What Happened
EPA announced a proposed second consent decree with Lowe’s Home Center LLC on November 25 for alleged violations of the Lead-Safe Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) rule performed by the company’s installers across the country. The agency found “violations at over 250 home renovation jobs in 23 states, primarily for jobs between 2019 and 2021.” Some of those violation were identified in periodic compliance reports submitted by Lowe’s Home Centers pursuant to it 2014 consent decree with EPA for RRP violations on 3 homes in Illinois. Others were found by tips from the public about renovations done in California.
In the proposed second consent decree, Lowe’s Home Centers agreed to pay a fine of $12.5 million to U.S. Treasury and ensure compliance with detailed requirements laid out in the document. If it doesn’t comply, there are stipulated penalties for various types of violations ranging from $500 per day to $7,500 per renovation project.
Unleaded Kids submitted comments to the Department of Justice (DOJ) flagging three positive aspects of the proposed consent decree and asking EPA and DOJ to address five serious concerns. See below for details. DOJ is accepting comments until January 5, 2026, by sending them to pubcomment-ees.enrd@usdoj.gov.
Why It Matters
Home Depot has more than 2,000 stores and Lowe’s Home Centers has more than 1,700 stores nationwide. Through their local contractors, these retailers conduct millions of renovations for customers each year, making them among the largest in the country.
By holding these retailers responsible for ensuring the work is done properly and providing proper oversight, EPA can protect millions of families from dust and soil lead hazards created by disturbing lead-based paint. And it can provide a viable option for families who want contractors who are effectively using lead-safe work practices.
Our Comments on Lowe’s Home Centers Second Proposed Consent Decree
Starting with the positive aspects, Unleaded Kids was pleased to see the proposed consent decree requires Lowe’s Home Centers to:
- Age of Home: Use “third-party software to query public records and other information regarding the year built date of the property to automatically determine and upload the year of construction for each property where Defendant has entered into a Customer Contract to conduct a Renovation.”1 If Lowe’s Home Centers or its representatives “cannot establish the year built date of the property by third-party software, publicly available records, documentation provided by the Customer, or an assessment of the property by the Installer, Subcontractor, or an independent Third Party, the Installer or Subcontractor conducting the Renovation shall assume that the property involved in the Renovation was built before 1978. This requirement avoids the situation where a short-sighted customer offers a post-1978 build date to a salesperson to avoid the extra costs associated with the RRP requirements.
- Accountable Person: Have senior director reporting to a vice president to help ensure that the person in charge has sufficient authority to ensure compliance.2
- Checklists to Occupants: Ensure the customer and adult occupants receive the checklists in Exhibit B completed by Lowe’s Home Centers’ contractor that document compliance with TSCA and the RRP.3
Despite the positive aspects, we have five serious concerns with the proposed consent decree.
- Ensure Hazards for 250 Homes with Violations is Abated: At least 250 homes in 23 states were impacted by the alleged violations. The proposed consent decree should require Lowe’s Home Centers to conduct a lead-based paint risk assessment for those homes pursuant to 40 CFR 745.227(d) and abate any lead-based paint hazards found pursuant to 40 CFR 745.227(e) unless clearly unrelated to the renovation work that violated TSCA. The passage of four or more years since the renovation should not be used as an excuse to leave lead-based paint hazards unabated.
- Require Offer of Dust Clearance Testing to Customers: Lowe’s Home Centers should be required to explicitly offer customers the option to have dust clearance testing pursuant to 40 CFR 745.85(c). Customers need to know that dust clearance testing is the only means to independently verify that the lead-safe renovations were properly done, especially since the dust-lead action levels for floors has dropped by 8-fold since the RRP was promulgated.
- Coordinate with 16 States that Enforce RRP: Lowe’s Home Centers is a national company with a presence in states under EPA’s jurisdiction to enforce the RRP and those where EPA has delegation authority to the state. We are concerned that the proposed consent decree does not address how states with delegated authority will be informed of violations. We think the document should require Lowe’s Home Centers to explicitly notify those states.
- Make Periodic Reports Public: The proposed consent decree requires Lowe’s Home Centers to submit periodic reports demonstrating that it has met important benchmarks. Unfortunately, EPA and DOJ do not make these reports public, even if redacted format. For a company that conducts millions of renovations each year, the proposed consent decree should require the company to make these reports, or at least a summary of them, public.
- Address OSHA Compliance and Take-Home Lead: The employees on the renovation projects conducted by Lowe’s Home Centers’ contractors were likely exposed to lead by disturbing lead-based paint. As a result, their employers must comply with OSHA’s Lead Standard at 29 CFR 1926.62. We recognize that EPA does not enforce OSHA’s rules but all too often, these employees take dust-lead home with them on their clothes, shoes, hands, and hair where their children may be exposed. The federal 2018 Lead Action Plan, which EPA and OSHA signed, recognizes that workers as a route of childhood exposure. Consistent with those shared objectives, the proposed consent decree should include a provision where Lowe’s Home Centers get confirmation from its contractors that they are following OSHA’s Lead Standard.
What About Home Depot and Others?
In January 2021, Home Depot signed a similar consent decree with EPA for RRP violations that occurred despite previous consent decrees designed to ensure compliance. In the 2021 consent decree, Home Depot paid $20.75 million to the U.S. Treasury as well as $750,000 to Utah, $732,000 to Massachusetts, and $50,000 to Rhode Island.
Through the three years of the consent decree, EPA was able to ensure Home Depot implemented more rigorous procedures. In October 2024, EPA provided an update saying “the company added over 200 additional inspectors and conducted over 25,000 inspections at renovation sites, far more than required by the consent decree, to verify compliance and detect and correct problems” and that “the company’s actions resulted in Home Depot and its contractors achieving an RRP Rule compliance rate exceeding 99.8%, based on information Home Depot submitted to the EPA.” Hopefully, Home Depot will keep those compliance procedures in place.
Our Take
Finding a contractor who will follow the RRP is difficult. They may be certified but that does not mean they will follow the lead-safe work practices required by EPA.
If its concerns were addressed in a final consent decree, Unleaded Kids would recommend that families go to Lowe’s Home Center if the progress reports show success. We would do the same for Home Depot or other firms if the necessary procedures were in place.
We recognize that it is counterintuitive to recommend firms that have violated the RRP. But with so little oversight of most renovators, we see the value of rigorous procedures and public accountability that makes future violations much less likely.