Update provided by Bob Carter - Air Cleaning Technologies
U.S. Senate Votes to Delay Lead Paint Regulation
The U.S. Senate voted May 27 to delay the implementation of an Environmental Protection Agency regulation on lead paint, in order to provide small contractors with more time to receive mandated training.
The vote was for an amendment to a supplemental spending bill, which now must be reconciled with a similar bill passed by the House of Representatives.
If the amendment survives the reconciliation process, the bill would then go to the White House. It could be vetoed by President Obama, but it is unclear whether he would want to block a major spending bill - which includes funding for troops in Afghanistan and disaster relief - over this issue.
A spokeswoman at the White House said it had no comment yet on the matter.
The rule requires that contractors who perform work in homes built before 1978 be EPA-certified in lead paint removal or face fines up to $37,500 per violation per day.
The amendment introduced by Sen. Collins would bar the EPA from levying fines against contractors who have signed up for training classes by September 30, 2010. This delay would allow adequate time for contractors to comply with the new regulation.
"Unfortunately, as a result of EPA's lack of planning, there still are not enough certified trainers in most states to educate contractors about these new requirements," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the primary foe of the regulation, said during a Senate debate.
Three states - Louisiana, Wyoming and South Dakota - do not have a single EPA-certified trainer, Collins asserted. "In Maine, there are just three EPA-certified trainers. Hundreds of Maine contractors have signed up for training, but are being forced to wait," she added.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) argued strongly against the amendment, saying that there are traveling trainers who are able to go to more rural states. "Lead is poison," she told her colleagues. "Please don't leave America's children at risk."