EPA"s Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule is a major new rule.  Like any new rule, there are areas of ambiguity, inconsistency, and unintended consequences.  The National Center for Healthy Housing and Alliance for Healthy Homes have reviewed the rule carefully and identified these problems.  We have also suggested fixes that we think are consistent with EPA's overall intent. 

We have developed a document that proposes 48 specific edits to the rule using track changes in Word.  For each change, we explain why we made those changes.  We encourage Virginia to consider these edits as its adopts the rule.  The result will be a rule that is clearer, more enforceable, and more effect.  But I cannot see how to submit the document.  Please let me know how we can submit it to you. 

Also, EPA recently reached a settlement with public interest petitioners challenging the RRP rule.  The settlement agreement includes four phases of rulemaking.  The first phase will go into effect before the 4/22/2010 when the EPA rule goes into effect.  In essence, the changes should eliminate the owner-occupied, opt-out provisions and require post-renovation notification.  We have a two-page summary of the EPA settlement agreement that Virginia should consider implementing now to avoid being less stringent than EPA's revised RRP rule.

The settlement also calls for EPA to propose dust wipe sampling and acheiving dust clearance levels in a number of situations.  Virginia should consider these as well.