Rep. Tim Bishop, Rep. Steve Israel Urge EPA to Delay Lead Paint Rule

Rep. Tim Bishop and Rep. Steve Israel were joined by over 50 members of the Long Island chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to delay implementation of a new lead paint rule Tuesday afternoon.

Congressman Bishop warned that the new rule, which would mandate that home renovators undergo specific training and certification, and purchase expensive equipment in order to work on homes built before 1978, would hurt Long Island's economy, according to a statement sent by his staff. Of the over 18,000 licensed remodelers on Long Island, the estimate is just several hundred have been trained and certified. 

"This rule is well-intentioned but we must be governed by reality, not good intentions," Rep. Bishop said in a statement.  "In less than a month, more than 90 percent of Long Island's licensed home renovators will be out of compliance with the law.  That suggests to me that there's a problem with the law, not the renovators."

Nationally, the EPA has only 135 accredited trainers and 13,669 certified renovators nationwide, although its own compliance-needs estimates indicate that it needs at least 200,000 or more certified renovators.

"We want to keep kids safe from lead paint and make sure jobs are being done the right way," said Doug Dervin, Certified Remodeler and President of Double D Contractors, ina statement. "We just want to make sure people have time to get certified, which means we have to at least delay this rule until the end of the year."

There is also a severe shortage of equipment necessary to comply with the new standards, with little possibility of having enough equipment by the deadline.  The rule requires specialized High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) vacuum cleaners to be used during clean-up procedures. The amount of HEPA vacuum cleaners available, as well as other required materials including heavy gauge plastic, disposable clothing, respirators, lead test kits, and the related equipment is estimated to be dramatically less than will be demanded by every remodeling company, per worker, per crew throughout the country.

Rep. Bishop noted that this rule is also being imposed at the same time as federal stimulus funds are made available to renovate older homes to improve energy efficiency.

Remodelers and contractors also announced that they will be sending members to Washington, DC on April 15 to meet with Members of Congress to get them to support Rep. Bishop and Israel's position to delay implementation.