Washington landlord cited for failing to notify tenants of lead paint

Washington landlord cited for failing to notify tenants of lead paint

Contact: Kim Farnham, EPA LBP Compliance Officer, 206-553-6697, farnham.kim@epa.gov
Jeff Philip, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1465, philip.jeff@epa.gov

(Seattle – May 15, 2012) Robert Kerr of Everett, Washington will pay a penalty for alleged violations of the federal Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule, according to a settlement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr. Kerr leases properties located in Bellingham, Washington. From 2008-2010, Mr. Kerr leased 26 residential units numerous times and failed to notify tenants about the presence of lead paint and lead-based paint hazards, as required by the Disclosure Rule. Mr. Kerr will pay a $21,800 penalty.

“People have the right to know about lead hazards prior to renting or buying a place to live,” said Rick Albright, Director of EPA’s Office of Air, Waste and Toxics in Seattle. “Sellers, landlords and property managers who do not properly notify the people who will live in these homes can face stiff penalties.”

The Disclosure Rule requires landlords, property management companies, real estate agencies, and sellers to inform potential lessees and purchasers of the presence of lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards in pre-1978 housing. They must also provide the purchaser or lessee with a copy of the Lead Hazard Information Pamphlet, “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” before entering into any lease or sales agreement, and keep records showing they have met the federal requirements.

Lead from paint, dust, and soil can be dangerous if not managed properly. Lead exposure can harm young children, babies and developing fetuses. People can get lead in their bodies by breathing or swallowing lead dust, or by eating soil or paint chips containing lead.

Companies Fined for Failing to Notify Tenants About Lead Paint at Two Navy Bases in New England

News Release
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
New England Regional Office
May 1, 2012

Contacts: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

Companies Fined for Failing to Notify Tenants About Lead Paint at Two Navy Bases in New England

(Boston, Mass. – May 1, 2012) – Two companies have agreed to pay a penalty of $89,300 to settle EPA claims that they violated federal lead paint disclosure laws at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine and the Naval Submarine Base New London in Groton, Conn.

In a recent EPA enforcement complaint, EPA alleged that Northeast Housing, LLC, and Balfour Beatty Military Housing Management, LLC failed on multiple occasions to notify prospective tenants, including families with young children, about potential lead paint hazards in housing managed by the companies on the two Navy bases in New England.  Specifically, the companies failed to comply with the Lead Based Paint Disclosure Rule when they entered into contracts to lease housing with military personnel during the years 2007-2010 by failing to provide available records and reports regarding lead-based paint and lead-based paint hazards to 13 lessees (10 lessees at Portsmouth and three lessees at the Conn. base).  Nine of the lessees were families with children, including seven families with children under the age of six.

Notifying prospective tenants of housing units helps parents protect young children from exposure to lead-based paint hazards.  Infants and young children are especially vulnerable to lead paint exposure, which can cause intelligence quotient deficiencies, reading and learning disabilities, impaired hearing, reduced attention span, hyperactivity, and behavior problems. Adults with high lead levels can suffer difficulties during pregnancy, high blood pressure, nerve disorders, memory problems, and muscle and joint pain.

Many homes built before 1978 have lead-based paint. The federal government banned lead-based paint from housing in 1978. The purpose of the Lead Disclosure Rule is to provide residential renters and purchasers of pre-1978 housing with enough information about lead-based paint in general and known lead-based paint hazards in specific housing, so that they can make informed decisions about whether to lease or purchase the housing.

The housing at both bases is owned by Northeast, a joint venture limited liability company between the Department of the Navy and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Balfour Beatty Communities, LLC, of which the BBC affiliate is the managing member.  There are approximately 25 pre-1978 housing units located at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, where housing was built in the 1800s and early 1900s.  There are approximately 735 pre-1978 housing units at the Naval Submarine Base in Groton which were built in the early 1960s.

Northeast Housing and Balfour Beatty Military Housing Management cooperated with EPA in promptly correcting the violations and in reaching a quick settlement.


More information on lead hazards and lead disclosure rule: http://epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadinfo.htm

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EPA Region 7 Issues Notice of Violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc., of Muscatine, Iowa, for Clean Air Act Issues

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 7

901 N. Fifth St., Kansas City, KS 66101

Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Nine Tribal Nations

EPA Region 7 Issues Notice of Violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc., of Muscatine, Iowa, for Clean Air Act Issues

Contact Information: Chris Whitley, 913-551-7394, whitley.christopher@epa.gov

Environmental News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(Kansas City, Kan., March 27, 2012) - EPA has issued a notice of violation to Grain Processing Corporation, Inc. (GPC), alleging the company has violated the Iowa State Implementation Plan and the federal Clean Air Act for issues related to construction and operating permits issued for its facility at Muscatine, Iowa.

EPA Region 7 has coordinated with the State of Iowa on the notice of violation, which is separate from a civil lawsuit filed December 1, 2011, by the Iowa attorney general, which alleges that GPC's facility violated the state's air pollution laws.

GPC’s plant at 1600 Oregon Street in Muscatine processes corn into ethanol, corn sweeteners and beverage alcohol.

EPA’s notice of violation to GPC specifically alleges that between 2007 and 2011, its facility repeatedly violated limits on air emissions opacity that were set forth in the company’s 1995 amended construction permit and 2003 operating permit. The notice further alleges GPC failed to notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources of the opacity exceedances, and failed to address the exceedances in its annual compliance certifications for the years 2007 through 2011.

EPA’s notice to GPC does not address penalties, but indicates the Agency will consider additional enforcement action, which could include penalties, to ensure the facility complies with applicable laws and regulations. The notice can be viewed online at www.epa.gov/region7/newsevents/legal.

The notice was accompanied by an official request for information, which seeks details of GPC’s compliance with the Facility Response Plan requirements and Spill Prevention and Countermeasures Control requirements of the federal Clean Water Act. Information provided by the company in response to EPA’s request will be used by the Agency in evaluating GPC’s compliance. GPC’s response to EPA’s information request is due within 15 days.

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Oregon Potato Company Pays EPA Penalty for Failing to Report

News release from EPA:

Oregon Potato Company pays EPA penalty for failing to report ammonia release

Wally Moon, EPA Preparedness and Prevention Unit Manager, 206-553-6323, moon.wally@epa.gov
Tony Brown, EPA Public Affairs, 206-553-1203, brown.anthony@epa.gov

(Seattle—Jan. 26, 2012) Oregon Potato Company failed to report an anhydrous ammonia release at their facility in Warden, Washington and will pay the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency a $66,235 penalty.

On July 2, 2009, the facility released approximately 300 pounds of anhydrous ammonia into the environment, according to the EPA settlement. The facility, located at 1900 First Avenue West in Warden, Washington, produces dried and dehydrated frozen potato products.


According to Wally Moon, EPA Preparedness and Prevention Unit Manager in Seattle, these cases are about protecting workers, emergency responders and the community.


“When unintended chemical releases occur, every minute counts if it is an emergency,” said EPA’s Moon. “Emergency responders need to be notified promptly to react effectively.”


The leak occurred when a circuit breaker failed, causing a pressure relief valve to open releasing the anhydrous ammonia. EPA alleges that Oregon Potato failed to immediately notify local and state agencies about the release. While no injuries were reported at the time of the incident, ammonia is a pungent, toxic gas that attacks skin, eyes, throat, and lungs and can cause serious injury or death.


The ammonia release and the failure to notify appropriate agencies are violations of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).


For information on EPA's Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act, visithttp://www.epa.gov/compliance/civil/epcra/epcraenfstatreq.html


For more about toxic effects of Anhydrous Ammonia (NIOSH GUIDE): http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npg/npgd0028.html