Comparison of EPA and DOS RRP Rule Requirements

NOTE: DOS (Department of Occupational Safety) is now called DLS (Department of Labor Standards)

The MA Division of Occupational Safety has released a very helpful comparison of the new MA RRP rule with the existing EPA RRP Rule.   This comparison should help those doing RRP renovations under the recently enacted MA RRP Rule understand any difference between the two rules.

The following information is directly from the DOS web Site:

I.  Applicability of Requirements

EPA: The EPA RRP Rule applies to renovation, repair and painting (RRP) work conducted for a fee in pre-1978 target housing and child-occupied facilities where the work involves the disturbance of more than 6 ft² of painted surfaces per room or more than 20 ft² of paint on exteriors (total), except that the quantity exemptions do not apply to any projects involving window replacement or demolition of structures.

DOS:  Same as EPA.

II.  Firms or Entities Requiring Licensure

EPA:  All firms or other entities performing work subject to the Rule require certification as “Certified Firms.”

DOS: Firms or other entities performing work require licensure as “Lead-Safe Renovation Contractors,” except that the following entities may apply to DOS for a “Contractor License Waiver”:

1.  Entities that perform regulated work in facilities that they own, using their own employees.

2.  Entities that were certified by EPA (or a state delegated by EPA to administer EPA RRP Rule) prior to July 9, 2010.

DOS also allows Deleading Contractors licensed by 454 CMR 22.00 to perform regulated renovation work without being separately licensed as “Lead-Safe Renovation Contractors.”  Entities applying for a “Contractor License Waiver” do not have to pay a fee for the waiver but must subsequently comply with all other provisions of 454 CMR 22.00, including the requirement to have the work supervised by a “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisor”, compliance with work practices (including cleanup), notifications, cleaning verification and recordkeeping.

III.  Contractor Licensing Fee and Required Documentation

EPA:  $300 for five years.  Applicants must submit identifying information, list of professional certifications related to lead-based paint activity and list of previous violations related to lead-based paint activity.

DOS:  $375 for five years.  In addition to filling out identifying information on application form, applicant must:

1.  Document that a person in a supervisory or management capacity has received the one-day Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisor (“Certified Renovator”) training.

2.  Document that a medical monitoring/respirator protection program is in place (entities with employees only). Program templates are on DOS’s website.

3.  Submit information related to organization of the business or entity – corporate articles of organization, business certificate, etc., as applicable.

4.  Submit lists of current and previous employees.

5.  Document workers compensation coverage (entities with employees).

6.  Affirm compliance with Massachusetts tax laws, including DOR, DUA, FSC.

7.  Submit lists of occupational health and safety-related violations, notices of noncompliance, enforcement actions, etc. 

IV.  On-site Supervisor Requirement

EPA:  EPA requires the supervisor (“Certified Renovator”) to be on site only during certain phases of the work (posting of Warning Signs, establishment of work area containments, during final cleanup and cleaning verification) and available by phone the rest of the time.

DOS:  DOS requires the supervisor (“Lead-Safe Renovator Supervisor”) to be on site at all times when RRP work is in progress.

V.  Training and Certification Requirement for Supervisor

EPA: EPA requires a one-day “Certified Renovator” course given by an EPA-certified training provider.  Possession of the training certificate, which includes a digital image of the trainee, constitutes the certification – persons who possess this certificate do not have to apply to EPA directly.  The one-day training course does not include respirator/personal protection training elements.  The training/certification is good for five years, after which time the “Certified Renovator must take a one-half day refresher course.  EPA allows persons who have taken the deleader-supervisor and deleader-worker courses to take a one-half day upgrade/refresher course to upgrade to “Certified Renovator” status.

DOS: DOS requires essentially the same one-day training course for certified “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisors” that EPA requires for “Certified Renovators” except that the DOS-required course includes respirator/personal protection training elements. Where the training is given in Massachusetts, the course must be given by a Massachusetts-licensed training provider.  As is the case with EPA, possession of the training certificate, which includes a digital image of the trainee constitutes the certification – persons who possess this certificate do not have to apply to DOS directly.  The training/certification is valid for five years, after which time the “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisor” must take a one-half day refresher course.  DOS also allows persons who have taken the deleader-supervisor and deleader-worker courses to take a one-half day upgrade/refresher course to upgrade to “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisor” status.  DOS also requires training providers to include “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisor” training elements in four-day training courses required for “Deleader-Supervisors” given after July 9, 2010, and DOS will therefore allow “Deleader-Supervisors” to function as “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisors” on renovation worksites after they have completed this training.

VI.  Certification and Licensing Reciprocity between EPA and DOS

EPA:   Firms or entities that have been licensed as “Lead-Safe Renovation Contractors” by DOS in Massachusetts must become certified with EPA as “Certified Firms” in order to carry out RRP work in states where EPA is running the RRP program.  EPA allows individuals who have been trained/certified as “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisors” in Massachusetts to act as supervisors and perform the functions of “Certified Renovators” on RRP projects in other states where EPA is running the program without needing to obtain separate EPA certification as “Certified Renovators.”

DOS:   DOS allows firms that were certified with EPA as “Certified Firms” prior to July 9, 2010 to perform RRP work in Massachusetts without becoming licensed by DOS as a “Lead-Safe Renovation Contractor,” provided that they have received a “Contractor Licensing Waiver” from DOS – there is no fee for this waiver.  The “Contractor Licensing Waiver” application is on the DOS website.  Contractors that apply for EPA certification after July 9, 2010 are required to pay the licensing fee and become licensed as “Lead-Safe Renovation Contractors” with DOS.  DOS will allow “Certified Renovators” that have received training from EPA-approved training providers to perform the functions of “Lead-Safe Renovator-Supervisors in Massachusetts without further training or licensure.

VII.  License/Certification Fees for Providers of RRP Training

EPA:  EPA issues a four-year certification to lead training providers.  Certification fees, which are assessed on a per-course basis, range between $400 and $870 per course.  The charge for certification to give to the initial “Certified Renovator” training course is $560, and the charge to give the refresher course is $400.  The charge for renewing the certification in either discipline is $340.  The training provider certification fee is waived for providers who are state and local governments, federally recognized Indian Tribes and non-profit organizations.

DOS:  DOS issues a one-year license to lead training providers and charges a flat licensing fee of $1775, regardless of the number of lead training course disciplines in which the trainer is seeking approval to provide training.  DOS has the same licensing fee waiver as EPA for training providers who offer only RRP training and are state and local governments, federally recognized Indian Tribes and non-profit organizations.

VIII.  Work Practice Requirements

EPA: The set of work practice requirements specified by EPA’s RRP Rule is a somewhat relaxed version of the work practices currently required for deleading projects.  As opposed to what is required for deleading projects, units undergoing renovation are not required to be unoccupied while the work is in progress; it is only required that persons be excluded from the work area, which must be isolated from the rest of the dwelling or child-occupied facility by appropriate means.  Plastic sheeting, which must be disposed after each use, must be used to cover floors and other surfaces on building interiors and plants and ground on exteriors.  EPA specifies the use of a “cleaning verification” procedure, which is carried out by the on-site ”Certified Renovator” to determine if interior work areas have been adequately decontaminated.  Under this procedure, the color of a wiping cloth, that is used to wipe down the work area following the final cleaning, is compared to the color of a standard “cleaning verification card” issued by EPA.  If the color of the wiping cloth is the same shade as (or lighter than) the cleaning verification card, the area “passes.” Dust-wipe clearance, as is used to clear deleading projects, may also be used to “clear” RRP projects.

DOS:  DOS’ work practice requirements for RRP work are almost identical to those required by EPA, except that DOS allows the use of tarpaulins to cover plants and ground on exterior projects, provided that the tarpaulins are thoroughly decontaminated after each use and not subsequently used for any interior work in target housing and child-occupied facilities.

Click here to find this information at the DLS web site

Delegated States Likely Better Prepared To Enforce EPA RRP Rule

Several states around the country have assumed administration and enforcement of the EPA RRP rule and others are also thinking of doing the same.  EPA actually offers money for the states to use to investigate the practicality of doing so.  As this happens each state must create its own rule which is at least as strict as the EPA rule in order to get approval to do so from the EPA.  This will lead to confusion for many renovators. 

Variances in the rule requirements, from the EPA RRP rule and also from state to state, will make it difficult for renovators to understand the differences and keep up with amendments made by each entity.  Renovators working in more than one state many have to become certified firms in each state they operate in and or also with the EPA.  Are renovators better off if their states write a better thought out rule?  Would renovators be better served if there was just one well written rule for everyone to follow?   I predict that confusion may likely contribute to violations and fines for these renovators. 

In July of this year Massachusetts took over administration and enforcement of the RRP rule.  The Massachusetts Regulations, written by the Massachusetts Department of Occupational Safety (DOS), include many of the OSHA related considerations left out of the EPA RRP rule and the EPA required certified renovator training.   As a result, Massachusetts contractors are quickly becoming aware of the already existing OSHA considerations related to working with lead.  For example, the Massachusetts firm licensing application includes a requirement that a written respiratory protection and worker health and safety program evidencing compliance with the Massachusetts RRP rule and OSHA medical monitoring requirements be submitted with the application.  This will force businesses to have such a program in place before they can be licensed to do RRP work.   The requirement will also serve to dictate what the business must have in place should they be inspected by either the DOS or OSHA.   I predict the need for OSHA related training will increase dramatically as contractors become aware of violations and fines levied against their peers.

The MA DOS has also started conducting on-site inspections.  Though most inspections are triggered by citizens reporting suspected violations, the DOS is also out in the field and is stopping by renovation projects as they come across them.   In one of his recent blogs, RRP certification training provider and business coach, Mark Paskell of The Contractor Coaching Partnership, shares a real life story of a painter who was visited by DOS after a neighbor next door to one of his projects called the DOS with concerns about soil contamination.  The contractor was in compliance and made out fine, but the DOS left him with a message and asked that he would share it with others.  "Tell every contractor you know we're out there enforcing. Tell your friends, your neighbors, other contractors you know, suppliers and trades. We are here and we will enforce the new law"

NOTE: EPA has authorized nine states to administer their own RRP programs: Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Wisconsin.

The following information is from a flyer released by the MA DOS.  The Regulations became effective on July 9, 2010:

Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Regulations in Massachusetts:

Information for Contractors.

The Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety (“DOS”) has recently adopted new requirements under its lead standard, 454 CMR 22.00, that apply to renovation, repair or painting (“RRP”) work conducted for a fee in target housing or any child-occupied facility, where more than threshold amounts of lead paint are disturbed.
• With certain exceptions, contractors and other entities who carry out work covered by these requirements must be licensed as “Lead-Safe Renovation Contractors” by DOS. Affected occupations include, but are not limited to: painters, plumbers, electricians, window installers, general contractors, property maintenance workers, and remodelers.
• A person who has take a one-day “Lead-Safe Renovator Supervisor” or “Certified Renovator” course and is in possession of a current certificate of training issued by an approved training provider must be on site and in control of the work at all times when the work is in progress. Workers on such projects must be trained by the certified supervisor or a training provider licensed by DOS.
• The work must be carried out in accordance with work practice requirements specified in 454 CMR 22.00, including, but not limited to: testing of suspect materials, work area isolation or delineation, exclusion of personnel, covering of objects, acceptable work methods, cleanup and cleaning verification.
• Certain record keeping and notification requirements are also specified. It is essential that you determine whether or not the renovation work you perform falls under the regulation; if it does, then your business must become licensed, your supervisors trained and certified, and your workers trained. Failure to comply with DOS regulations governing these matters may result in the imposition of civil administrative penalties.

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View and download the regulations describing these procedures.

You can also reach DOS for more information at 617-969-7177.