NARI supports Senate EPA Lead Rule Reform bill

“Homeowners have told us they want to be able to opt-out of this provision if they do not have a child or pregnant woman living in their pre-1978 home,” says Dean Herriges, MCR, CKBR, NARI national president and a remodeler from the Mukwanago, Wis., area. “NARI members take their job as consumer advocate very seriously, and this is a choice homeowners want to have. We applaud Sen. Inhofe for recognizing that and continuing to fight for that provision.”

 

In a 2011 NARI survey, a majority of homeowners agreed with the statement: “I want the option to opt-out of the EPA’s RRP regulations.”

 

S.484 also includes other changes to the EPA’s LRRP rule:

 

• Prohibits EPA from expanding the LRRP rule to commercial and public buildings until EPA conducts a study demonstrating the need for such an action.

 

• Provides exemption for first-time paperwork violations and provides for an exemption for renovations after a natural disaster.

 

• Eliminates the requirement that re-certification must be hands-on, preventing remodelers having to travel to training facilities outside of their region.

 

NARI continues to work with the EPA to assist the agency in educating the public on the importance of hiring an EPA-certified remodeler to work on their pre-1978 home. NARI also has been pushing the agency for tougher enforcement to crack down on the underground economy created by non-certified remodelers who are not only violating the rules but also putting children and pregnant women at risk by not using lead-safe work practices.