• NMHC Guidance on EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Regulation
  
  
• EPA Amendment modifying the RRP reporting and recordkeeping requirements effective July 6, 2010
  
  
• EPA rejects proposal to alter certain testing clearance requirements. (July 15, 2011).  EPA-approved commercial test kits.
  
  
• EPA Memo delaying the firm certification and worker training compliance deadlines.  Work practice requirements remain in place, however. 
  
  
• EPA memo informing the regulated community about the Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule
  
  
• EPA clarification that testing protocols found in the Residential Lead-based Paint Hazard Reduction Act remain appropriate for compliance purposes under the Renovation, Repair and Paint (RRP) rule. 

Background

• As of April 2010, owners of market-rate properties built before 1978 will have to comply with EPA lead safety regulations that govern common renovation and repair activities.  (Age-restricted properties with no children occupying them and properties that have been certified to be free of lead-based paint by a state inspector are exempt from the RRP regulations.)
  
  
• Under the regulations, if renovation or repair work undertaken on a covered property disturbs more than six square feet of surface area for interior work or 20 square feet for exterior work, the work must be carried out by a trained and certified renovator. 
  
  
• In addition, residents must be notified and provided with a copy of an EPA pamphlet, Renovate Right: Important Lead Hazard Information for Families, Child Care Providers, and Schools.  (This is a different pamphlet than the EPA's Protect Your Family pamphlet that owners are required to provide to residents at the time of lease signing.)  There are also recordkeeping requirements imposed on owners or the third-party contractors they hire to undertake work covered by the regulations.
  
  
• Importantly, the RRP rules expands existing Lead Safe Housing (LSH) rules that has imposed comparable—but not identical—compliance obligations on pre-1978 properties that receive federal assistance, including Section 8 vouchers.    Under the RRP rules, federally assisted properties must comply with the more stringent elements of both the LSH and RRP regulations. 
  
  
• This White Paper outlines property owners' compliance obligations and clarifies important issues for federally assisted properties that must comply with both the RRP and LSH rules.   It also outlines a number of unanswered questions posed to the regulatory agencies by NMHC.

ADDENDUMS: 

• July 6, 2010 Amendments:  EPA is in the process of amending the rules based on a lawsuit brought against it by the Sierra Club. A final amendment (75 FR 24802) went into effect on July 6 and requires renovation firms (including property maintenance staff) “to provide a copy of the records demonstrating compliance with the training and work practice requirements of the RRP rule to the owners and, if different, the occupant of the building being renovated or the operator of the child-occupied facility. 

The amendment also requires that if a firm chooses to use a laboratory analysis of dust wipes (i.e., dust clearance testing) instead of using the simple "Swiffer" cleaning verification test after a renovation project, then the lab test results must be provided to both the occupant of the unit that was tested and to the owner of the building.  Finally, the amendment makes minor modifications to the certification, accreditation and state authorization process.  The final amendment and additional NMHC Guidance is available here. 

• July 15, 2011 Amendments:  On July 15, the EPA Administrator signed an amended regulation of the RRP rule that addressed clearance testing, prohibited work practices and certain provisions that apply to providers of lead training courses. 
  
  Of note to the apartment industry, at NMHC/NAA’s urging, EPA rejected a proposal to require EPA-certified lab testing of dust samples after renovations covered by the RRP.  These lab tests would have replaced the simpler field tests enumerated in the original law.  EPA’s own studies found that these field techniques effectively prevent lead hazards.
  
  More information, including the final and proposed amendments and our comments, are available here
  
  
• Testing Kits: In September, EPA announced that it had approved a chemical spot test kit for use on a variety of surfaces including drywall and plaster.   These kits may be used by state-certified renovators in pre-1978 to determine whether lead is present in specific surfaces under the RRP rule.  These kits are not approved for determining whether or not a property meets the test of lead free under Title X, the Residential Lead-based Paint Hazard Reduction Act.   See EPA announcement in “Related Resources.” 

NMHC Contact Information:
Eileen Lee
Vice President of Environment
202/974-2326
elee@nmhc.org