D.C. Hotline: Another coat for lead paint rule

Opposition to the EPA’s Lead: Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) Rule — a rule that requires renovation work in pre-1978 homes to follow rigorous and costly work practices supervised by an EPA-certified renovator — has gelled to bipartisan status.

One of the groups engaged in promoting a less rigorous version of the rule is the National Lumber and Building Material Dealers Association (NLBMDA), which last month applauded the introduction of the Lead Exposure Reduction Amendments Act of 2012. The act would reduce the burdens of the rule on the home remodeling and retrofit market, while maintaining protections for pregnant women and small children from lead hazards, according to the NLBMDA.

“The NLBMDA and our members have worked tirelessly to reform the misguided EPA lead rule, and the introduction of legislation in the House of Representatives shows that our industry concerns are being heard on Capitol Hill,” said NLBMDA chair Cally Fromme, executive VP of Zarsky Lumber Co. in Victoria, Texas.

The bill, H.R. 5911, would reinstate an opt-out clause to allow work to carry on unabated in houses where no children or pregnant women live. It would also suspend the LRRP if the EPA cannot approve a commercially available test kit.