The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has amended its Renovation, Repair and Remodeling (RRP) rule. The new requirements (75 FR 24802) go into effect on July 6. The change requires renovation firms (including property maintenance staff) to provide a copy of the records demonstrating compliance with the training and work practice requirements of the RRP rule to the owner and, if different, the occupant of the building being renovated.
The amendment also requires that if a firm chooses to use a laboratory analysis of dust wipes (i.e., dust clearance testing) instead of using the simple “Swiffer” cleaning verification test after a renovation project, then the lab test results must be provided to both the occupant of the unit that was tested and to the owner of the building. Finally, the amendment makes minor modifications to the certification, accreditation and state authorization process.
NAA/NMHC have prepared a memo outlining in additional detail the changes of interest to apartment firms. The memo and our original White Paper detailing the RRP rule are available at www.naahq.org/governmentaffairs.
Separately, EPA has published a series of proposed amendments to the RRP rule. One proposal (75 FR 25038) would require the use of dust-wipe testing instead of the “Swiffer” test for certain types of renovation projects. It also seeks to extend the RRP work practice requirements to the disturbance of any painted surface. A separate proposal (75 FR 24848) would extend the RRP lead-safe work practices to commercial buildings. NAA/NMHC will be submitting comments to EPA by the July 6 deadline.
The RRP rule has attracted the attention of lawmakers. On May 26, a bipartisan group led by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) successfully attached an amendment to the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations bill (S 4889) that would prohibit EPA from expending funds to enforce the RRP rule through Sept. 30, the end of this fiscal year. In their floor statements, the members cited EPA’s “botched” implementation of the rule and the lack of trainers and certified workers to perform needed repairs in flood-ravaged Tennessee. A modified version of the amendment was included in the final bill, which passed the Senate with a filibuster-proof majority. The House has yet to consider the measure.