RRP And The EPA Must Be Stopped

TheDoorGuy

Hi there,
I just heard about this program a week or so ago for the first time...
There happened to be a course in my area yesterday so I went ahead
and signed up for it...
I have been walking around in stunned disbelief ever since. This program
is just going to be a nightmare. Many of my customers are just working
folks like me trying to do a little something to spruce up their homes.
When I start talking to them potential dangers, job prep, hazardous waste disposal
and how the job will have to be done and the costs involved;
Most of them are going to say "I'll get back to you" and find someone who doesn't sound crazy to do their little project.
I believe it will be impossible for a small company (it's just me here) to be
compliant and stay in business.
>>>>>Much later now...I am getting used to the reality of this rule...Not happy but working with it.

rosethornva

I'd be sincerely grateful to know who they are, so that I might also support them.

I've been noticing that 100% of the contractors I've observed working on old house exteriors in my area (Norfolk and Portsmouth) are ignoring the new law. Hopefully, that'll continue.

FStephenMasek

Are you hoping they will be fined or jailed to reduce competition, or hoping there is no enforcement?
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rosethornva

IMHO, the fines inflicted by the EPA are egregious and completely disproportionate to the regulations they're intended to enforce. I'm hoping and praying that if enough people IGNORE the EPA's new RRP, it'll just evaporate and go away.

Rose

Tinstaafl

Which fines actually inflicted are you referring to? As far as I've seen, the only people they are fining are those guilty of seriously egregious misconduct.

SLSTech

RRP Penalty Guidelines Established
The RRP Penalty Guidelines Explained (guaranteed to get some blood boiling)



Shortcut to the full fine sheet above

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Tinstaafl

Yep. So who have you seen actually inflicted with those fines?

Steve Richards

There's as stretch of highway by our house..everyone ignores the speed limit.

but the traffic laws haven't gone away.

One of these days the cops are gonna set up a speed-trap on it.

Steve Richards

Another traffic analogy...

(true story too)

When I was a teenager...I was sitting behind a school bus w/its lights flashing.

There were about 10 other cars there too, and after a bit, they started (cautiously) going around it.

So I did too.

But there was a cop sitting there, he pulled me over and gave me a ticket.

Being a (stupid) teenager, I told the cop that I only went around the bus because everyone else did.

he said "Yeah, but you're the one I caught"

I think he might have told me the "have you ever been fishing?" one too... but I don't remember if that was a different cop/time.

Steve Richards

My point of course being...IF (huge IF) you do get caught...the "No one else was following the rules" defence, probably isn't going to work.

aptpupil

might not be a bad idea to use quotes around that and attribute it to its author. just saying.

Framer53

i READ OF A window contractor that had been fined almost 800K.

RenaissanceR

From what I was told a while ago, In New England, the EPA has a handful of inspectors to enforce the laws, and they will go after a high profile, high visibility contractor first. But that doesn't mean they'll go after a 1 person operation if they get a chance.

FStephenMasek

It takes a long time, often something on the order of two years, for EPA to announce penalties which have been imposed. Anyone who thinks there is no enforcement because they have not read of recent examples is making a big mistake.
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SexyVita

Tinstaafl

You are correct. However, I know a number of people who have generally ignored EPA and OSHA guidelines for 20 years or better with no ill effects. Not stupidly; they are good and conscientious people, and do things with respect for the customer and a good dash of common sense.

Technically they may be lawbreakers, and yes, they may well get nailed at any time. But that would just be another example of government intelligence.

Evapman

My instructor (without saying it in exact words) said the EPA will prolly never have enough agents to completely enforce this , so they are hoping the liget contractors will drop a dime on the un-certified contractors. And more than likely that will be the case because when we spent the money and time to be legal it is not going to sit well to be beat'en by the hacks. there has been a couple news worthy arrests by the EPA in my area in the last few months and they were reported by other contractors.

LocalHero

I'm new to the forum and came here looking for answers about the rrp rule.

My real question is how do I avoid it? As a remodeling contractor I often work on pre-1978 houses but work has been pretty slow lately. I'm down to just me in my company and doing handyman work at times to keep things gong. The costs in time and money are more than I'm willing to mess with right now.

So what if I work on a pre-78 house but am not disturbing more than 6/20 sqft of painted surfaces? Do I need to do anything to comply with the law? Do I need to document somehow that I'm not disturbing lead? Certainly I can build a porch or a deck or do a roof repair or sill repair without disturbing lead surfaces. How does one do this kind of work and still comply with the rrp? Is any action necessary?

I'm currently remodeling a bathroom in a 1960+/- home where the owner had the walls torn out by a previous contractor whom she then fired for incompetence. I'm walking in and starting with hanging rock. How would I convince anyone that I didn't disturb the previously painted walls?

Thanks,
John

This is a difficult subject to search for on this forum because the admin doesn't allow searches for 3-letter terms (rrp for instance) Why would they do that???

SLSTech

Pictures & what is written in your contract for the last example

Sill repairs, porches & decks - you would have to have those area's tested by a lead inspector with a copy of the report saying there is no lead --- The 6/20 rule does not apply if there is any demo work

http://blog.sls-construction.com/rrp - page with links, descriptions of the program, issues, clearing up misconceptions, etc...

As an FYI - there is no real way to avoid it legally, except in a few situations & you will quickly run out of work unless you decide to the roll the dice

__________________
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Certified Energy Efficiency Audits, Ratings, Modeling, Verifications, & Consulting
Residential, Commercial, & Industrial Infrared Thermography Scans

LocalHero

I'm a local guy and usually work without written contracts. I can take a pic but who knows what stage that pic was taken during a job? I doubt it would convince anyone who questioned it.

I meant new porch, new deck. And sills are underhouse framing....no lead there. I wouldn't have to have something like that tested, would I? I seem to remember that roofers repairing roof sheathing wouldn't need testing uless they were disturbing fascia or other painted surfaces for instance.


That's depressing. There's a lot of post 78 houses around here too but this sure eliminates a lot of property.
I'll look at the link later. Gotta go hang sheetrock...

Thanks,
John

FStephenMasek

John, why not use the date and time stamp function on your camera?
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