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.
