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April Press & Charter

 

Most home remodeling will soon require EPA-certified workers

By Darrren Hauck for USA TODAY

Planning to remodel? Unless your home is fairly new, only renovators certified to handle lead will soon be legally allowed to do the work. The problem: Many are not yet ready.

On April 22, the Environmental Protection Agency is slated to enact rules requiring EPA certification for contractors working on homes built before lead paint was banned in 1978. The rule, aimed at limiting exposure to lead, applies to carpenters, plumbers, heating and air conditioning workers, window installers and others.

People who hire uncertified workers for their pre-1978 homes won't face fines, but the remodelers themselves could.

Two-thirds of U.S. homes and apartments (78 million out of 120 million) were built before 1978, says Calli Schmidt of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), citing Census Bureau data.

Yet so far, EPA has certified only 14,000 workers in lead-safe practices despite its own estimate that more than 200,000 will need to be trained, according to the NAHB.

EPA, in a comment e-mailed Friday to Green House, said it's moving quickly to train renovators. It said it has trained 50,000 as of March 15 and expects to train an additional 50,000 by April 22.

The NAHB, which represents contractors and opposed mandatory certification, says it's offering training classes but EPA won't certify enough remodelers by April 22. It's calling on EPA to extend the deadline.

Builders Face Health Reform Without Onerous Provision

 

Small businesses in every other industry are exempt from providing mandatory health insurance if they employ 50 workers or less. As a result of NAHB’s efforts, the 50-worker threshold will now apply to all construction industry workers as well.

To read the entire article, click here: Nation's Building News



Onerous Health Care Provision for Small Builders in Senate’s Hands

Nations Building News – NAHB

The House late Sunday evening March 21, voted 219 to 212 to approve Senate-passed health care bill H.R. 3590. The measure — which includes a provision by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) targeting small businesses in the construction industry — was expected to be signed into law shortly by President Obama.

However, immediately after passing the bill, the House approved an accompanying package of revisions (H.R 4872) by a similar 220 to 211 margin that effectively eliminates the Merkley provision. That package now goes to the Senate under special reconciliation rules that require only a simple majority to pass.

In the days and weeks before the vote, NAHB aggressively targeted key House Democrats to urge them to oppose H.R. 3590, which contains an initiative by Merkley that requires construction firms to provide health coverage if they employ more than five workers. Small businesses in every other industry would be exempt from providing mandatory health insurance if they employ 50 workers or less.

On the day of the House vote, NAHB sent a letter to every member of Congress designating a vote in opposition to H.R. 3590 as a key vote “given the detrimental impact H.R. 3590 will have on the home building industry.”

Although H.R. 4872 would “fix” certain provisions in H.R. 3590, including striking the Merkley provision, NAHB fought to oppose H.R. 3590 because of the possibility that the reconciliation package could somehow fail, leaving the onerous requirement for small builders in place.

The Senate is expected to consider H.R. 4872 this week. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) claims to have the backing of a majority of senators to get the bill through, but Republicans opposed to the measure are expected to attempt to derail the package through a series of procedural maneuvers. If the Senate makes any change to the bill, it will delay its passage and force it to go back to the House.



Most home remodeling will soon require EPA-certified workers

 

By Darrren Hauck for USA TODAY

Planning to remodel? Unless your home is fairly new, only renovators certified to handle lead will soon be legally allowed to do the work. The problem: Many are not yet ready.

On April 22, the Environmental Protection Agency is slated to enact rules requiring EPA certification for contractors working on homes built before lead paint was banned in 1978. The rule, aimed at limiting exposure to lead, applies to carpenters, plumbers, heating and air conditioning workers, window installers and others.

People who hire uncertified workers for their pre-1978 homes won't face fines, but the remodelers themselves could.

Two-thirds of U.S. homes and apartments (78 million out of 120 million) were built before 1978, says Calli Schmidt of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), citing Census Bureau data.

Yet so far, EPA has certified only 14,000 workers in lead-safe practices despite its own estimate that more than 200,000 will need to be trained, according to the NAHB.

EPA, in a comment e-mailed Friday to Green House, said it's moving quickly to train renovators. It said it has trained 50,000 as of March 15 and expects to train an additional 50,000 by April 22.

The NAHB, which represents contractors and opposed mandatory certification, says it's offering training classes but EPA won't certify enough remodelers by April 22. It's calling on EPA to extend the deadline.



NLBMDA, Others Urge the U.S. Senate to Help Delay EPA Lead Rule

The National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association, along with other trade associations and businesses, sent a letter to Sens. Bingaman and Murkowski of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee as well as to Sens. Boxer and Inhofe of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, urging them to contact the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) to delay the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule.

Starting on April 22, 2010, renovation work that disturbs more than six square feet on the interior of a home built before 1978 must follow new Lead Safe Work Practices (LSWP) supervised by an EPA certified renovator and performed by an EPA certified renovation firm, as outlined in 40 CFR § 745.85.

NLBMDA is petitioning the federal government for a delay because of a severe shortage in the number of certified firms and renovators that will be able to work on pre-1978 homes as of April 22. EPA estimated over 200,000 certified renovators would be needed and to date, they estimate only 50,000 have been. NLBMDA is also requesting the delay because the only EPA approved lead paint test kits that determine if special work practices are required, are inaccurate. Those kits can return a false positive as much as 63% of the time on average according to EPA, requiring costly special work practices when they are in fact not needed.

With the April 22, 2010 deadline nearing, it is clear that EPA cannot ensure enough certified renovators will be available for compliance with the Lead, Renovation, Repair, and Paint Program (LRRP).

What action the federal government will take in response is still uncertain.



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