Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and a cadre of fellow Republicans have introduced a Senate bill to restore the "opt-out" provision in the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule. The provision, struck from the rule when it was introduced in April 2010, exempts a contractor from the RRP rule's lead-safe work requirements when a homeowner certifies that no child under 6 or pregnant woman resides in the home.
Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) and a cadre of fellow Republicans have introduced a Senate bill to restore the "opt-out" provision in the EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule. The provision, struck from the rule when it was introduced in April 2010, exempts a contractor from the RRP rule's lead-safe work requirements when a homeowner certifies that no child under 6 or pregnant woman resides in the home.
Besides restoring the opt-out provision, the bill would outright suspend the rule in homes without small children or pregnant women until the EPA approves a more accurate, commercially available test kit to determine the presence of lead on a job site. For more information on viable lead test kits, visit the EPA's website.
Further, the proposed bill prohibits the EPA from expanding the RRP rule to commercial and public buildings-which it proposed doing in May 2010-until the agency further studies how contractors are exposed to lead on those job sites.
The bill also exempts contractors from penalty when they submit incorrect paperwork the first time, and it eliminates a requirement that recertification training be "hands on," making it possible for contractors to get recertified online.
"I have always supported the intent of [RRP rule], which is to protect children and pregnant women from lead exposure, but EPA's implementation of the rule has long been botched and in need of a legislative fix," Inhofe said.
In May 2010 the EPA gave its reason for removing the opt-out provision in the first place: "As pointed out by a number of commenters on the RRP rule, the opt-out provision does not protect families with young children who may purchase recently renovated target housing." The EPA feared that "… dust-lead hazards created during renovations in an owner-occupied residence conducted prior to a sale will be present for the next occupants."
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) lauded Sen. Inhofe's bill. "If this effort is successful, it will reduce the regulatory burden for remodelers facing costly penalties for first-time violations like misfiled paperwork and allow home owners to make the final decision about renovations in their homes," said NAHB Remodelers Chairman George Moore Jr.
Co-sponsors for the bill, referred to as the "Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012," include Sens. Charles Grassley, (R, Iowa); David Vitter, (R,) La.); Michael Enzi, (R, Wyo.); Tom Coburn, (R, Okla.); and Roy Blunt, (R, Mo.). The same day the bill was introduced, it was referred to the Senate's committee for Environment and Public Works, of which Inhofe is the ranking member.
