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Lead Paint Crackdown Sweeps Up Painters

Monday, November 26, 2012

More items for Environmental Controls

Federal enforcement of lead paint violations is growing, with 16 painters, remodelers and other contractors rounded up in the latest sweep by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA has announced administrative settlements with 13 firms and complaints against three additional ones for violating the lead-based paint Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule. The violations relate to activities at commercial and residential properties.

The fines in the settlements total $53,792; in the three administrative complaints, the agency is seeking civil penalties up to the statutory maximum of $37,500 per violation.

DASA Properties LLC

DASA Properties LLC, of Brooklyn, is one of 13 firms that reached settlement with EPA.

The EPA announced the enforcement actions on Nov. 14.

The roundup includes at least nine residential and commercial painting contractors.

Serious Violators, Fines

The EPA says the cases address a variety of serious RRP Rule violations, including failure to:

• Follow lead-safe work practices at properties where children lived;
• Obtain firm certification before performing or offering renovations services on pre-1978 homes; and
• Provide EPA’s “Renovate Right” pamphlet to homeowners and occupants.

Under each settlement, the respondent was required to certify that it had come into compliance with the RRP Rule.

Enforcement Actions

EPA settled cases with the following companies. Details of each case, including links to the settlement documents, are available by clicking on the company name.

• Kindred Painting LLC of Dover, NH
• Universal Remodeling and Building LLC of Stratford, CT
• DiGiorgi Roofing and Siding Inc. of Beacon Falls, CT
• Exterior Images of Derry, NH
• Dasa Properties LLC of Buffalo, NY
• Leanza Painting Contractors Inc. of Morristown, NJ
• Mac Stringer Painting and Staining of Ontario, NY
• Hometown Painting Inc. of Warrendale, IL
• Alliance Contracting & Design of Bay City, MI
• Scheffler Painting of Trenton, MI
• Spartan Painting of Haslett, MI
• Wildwood Apartments of Jackson, MI
• Sunshine Home Improvement LLC of Lenexa, KS

The agency has issued administrative complaints against the following businesses. More information is available by clicking on the company name.

• Collegiate Entrepreneurs Inc. of Braintree, MA
• Kachina Contractor Solutions LLC of Elkins Park, PA
• PZ Painting of Springfield, NJ

The RRP rule requires that contractors who work on pre-1978 dwellings and child-occupied facilities be trained and certified to use lead-safe work practices. EPA finalized the RRP rule in 2008; it took effect April 22, 2010.

“At least 4 million households with children have lead paint, and over a half million children have elevated levels of lead in their blood. But lead exposure is preventable when you know what to look for and what to do,” said Cynthia Giles, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.

“These settlements serve as an important reminder of the importance of using lead-safe practices to protect the health of our children and prevent lead poisoning.”

Comment from Catherine Brooks, Eco-Strip, (11/27/2012, 11:22 AM)

MICROBUSINESSES: EPA defines them as small companies with annual gross revenue of <$300,000 or which might fail if penalties are too high. EPA designating companies as microbusinesses or reducing fines to "fast track" settlements demonstrates to me that they are not unreasonable in fining small companies. However, the message also is that the small companies who do the bulk of the work on homes need to follow the safely laws. The big companies are caught, too, and their fines are appropriate for the breadth of the public dangers they cause.