(AGENPARL) – lun 30 ottobre 2023 Issued: Oct 30, 2023 (12:57pm EDT)
If you wish to unsubscribe please do so
here: http://url6130.epa.mediaroom.com/ls/click?upn=-2BroytcZInNRyuFbAvAoN5aMEQDHIx2RtQl0jT-2FwLgZHafJKm-2F7NYrsKNAZH88rhd98aG2o5sSGIX8iVgGgXwOczi8WNFU0a7GLvUAvQ8R0RGX5bAZ9mjh1NYnKAGekGpB2VT_mLoYh0p4AWg4foFr5HgrZ1QioQ33bLwdnQ-2BsYGKFX9mApcfdQmv0-2Bvkdf9kq-2BlYjeJMi9zmmh30R2pVvGm7QtcYbOTQ68zhLq-2Fn6XwuU7nY2i61BCn0kjGegZqv2XZvZUoHoMXsHa1Cp9zpoxSC9QOPbT6QKkh6eUU0JCgsbDEqXLYL2hr-2BE-2BISeuz-2BUyzLYzyShSD7WHyFAzx1JJgLbEFzm0F541jSEg2JaQ9PtIY-2FaqdeEWYC22FVUJFqKkLHjfaa5zH8d7Uo2p2Z8J-2Frw5Q-3D-3D
EPA Advances Enforcement Actions to Protect Communities from Hazardous Lead
Paint
Enforcement Initiatives and Tools Target Noncompliance by Renovators and
Property Managers
WASHINGTON (Oct. 30, 2023) – Today, the US Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) released a snapshot of enforcement actions taken across the country in
2023 to protect children and their families from the health hazards posed by
exposure to lead-based paint. EPA enforcement actions help ensure that
renovation contractors, landlords, property management companies and realtors
comply with rules that protect the public from exposure to lead from lead
paint. 
“No family should have to suffer adverse health impacts from exposure to
lead because a property manager, landlord, or renovator failed to follow
lead-safe work practices,” said Assistant Administrator David M. Uhlmann,
for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. “EPA is
committed to vigorous and fair enforcement of lead paint regulations and will
hold companies and individuals accountable for unsafe conditions that put
children at risk.”
The federal government banned residential use of lead paint in 1978, but old
lead paint remains in over 34 million older homes, including 3.3 million homes
with children under the age of six, who are more vulnerable to the health
impacts from lead paint. Children can be exposed to lead from lead paint dust
on the floor or windowsills, chipped or peeling paint, or old layers of lead
paint disturbed by renovation work. EPA rules require renovation firms to
protect their customers by using certified renovators and lead-safe work
practices. They also require renovators, landlords and others to tell tenants
and buyers about known lead paint in a home. 
The enforcement actions EPA took in 2023 reflect the agency’s continuing
commitment to implementing the Federal Lead Strategy and result in reducing or
eliminating lead exposures, particularly to children in communities
disproportionately impacted by historic lead paint exposure.  
Case Highlights
• Indiana Contractor Goes to Prison for Lead Paint Violations
The U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of Indiana worked with EPA criminal
enforcement personnel and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to
secure a 16-month prison sentence for Jeffrey Delucio for falsifying
compliance records and failing to use lead-safe work practices in multiple
properties, including where a child had elevated levels of lead in their
blood.
• EPA Settlement with Logan Square Aluminum Supply
EPA’s Region 5 and the Department of Justice settled alleged violations of
lead paint renovation rules with this major Chicago-based firm. In addition to
paying a $400,000 penalty and instituting a robust compliance system to
protect customers, Logan Square is paying for $2 million of lead paint
abatement work in lower-income properties located in Chicago and Chicago
suburban communities with a high incidence of childhood lead poisoning.
• Administrative Hearing with GreenBuild Design and Construction, LLC
EPA’s Region 10 took this Anchorage, Alaska firm to an administrative
hearing over its repeated violation of lead paint renovation rules, including
work practice rules. The administrative law judge issued a decision sustaining
EPA’s allegations and penalizing violator, Greenbuild, for $25,609.
• EPA Settlement with APEX Building Company, Inc.
In a proposed consent decree lodged for public comment, NYC general
contracting firm, Apex Building Company, Inc., agreed to pay the United States
$606,706 and to implement significant injunctive relief to resolve an action
brought in the Southern District of New York (SDNY) for lead paint violations
involving renovations of 935 apartments in New York, many occupied by
low-income tenants. In addition to ensuring future compliance, the company is
required to conduct tenant and worker safety information sessions to mitigate
potential harms it caused. The initial penalty assessed by the EPA was
reduced, as required by statute, based on the defendant’s documented
inability to pay the full penalty. 
• Privatized Military Housing Investigations. 
EPA issued four national subpoenas to property management companies managing
privatized military housing to assess compliance with the lead paint
regulations and will take appropriate enforcement action as needed to ensure
that our servicemembers and their families are protected from exposure to lead
paint.
• EPA Region 1 Settlement Leads to National TV Features on Lead Safety
On October 23 and October 30, Magnolia Network will kick off Season 11 of its
popular Maine Cabin Masters series with two episodes that include information
about compliance with the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule. On
April 11, the podcast “From the Woodshed” featured an EPA inspector
talking about the importance of compliance with RRP. This innovative outreach
stems from an enforcement action EPA Region 1 settled in September 2022. The
October episodes of Maine Cabin Masters air at 9pm Eastern/8pm Central.
Regional Geographic Initiatives
As part of EPA’s Strategy to Reduce Lead Disparities and Exposure in U.S.
Communities, EPA Regional offices promoted Geographic Initiatives to focus on
specific areas or communities with more than one source of lead exposure.  In
2023, each Region directed enforcement resources to communities with
environmental justice concerns. Regions relied on a combination of strategies
to reduce people’s exposure to lead in homes, such as compliance outreach to
renovators and apartment owners; lead awareness outreach to communities and
tenants; compliance inspections and follow-up enforcement actions to ensure
changes in behavior and penalties for non-compliance. 
Environmental Justice Toolkit for Lead Paint Enforcement
In 2023, EPA also release an Environmental Justice Toolkit for Lead Paint
Enforcement, which provides strategies, examples, and practices for federal,
state, Tribal and local government enforcement practitioners to use during all
stages of environmental enforcement and compliance monitoring activities
designed to eliminate harmful exposures to lead paint in housing in
overburdened communities.
To learn more about EPA’s lead enforcement work and for more examples of EPA
lead enforcement actions in 2023, please visit EPA’s  webpage on Enforcing
Lead Laws and Regulations.
If you suspect a violation of the EPA’s lead paint rules, you can submit
tips and complaints on the EPA’s Report a Violation website. 
To unsubscribe or change your settings click here:
http://url6130.epa.mediaroom.com/ls/click?upn=-2BroytcZInNRyuFbAvAoN5aMEQDHIx2RtQl0jT-2FwLgZFdW2WYdzQmaasDKJ3YChU3Cuxl0Fj7NHKaNZd2A6xkXuNexBpNN2Q3GQiIq-2F6Zh3RdPsH2fTNqAsHOt5AGTRFM8vhD8ZH575gJs2pAee-2FwSA-3D-3D3EUn_mLoYh0p4AWg4foFr5HgrZ1QioQ33bLwdnQ-2BsYGKFX9mApcfdQmv0-2Bvkdf9kq-2BlYjeJMi9zmmh30R2pVvGm7QtcYbOTQ68zhLq-2Fn6XwuU7nZr0WIMsKyhLaZahhgcp-2Bh-2B6K8hHT2uPPYRy6Kd3nnXvrfZUtSculBxvgZKEuh0L6pYjk47cUPSIrRfTT6FXLVtki48w-2Fzl7q5t93XYNnWA-2BDcg3cne6aNSDBVi9bERESX2hvYIasb-2Bs4W6ajPk88ePxg2GL-2FeqT2ri7sKLJjBoRQ-3D-3D