Vermont Legislature passed House Bill H.736, and Governor Phil Scott approved the bill on May 21, 2018. The revision of Vermont Lead Law authorizes the Vermont Department of Health to apply to USEPA to become an authorized RRP (Renovation, Repair, and Painting) State.
Now that the legislation has passed and been approved by the Governor, the next steps in this process will involve the development of revised Vermont Regulations for Lead Control to address renovation, repair, painting, and maintenance activities for pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities, and work practices impacting lead-based paint coatings.
This legislation retains Vermont requirements that rental property owner perform certain required maintenance practices, cleaning, and tenant education. Vermont’s formal rule development process is anticipated to take six to eight months to finalize the regulations, which are an open public process that includes stakeholder engagement, public comments, and feedback.
Following the development of the regulations, Vermont will submit its application package for State Authority to EPA early in 2019. In order to become a USEPA RRP State, Vermont Lead-based paint regulations must be as protective as the USEPA Regulations. Now the real work begins for the Vermont regulatory program staff to work out the regulatory policy details, standard operating practices, processes, and protocols for the effective real-world applicability. The effective date of implementation estimated for December of 2019.
Check out Vermont House Bill H.736 for more information.