This just in from the National Association of Home Builders in Washington D.C.:
Responding to concerns from NAHB Remodelers and affiliated trade groups, Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.) on March 1 introduced S. 2148, the Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012, to improve the lead paint rule for remodelers who must comply with the costly work practices and record keeping requirements of the rule.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Lead: Renovation, Repair, and Painting (LRRP) rule, which took effect on April 22, 2010, requires that remodelers and contractors working in homes built before 1978 be trained and certified by the EPA on lead-safe work practices before they can legally work in those homes.
The bill was introduced with five original co-sponsors: Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), David Vitter (R-La.), Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.).
NAHB is urging its members to contact their senators and call on them to co-sponsor the Inhofe bill. The association is also seeking the introduction of companion legislation in the House of Representatives.
The Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012 would:
- Reinstate the opt-out provision to allow home owners without small children or pregnant women residing in them to decide whether to require LRRP compliance, not the government.
- Suspend the LRRP if EPA does not approve a commercially available test kit that meets the regulation’s requirements.
- Allow remodelers the “right to cure” paperwork errors found during an inspection.
- Eliminate the “hands on” recertification training requirements.
- Prohibit EPA from expanding the LRRP to commercial and public buildings until at least one year after the agency conducts a study demonstrating the need for such an action.
- Clarify the definition of “abatement” to specifically exclude remodeling and renovation activities.
- Provide an exemption to the regulation for emergency renovations
Professional Remodelers Organization 