The proposed amendment would remove the “opt out” provision from the lead paint regulation that allows the owners of homes where no children under age six or pregnant women reside to sign a waiver exempting the remodeler from the requirements.

This change would increase the number of homes subject to the rule to 78 million units; by the EPA’s own estimates, fewer than 40 million homes are contaminated with lead paint.

During the meeting Shirey and Hanbury discussed the challenges to their businesses and the remodeling industry as a whole due to the economic downturn.

“Clients have smaller budgets today and are scaling back on what they will do,” Shirey told OMB staff members. Adding more, expensive requirements to these smaller jobs (window manufacturers estimate that it will add $100 to the replacement cost of each window) “will further harm my business,” she said.

Shirey also told officials about her conversation with a Montana remodeler who has already lost two job bids because of the additional costs of complying with the rule.

NAHB also presented economic research about the ailing remodeling market and the large costs of removing the opt-out option for home owners while providing little, if any, benefit for children at risk of lead exposure in these homes.

According to the EPA, the 2008 lead rule will affect 1.5 million professional remodeling jobs. Removing the opt-out provision would affect an additional 7.2 million jobs.

The EPA used different models to estimate the cost and health benefits of each job so that it would appear that the costs would be dwarfed by the benefits, when in fact the opposite is more likely, the NAHB research found.

Additionally, NAHB questioned whether the EPA has fulfilled its responsibilities to consider the amendment’s harm to businesses; the agency did not convene a small business advisory review panel or explore other alternatives to removing the opt-out provision.

Shirey and Hanbury also pointed out the conflict between implementation of the lead paint rule with the President’s commitment to retrofits and energy efficiency — a consideration that the OMB is obligated to address.

They also reiterated NAHB’s support for lead paint work practices to protect young children.

“I want to be clear. We are not opposed to the rule,” Shirey said. “Ninety percent of our members are aware of the rule through marketing efforts of NAHB.

“We are here today because we believe there is insufficient training capacity to comply with the rule by April 22, 2010.”

For more information about the lead paint rule, visit www.nahb.org/leadpaint.   [return to top]