Understanding EPA's new renovation, repair painting rule: now is the time to prepare for compliance.

In April 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published its Renovation, Repair and Painting rule in the Federal Register. This law, which becomes fully effective on April 22, 2010, will create new regulatory requirements for renovations that professional residential real estate managers and residential rental property owners must comply with. In the first year, EPA estimates that approximately 8.4 million renovation events will be impacted by the rule.

Whether you plan to tackle renovations in-house or hire outside contractors to complete projects, now is the time to gather information, assess your responsibilities and prepare to meet the requirements.

BASICS OF THE RULE

The rule will affect paid renovators who work in pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities. Under the rule, child-occupied facilities are defined as residential, public or commercial buildings where children under age six are present on a regular basis. The requirements apply to renovation, repair or painting activities. They are generally triggered when paint that hasn't been certified lead-free is disturbed by any renovation, repair or painting project. The rule does not apply to minor maintenance or repair activities where less than six-square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed in a room, or where less than 20-square feet of lead-based paint is disturbed on the exterior.

Renovation, repair and painting projects that will only disturb surfaces and building components that have been tested and found to be free of lead-based paint are excluded from the rule.

Owners and occupants of target housing and child-occupied facilities must obtain information on lead-based paint hazards before projects begin. Certain lead-safe standards must be met during the work and a "cleaning verification" must be performed by EPA-certified renovators before the work area can be reoccupied.

CERTIFICATION

Beginning on October 22, 2009, any firms that renovate, repair or paint target housing or child-occupied facilities must submit an application, including a proposed $300 fee to EPA in order to become a Certified Renovation Firm. Certification is good for five years and requires firms to:

* Fully comply with applicable rule requirements.

* Ensure that all personnel are either Certified Renovators or have received on-the-job training from a Certified Renovator.

* Meet pre-renovation education requirements before the renovation, repair or painting project begins.

* Assign at least one Certified Renovator to each renovation, repair and painting project.

* Ensure that contractors and subcontractors working on renovation, repair and painting projects are also Certified Renovation Firms meeting the same requirements.

* Ensure that lead-safe work practice standards and "cleaning verification" are followed on each renovation, repair and painting project.

* Meet record-keeping requirements, including maintaining renovation, repair and painting project records for at least three years.

Individuals who work for Certified Renovation Firms must be properly trained and EPA certified as renovators, or be trained and supervised on the job by Certified Renovators. These newly trained renovators will need to be assigned to each regulated renovation, repair and painting project. Once trained and certified, individuals will be required to pass a four-hour Certified Renovator Refresher course every five years.

EPA estimates that 210,000 organizations will apply to become Certified Renovation Firms and EPA-accredited training providers will train 235,000 individuals as Certified Renovators within the first year that the rule is in effect.

"Cleaning Verification"

As mentioned, the new rule makes it mandatory for a firm to follow a "cleaning verification" for each renovation, repair and painting project. This verification must be performed by the Certified Renovator after final cleaning of the work area surfaces and components. The procedure involves individually wiping floors, countertops and windowsills with commercially available cleaning cloths and then comparing each cloth to a "cleaning verification card," which EPA will produce and supply to EPA-accredited training providers and to others upon request. Before this procedure can be performed, the Certified Renovator must conduct a visual inspection of the work area and look for visible dust and debris. If any are observed, the work area must be re-cleaned and a visual inspection conducted again. Once the visual inspection is completed, the Certified Renovator can perform the cleaning verification.

Separate wet cleaning cloths are used, respectively, for windowsills and for countertops (if any) within the work area. For floors in the work area, one wet cleaning cloth is used for each 40-square-foot section. If the wet cleaning cloth is darker than the cleaning verification card after wiping a particular surface, the Certified Renovator must re-clean that surface and then re-wipe it with a new wet cleaning cloth. If the second wet cleaning cloth is still darker than the cleaning verification card, the Certified Renovator must wait at least one hour and allow that surface to dry completely. Then, the surface is wiped for a final time with a dry electrostatic cleaning cloth, which essentially completes the cleaning verification procedure.

PREPARING TO COMPLY

To implement the rule's requirements, the EPA recommends that third-party property managers, multifamily property owners, and others responsible parties should:

Develop a compliance plan

* Determine which of your apartment communities were constructed prior to 1978.

* Determine which of your apartment communities have already been tested and found to be lead-based paint free.

* Determine which individual surfaces and building components in your apartment communities have already been tested for and found to be lead-based paint free.

* Identify the untested apartment communities, individual buildings, apartment units, surfaces and/or building components that will be subject to the EPA rule.

* Develop or expand your lead-based paint testing program to limit the apartment communities, buildings, apartment units, surfaces and/or building components that will be subject to the EPA rule.

Develop a training strategy

* Identify maintenance technicians and/or maintenance supervisors who work by themselves who will require Certified Renovator training from an EPA-accredited training provider.

* Identify maintenance technicians who, on a project-by-project basis, will work under the direct supervision of a Certified Renovator and who may be eligible to receive on-the-job training from that Certified Renovator. (Caution: Non-certified maintenance technicians are limited in the EPA rule as to the level of work they can perform.)

* Identify key contractors and subcontractors that will need to send their employees to Certified Renovator training from an EPA-accredited training provider.

Develop a certification strategy

* Submit an application and fee to EPA to become a Certified Renovation Firm on or after October 22, 2009.

* Instruct key contractors and subcontractors to submit applications and fees to EPA to become Certified Renovation Firms on or after October 22, 2009.

Develop record-keeping procedures

* Establish a procedure to ensure that all affected work orders or paint disturbance activities are only assigned to Certified Renovators.

* Establish a procedure to track or link the Certified Renovator, non-certified but trained workers, lead-safe work practices, and a cleaning verification procedure to each affected work order or paint disturbance activity and maintain related project records for at least three years.

* Establish a procedure to track or link your contractors' and subcontractors' Certified Renovators, non-certified but trained workers, lead-safe work practices, and a cleaning verification procedure to each affected work order or paint disturbance activity and maintain related project records for at least three years.

* Establish a procedure to track firm and renovator certification renewal dates along with the original accredited training provider, class date, and final exam grade, and maintain related records for at least five years.

By establishing and then implementing a plan to comply with the new EPA rule, your organization will be well equipped and prepared to meet the new requirements once they become fully effective in April 2010.

To view the complete rule and additional information, Visit www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/renovation.htm.

RELATED ARTICLE: know the definitions

Along with the rule requirements, it is important to familiarize yourself with the following key rule definitions:

Target housing means housing constructed prior to 1978 unless it is specifically designed, constructed and/or designated for the elderly or for persons with disabilities (unless a child under age six resides there or is expected to reside there), or if it is a zero-bedroom dwelling.

A child-occupied facility is a building constructed prior to 1978 that has been visited regularly by the same child under age six on at least two different days within any week, so long as each visit is at least three hours, combined weekly visits are at least six hours and combined annual visits total at least 60 hours.

Renovation means "modification of any existing structure, or a portion thereof, that results in the disturbance of painted surfaces, unless that activity is performed as part of an abatement." Renovation can include removal, modification or repair of painted surfaces or building components, weatherization projects, and converting a building (or a portion of a building) into target housing or a child-occupied facility.

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