The Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule

There are two primary TSCA lead programs, the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule and the Disclosure Rule. Both were authorized by The Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, codified as... 

The Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule is in the regulations under the title Residential Property Renovation, and all of the TSCA lead regulations are in Part 745 of 40 C.F.R, which is entitled Lead-Based Paint Poisoning Prevention In Certain Residential Structures. These titles are misleading because the rule covers many nonresidential structures. 

There are several exceptions to the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule. 

The Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule requires renovators to create certifications and keep records that demonstrate compliance with the each detail of the renovation rules for three years, or longer if required by another law7 In practice it is important to retain compliance documents for longer, and the exact length of time depends on the state in which the renovator operates. In most jurisdictions the statute of limitations for a tort action brought by a person who was a child at the time of an injury can be extended beyond the time that would have been allowed for an adult to bring a tort action.In any event records should be maintained for the five years of the TSCA statute of limitations. ... 

Most states have their own lead programs which have been authorized by the EPA and supplant the lead-based paint activities rule in subpart L. ° States and tribes may seek authorization under the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule in addition to the lead-based paint activities rule of Subpart L. Section 404 of TSCA ° requires state programs to be at least as protective as the TSCA program before the EPA can authorize them. In those jurisdictions where the state or tribal program has not been authorized by EPA, both the federal and state or tribal programs will be in effect. States and Tribes may become authorized by the EPA to administer and enforce the renovation... 

States and Tribes with authorized programs enforce their own programs. EPA has stated that it reserves the right to enforce the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule in states that have their own authorized programs. 

The EPA has not developed an enforcement response policy specifically for the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule or the Pre-Renovation Education Rule. In In the Matter of Millennium Quests, Inc., the Regional Judicial Hearing Officer relied on the enforcement response policy for PCBs in the absence of an enforcement response policy that was directly applicable to the Pre-Renovation Education Rule. 

The vast majority of entities in the industries affected by this rule are small. Using EPA s estimates, the renovation, repair, and painting program will affect an average of approximately 189,000 small entities. 

EPA considered a wide variety of options for addressing the risks presented by renovation activities where lead-based paint is present. As part of the development of the renovation, repair, and painting program, EPA has considered different options for the scope of the rule, various combinations of training and certification requirements for individuals who perform... 

Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program Response To Public Comments (Apr. 2008) (pubhc comments on the Renovation rule and EPA responses) Lead Renovation Comments 4-08... 

A second series of actions springing from Title X mandates have had to do with the repair and/or renovation of private housing or other child-occupied stmctures. These regulations were recently implemented as the Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting (LRRP) Rule. 

You have just read about how the EPA Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Program came to be. That is the tip of the iceberg. This ruling from EPA is very comprehensive and has generated a lot of talk in the construction trades. Like it or not, the rules must be followed when working with lead-based materials. Here we examine some of the more specific requirements of the rule. 

This final rule also contains provisions for interested states, territories, and tribes to apply for and receive authorization to administer their own renovation, repair, and painting programs in lieu of the proposed regulation. States, territories, and tribes may choose to administer and enforce just the existing requirements of Subpart E, the pre-renovation education elements, the training, certification, accreditation, work practice, and recordkeeping requirements of this final rule, or both. EPA will use the same process used for lead-based paint activities programs. 

Based on the results of the Dust Study and in response to the voluminous persuasive public comments, this final rule prohibits or restricts the use of the following practices during renovation, repair, and painting activities that are subject to the work practice requirements of this rule ... 

EPA has concluded that these practices must be prohibited or restricted during renovation, repair, and painting activities that disturb lead-based paint because the work practices in this final rule are not effective at containing the spread of leaded dust when these practices are used, or at cleaning up lead-based paint hazards created by these practices. Thus, the work practices are not effective at minimizing exposure to lead-based paint hazards created during renovation activities when these activities are used. 

Based on a review of the Dust Study and the Disposable Cleaning Cloth Study, EPA concluded that if the practices prohibited in this final rule are avoided and the required work practices are followed, then cleaning verification is an effective component of the work practices. EPA believes that the suite of work practices as a whole are effective at addressing the lead-paint dust that is generated during renovation, repair, and painting preparation activities. 

Because of the enormous number of renovation activities that occur in this country on an annual basis, EPA welcomes the help of its state, territorial, and tribal partners to ensure that these renovations are performed by trained persons in accordance with this final rule. This final rule establishes, in accordance with TSCA section 404 and EPA s Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations, requirements for the authorization of state, territorial, and tribal renovation, repair, and painting programs. The process for obtaining authorization to operate these programs in lieu of the federal program is the same process used to authorize state. 

Costs. The Economic Analysis estimates the costs of complying with the rule. Costs may be incurred by contractors who perform renovation, repair, and painting work for compensation landlords who use their own staff to perform renovation, repair, and painting work in leased buildings and child-occupied facilities that use their own staff to perform renovation, repair, and painting work. 

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