GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 1997

S	4 

SENATE BILL 516
Finance Committee Substitute Adopted 6/2/97
Third Edition Engrossed 6/5/97
House Committee Substitute Favorable 8/19/97

Short Title:  Lead-Based Paint Mgmt/AB.	(Public)

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Sponsors:

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Referred to:  

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March 26, 1997

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO ESTABLISH A STATE-ADMINISTERED LEAD-BASED PAINT HAZARD MANAGEMENT PROGRAM IN LIEU OF HAVING A FEDERALLY ADMINISTERED PROGRAM APPLY IN THIS STATE.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1.  Chapter 130A of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new Article to read:
"ARTICLE 19A.
"Lead-Based Paint Hazard Management Program.
"§ 130A-453.01.  Definitions.
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1)	Abatement. – Any measure or sets of measures approved by the Commission for the purposes of eliminating lead-based paint hazards.  Abatement includes, but is not limited to:
a.	Removing lead-based paint from a surface and repainting the surface.
b.	Removing a component, such as a windowsill,  painted with lead-based paint and replacing the component.
c.	Enclosing a surface painted with lead-based paint with paneling, vinyl siding, or another approved material.
d.	Encapsulating a surface painted with lead-based paint with a sealant.
e.	All design, preparation, cleanup, disposal, and postabatement clearance testing associated with these activities.
(2)	Child-occupied facility. – Defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 745.223 (As set out in the Federal Register of 29 August 1996).
(3)	Inspection. – An investigation to determine the presence of lead-based paint.
(4)	Lead-based paint. – Paint or another surface coating that contains lead in excess of a level that is safe, as established by the Commission.
(5)	Lead-based paint hazard. – A condition that is likely to cause adverse human health effects as a result of exposure to lead-based paint or to soil or dust that contains lead derived from lead-based paint.
(6)	Person. – Defined in G.S. 130A-444.
(7)	Risk assessment. – An on-site investigation to determine and report the source, severity, and location of a lead-based paint hazard.
(8)	Target housing. – Defined in 40 Code of Federal Regulations § 745.223 (As set out in the Federal Register of 29 August 1996).
"§ 130A-453.02.  Purpose of Article.
(a)	This Article is enacted to establish an authorized State program under section 404 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (15 U.S.C. § 2684), as enacted by Subtitle B, section 1021 of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (Pub. L. 102-550, 106 Stat. 3916), that will apply in this State in lieu of the corresponding federal program administered by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.  This Article requires a person who performs an inspection, risk assessment, or abatement of a child-occupied facility or target housing to be certified and establishes the procedure and requirements for certification.  It also requires a person who conducts an abatement of a child-occupied facility or target housing to obtain a permit for the abatement.
(b)	This Article does not require the inspection, risk assessment, or abatement of a child-occupied facility or target housing under any circumstance.  G.S. 130A-131.5 and the rules adopted to implement that section authorize the Department to order an abatement to eliminate a lead poisoning hazard.  This Article does not expand or otherwise change that authority.
"§ 130A-453.03.  Certification of individuals who perform inspections, risk assessments, or abatements.
(a)	Requirement. – An individual shall not perform or offer to perform an inspection, risk assessment, or abatement of target housing or a child-occupied facility unless the individual is certified by the Department to perform the activity.  Performance of an inspection, risk assessment, or abatement encompasses a range of activities.  To ensure proper performance of all aspects of an inspection, risk assessment, or abatement, the certification requirement imposed on an individual applies to each activity.  The categories of individual certification are inspector, risk-assessor, designer, supervisor, worker, and any other category required by federal law.  The category of risk-assessor includes the category of inspector.  Thus, a person who is certified as a risk-assessor is not required to be certified as an inspector.  Otherwise, an individual who performs or offers to perform activities within the scope of more than one category must be certified in each category.
(b)	Exemption. – The certification requirement imposed by this section does not apply to an individual who performs an abatement of a residential dwelling the person owns and occupies as a residence.
"§ 130A-453.04.  Certification and other requirements of firms that perform inspections, risk assessments, or abatements.
A firm or other entity shall not perform or offer to perform an inspection, risk assessment, or abatement of target housing or a child-occupied facility unless the entity is certified by the Department as a firm that is qualified to perform the activity.  An entity that performs an inspection, risk assessment, or abatement of target housing or a child-occupied facility shall not use an individual to perform the inspection, risk assessment, or abatement unless the individual is certified by the Department to perform the activity.
"§ 130A-453.05.  Qualifications for certification of individuals and firms.
To be certified under this Article, a person must meet the qualification requirements set by the Commission.  Qualification requirements include education, training, experience, the successful completion of an examination, and payment of any applicable fee.
"§ 130A-453.06.  Renewal of certification.
A certification of an individual or a firm issued under this Article expires on the last day of the 12th month after the certification is issued.  A certification may be renewed by paying the renewal fee and meeting any standards for renewal, such as refresher training, established by the Commission.
"§ 130A-453.07.  Accreditation of training courses and training providers.
Completion of a training course on inspection, risk assessment, or abatement does not satisfy a training requirement that is a condition for certification under this Article unless both the course provider and the course have been accredited by the Department. The Commission shall establish the procedure and standards for a course provider and a course to be accredited.
"§ 130A-453.08.  Certification and accreditation fee schedule.
(a)	The Commission shall establish fees for the items listed in the table below.  A fee for an item may not exceed the maximum amount set in the table.  The fees for examination and certification apply to each category in which a person is examined for certification or is certified.
Item	Maximum Fee
Examination for certification	$75
Certification as worker	50
Certification in any category other
   than worker	150
Course provider accreditation	150
Initial course accreditation	2,000
Renewal course accreditation	750.
(b)	Use. – The fees imposed under this section are departmental receipts and shall be used by the Department to administer this Article.
(c)	Exemptions. –  The examination and certification fees imposed under this section do not apply to governmental regulatory personnel who perform inspections, risk assessments, or abatements solely for the purpose of determining compliance with applicable statutes or rules.  The course provider fees imposed under this section do not apply to the State, a unit of local government, or a nonprofit entity.  The course accreditation fees imposed under this section do not apply to a course offered by the State, a unit of local government, or a nonprofit entity.
"§ 130A-453.09.  Abatement permits.
(a)	Requirement. – No person shall conduct an abatement of target housing or a child-occupied facility unless the person has obtained a permit for the abatement from the Department.  The Commission shall establish the procedure for obtaining a permit.
(b)	Permit Fee. – An applicant for an abatement permit must pay an application fee to the Department.  The fee is two percent (2%) of the contracted price for the corrective action to be performed in the abatement, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500.00).  The fee imposed under this section is a departmental receipt and shall be used by the Department to administer this Article.
(c)	Homeowner. – An individual who owns a single-family dwelling, conducts an abatement on the dwelling, and will reside in the dwelling after the abatement is completed is required to obtain a permit to conduct the abatement but is not required to pay the permit fee for the permit.
"§ 130A-453.10.  Standards to ensure elimination of hazards; consumer information.
(a)	Standards. – The Commission shall establish standards to ensure that inspections, risk assessments, and abatements performed under this Article result in the elimination of lead-based paint hazards.  An inspection, risk assessment, or abatement performed under this Article must be performed in accordance with these standards.
(b)	Information. – The Department shall prepare a fact sheet on abatement for distribution to consumers.  The sheet shall list the various measures for abatement of a child-occupied facility or target housing and give the relative cost of each measure.  A person who is certified under this Article shall give a copy of the sheet to a person for whom the certified person performs an abatement.
"§ 130A-453.11.  Commission to adopt rules.
The Commission shall adopt rules to implement this Article."
Section 2.  G.S. 130A-22 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
"( b3)	The Secretary may impose an administrative penalty on a person who violates Article 19A of this Chapter or any rules adopted pursuant to Article 19A of this Chapter.  Each day of a continuing violation is a separate violation.  The penalty shall not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) for each day the violation continues.  The penalty authorized by this section does not apply to a person who is not required to be certified under this Article."
Section 3.  G.S. 130A-453.11, as enacted by this act, and this section are effective when they become law.  The remainder of this act becomes effective 1 July 1998 unless, as of that date, Subpart L of Part 745 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations (40 C.F.R. § 745.220, et seq., as set out in the Federal Register of 29 August 1996) is scheduled to become effective later than 1 September 1998, in which case the remainder of this act becomes effective when Subpart L of Part 745 of Title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations becomes effective.  This act does not affect the interim certification program requirements that apply before 7 July 1998 for individuals who perform lead-based paint activities funded by a grant from the federal government.