The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that it has taken three enforcement actions-totaling $17,058-against contractors and a landlord for violating its Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) for remodeling lead-based paint, which took effect April 22, 2010.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced that it has taken three enforcement actions-totaling $17,058-against contractors and a landlord for violating its Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) for remodeling lead-based paint, which took effect April 22, 2010.
Colin Wentworth, a landlord responsible for building operation and maintenance, agreed to pay $10,000 for RRP violations, which Hardwood Floors first reported in May 2011. Then, the EPA did not say what Wentworth's fine would be, but the Bangor Daily News reported it could have totaled $150,000. The EPA was originally tipped to Wentworth's violations-failing to train his employees on proper operation of high-speed dust-generating power tools for an exterior repainting job-via an anonymous video posted on YouTube that has since been taken down. The violations occurred at a building Wentworth owns in Rockland, Maine.
Other fines were given to Valiant Home Remodelers of New Jersey, a siding company. That company was fined $1,500 for failing to contain renovation dust, contain waste, and train workers on lead-safe work practices, the EPA said.
Last, Omaha, Neb.-based Johnson Sash and Door, a home repair company, was fined $5,558 for failing to provide homeowners with EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlets, as well as for failing to obtain a written acknowledgement of lead hazards prior to commencing remodeling activities at five homes.
In a prepared statement, the EPA said a company's or individual's ability to pay a penalty is evaluated and penalties are adjusted accordingly, as required by law. The maximum fine per day is $37,500 in states that do not oversee their own version of the RRP rule.
Contrary to a popular misconception, the RRP rule affects wood flooring professionals when sanding wood flooring-not just removing baseboard-in homes built before 1978. During the National Wood Flooring Association's (NWFA) Wood Flooring Expo on April 12, RRP training provider Samantha Dalsing from Madison, Wis., will present "What You Don't Know Can Hurt You: EPA Lead Regulations for Flooring Professionals."
