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The Home Depot reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in connection with its alleged violation of a Rule on renovations involving lead paint.

According to EPA, Home Depot violated its Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule at renovations performed by its subcontractors across the United States.

The RRP Rule requires firms to be certified by EPA or an EPA-authorized state before performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and pre-schools built before 1978. The Rule also requires companies to be certified renovators who are trained by EPA-approved training providers and follow lead-safe work practices.

EPA discovered that Home Depot failed to follow the RRP Rule during its investigations into five customer complaints regarding the company’s renovations in Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The agency found that the company hired subcontractors to do renovations that in certain cases did not use lead-safe work practices, failed to perform post-renovation cleaning, and failed to submit the EPA-required lead-based paint pamphlets to occupants, or maintain records of compliance with the law.

Details of the proposed nationwide settlement with Home Depot

Under the proposed nationwide settlement, Home Depot agreed to pay a penalty of $20.75 million to resolve its violation of the EPA RRP Rule.

The States of Utah, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, which have EPA-authorized RRP programs, are part of the settlement. Out of the $20.75 million, Utah will get $750,000 while Massachusetts and Rhode Island will receive $732,000 and $50,000 respectively,

Home Depot also agreed to implement a company-wide program to ensure that its subcontractors comply with the RRP Rule. As part of the program, the company will implement an electronic compliance system to verify that its subcontractors are certified by EPA or an EPA-authorized state.

Additionally, the company agreed to require its contractors to use a detailed checklist to document compliance and provide the completed checklist to the customer.

Furthermore, Home Depot agreed to conduct thousands of on-site inspections of work performed by its contractors to ensure they comply with lead-safe work practices.  It will also investigate and respond to customer complaints.

Moreover, the company will provide important information regarding following lead-safe work practices to its professional and do-it-yourself customers.

In a statement, Susan Bodine, Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said, “Today’s settlement will significantly reduce children’s exposure to lead paint hazards. Home Depot will implement system-wide changes to ensure that contractors who perform work in homes constructed before 1978 are EPA-certified and follow lead-safe practices.  EPA expects all renovation companies to ensure their contractors follow these critical laws that protect public health.”

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