Shaw, GMR, GMB, CGP, a remodeler from Houston
The LRRP rule affects any renovation work done on homes built prior to 1978. It requires renovator training and also certification to train and ensure compliance with “lead-safe” work practices and record keeping.
For more information about remodeling, visit www.nahb.org.
