Bishop asks EPA to delay lead paint legislation

U.S. Representative Tim Bishop was joined by more than 50 members of the Long Island chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry recently in Selden to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to delay implementation of a new lead paint rule which could potentially negatively effect the East End.

Congressman Bishop warned that the new rule, scheduled to take effect on Thursday, April 22, mandating that home renovators undergo specific training and certification and purchase expensive equipment in order to work on homes built before 1978, would hurt Long Island’s economy. Of the over 18,000 licensed remodelers on Long Island, Congressman Bishop’s estimate is that just several hundred have been trained and certified.

“This rule is well-intentioned but we must be governed by reality, not good intentions,” Congressman Bishop said. “In less than a month, more than 90 percent of Long Island’s licensed home renovators will be out of compliance with the law. That suggests to me that there’s a problem with the law, not the renovators.”

According to Mr. Bishop, there is also a severe shortage of equipment necessary to comply with the new standards, with little possibility of having enough equipment by the deadline. The rule requires specialized High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) vacuum cleaners to be used during cleanup procedures. The amount of HEPA vacuum cleaners available, as well as other required materials, including heavy gauge plastic, disposable clothing, respirators, and lead test kits, is estimated to be dramatically less than will be demanded by every remodeling company, per worker, per crew throughout the country.

Congressman Bishop noted that this rule is also being imposed at the same time as federal stimulus funds are made available to renovate older homes to improve energy efficiency.

“We have two well-intentioned ideas which are at loggerheads with one another,” Congressman Bishop said. “This is the kind of thing that drives people nuts about government. I support delaying implementation of this rule so we can allow people to work and get it right. I take lead paint very seriously; I just want to make sure we’re going about this in a way that doesn’t unnecessarily harm renovators and homeowners.”