Public and commercial building contractors beware and take action to help shape a future lead paint rule. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has started to develop lead-safe work practices and other requirements that may well apply to renovation and remodeling activities both on the exterior and inside of all public and commercial buildings. EPA is actively reviewing the lead paint laws that are already on the books for residential renovation and remodeling work and considering whether and how to apply those requirements to public and commercial building renovation and remodeling. AGC needs contractor input on a variety of important industry-specific issues currently under consideration at EPA. Please email your answers to any of the 12 questions below to Leah Pilconis at pilconisl@agc.org by Friday, July 2, so that AGC may meet EPA's July 6 comment deadline.
Right now, if you work for pay in housing, child-care centers or schools built before 1978, and you might disturb components (like plaster, window sashes, doors or trim) that contain lead paint, then you must meet EPA's "Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Program" (RRP) requirements or risk fines of up to $37,500 per violation, per day. This comprehensive and multi-faceted regulatory program took full effect nationwide April 22, 2010, and includes training, certification and lead-safe work practice requirements 73 Fed. Reg. 21,692 (April 22, 2008). EPA recently published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) in the Federal Register of its intent to regulate renovation, repair and painting in public and commercial buildings under a similar regime 75 Fed. Reg. 24,848 (May 6, 2010). Click here for a related AGC's Environmental Observer article with more background.
EPA is committed to propose a rule to regulate renovations on the exteriors of public and commercial buildings (to the extent those renovations create lead-based paint hazards) by December 2011 and take final action by July 2013, pursuant to a legal settlement agreement that the Agency made with several environmental and public health advocacy groups. In addition, by September 2011, EPA must consult with its Scientific Advisory Board to evaluate any risks posed during interior renovations of these same structures. If EPA determines that lead-based paint hazards are created by interior renovations, EPA has 18 months to propose a rule for renovating the interiors of commercial and public buildings.
The Agency is currently requesting comment, information and data from the public on the factors that must be considered in determining which types of construction projects in which types of public/commercial buildings create lead-based paint hazards. AGC's input at this initial rulemaking stage is critical; the ANPR does not include any proposed language, just 100+ questions and requests for data. For example, EPA has proposed no cut-off or limitation on commercial buildings to be regulated at this juncture.
AGC must respond to EPA's ANPR by July 6, 2010. Please email your answers to any of the 12 questions below to Leah Pilconis at pilconisl@agc.org by Friday, July 2. AGC has joined with the National Association of Home Builders, National Association of Realtors®, Building Owners and Managers Association International and 12 other real estate and development groups in asking EPA to give the building industry more time to prepare comments to EPA, but so far an extension has not been granted. "Given the complexity of the issues, the specter of a brand new regulatory program regarding renovation activities in commercial buildings and EPA's dearth of study in this area to date regarding commercial buildings, an extension to the comment period deadline is warranted and necessary," the group said in a May 19 letter. AGC is collaborating with these groups to comment on EPA's ANPR to extend lead-safe work practice regulations to commercial buildings. In addition, the coalition also plans to meet with U.S. Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works staff this week to discuss its concerns regarding implementation of the current Lead RRP program as well as EPA's new actions that widen the rule's potential impact on the construction industry.
Questions Concerning EPA's Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
Concerning Renovation, Repair and Painting in Commercial Buildings
- How should commercial building be defined for purposes of the rule? Are there particular types of buildings that should be excluded from the rule because they are not likely to contain lead-based paint or for other reasons?
- How prevalent is lead paint in commercial buildings? Does the prevalence of lead-based paint vary depending on the type of commercial building? Are there particular types of commercial buildings that are more or less likely to have lead-based paint?
- To what extent does the prevalence of lead paint in commercial buildings depend on the age of the building?
- Are there particular areas of commercial buildings where lead paint is more likely to be found (e.g., interior or exterior; doors and windows, trim or walls; wood substrate or metal substrate)?
- How widely is lead paint still used in commercial buildings? What are the current uses for lead paint in commercial buildings? Do the owners or managers of commercial buildings test for the presence of lead-based paint? Under what circumstances?
- What types of renovations are commonly performed in commercial buildings? How frequently are renovations performed in a given building?
- To what extent do routine maintenance activities in commercial buildings involve the disturbance of painted surfaces?
- What steps, if any, are commonly taken in connection with renovations in commercial buildings to restrict access to the area being renovated while the activity is underway?
- What steps, if any, are commonly taken in connection with renovations in commercial buildings to limit the spread of dust beyond the work area?
- Aside from day-care centers, how frequently do children under 6 years of age visit commercial buildings and how long do such visits typically last?
- How would the imposition of certification, training and work practice requirements affect renovation activities in commercial buildings? How would building owners and managers be affected?
- Are lead-contaminated building components typically removed from public and commercial buildings during renovations? If yes, are these components reused, recycled or discarded? [The waste from residential remodeling that contains lead is exempted from EPA's Hazardous Waste regulations; however, lead-contaminated waste generated from public and commercial buildings is not exempted and must be managed in accordance with the RCRA Hazardous Waste Regulations.]