The District Department of the Environment (DDOE) is issuing proposed regulations to implement the District’s lead law, also known as the Lead Hazard Prevention and Elimination Act.
The proposed regulations, which will be published tomorrow, Friday, July 22, 2011, in the D.C. Register, Volume 58/29, will increase lead safety and reduce the generation of lead-based paint hazards in the District, without unduly burdening the regulated community.
The District’s lead law has become widely recognized as one of the nation’s most health-protective lead laws. It requires landlords to provide proof of lead safety in rental properties where children under 6 years of age or pregnant women live or visit, and also requires that all dwelling units, common areas of all multifamily properties, and all child-occupied facilities, constructed before 1978, be maintained free of lead-based paint hazards.
According to DDOE, the proposed regulations will strengthen the Federal law related to renovation work that disturbs paint in pre-1978 housing, by adding clearance and permitting requirements for major renovation projects involving the disturbance of large amounts of old paint that can present a significant risk of generating lead-based paint hazards. The proposed regulations also establish the prerequisites for becoming District-certified lead-based paint inspectors, risk assessors, abatement workers and supervisors, dust sampling technicians and lead project designers.
A 30-day period of review and comment follows publication of these proposed regulations. All comments are due no later than Sunday, August 21, 2011. Comments must be in writing and directed to Pierre Erville, DDOE Associate Director for Lead and Healthy Housing, at 1200 First Street NE, 5th Floor, Washington D.C. 2002, by US mail, or via email to [email protected].
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