WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Chief Counsel for Advocacy Winslow Sargeant applauded the Environmental Protection Agency’s recent decision not to impose new lead dust-sampling and laboratory analysis requirements as part of the Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting (LRRP) rule. EPA determined that adding this procedure on top of already strict mandatory requirements was unnecessary.
“EPA’s action reaffirms its commitment to listening to small business concerns and confirms its commitment to the President’s goal of removing unnecessary burdens while still finding ways to achieve agency objectives,” said Sargeant. “We are happy that EPA and Advocacy were able to work together on addressing small businesses concerns about the potential impact of this rule.”
Advocacy further supports EPA’s decision to clarify the “vertical containment” requirement, which requires renovators to take special precautions to contain lead paint dust from contaminating nearby properties. EPA showed great flexibility in permitting equivalent procedures to potentially costly or unsafe vertical containment requirements, which would have required scaffolding surrounded by plastic sheathing to contain the lead dust. Allowing renovators to use equivalent procedures will result in over $100 million in annual cost savings for small firms.
Both determinations are consistent with the requirements of the Regulatory Flexibility Act and Executive Order 13563, which require federal agencies to consider flexible alternatives for small businesses which reduce the regulatory burden while achieving the goals of the underlying statutes. This uneven burden is shown in the disproportionate impact of federal regulations on small businesses, with small firms paying 36 percent more per employee than large firms to comply with federal regulations.

The Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent voice for small business within the federal government. The presidentially appointed Chief Counsel for Advocacy advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policymakers. Regional advocates and an office in Washington, D.C., support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. For more information, visit http://www.sba.gov/advocacy, follow us on twitter@AdvocacySBA or call (202) 205-6533.