Newsroom
All News Releases By Date
MISSOURI LANDLORD ASSESSED PENALTIES FOR LEAD BASED PAINT VIOLATION
Release Date: 06/29/2000
Contact Information:
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2000
MISSOURI LANDLORD ASSESSED PENALTIES
FOR LEAD BASED PAINT VIOLATION
In an initial decision, an EPA Administrative Law Judge found Missouri landlord Billy Yee liable for violating the Lead-Based Paint Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule. The Judge assessed Yee a $29,700 penalty for his violations. Yee leased premises located in St. Louis, Mo., to tenants that included six children under the age of 13. Four of the six children have been diagnosed with severe lead poisoning and are presently receiving medical care. Yee did not disclose the presence of lead-based paint before entering into the agreement as required by law. The Disclosure Rule was issued under Section 1018 of Title X of the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, and it requires sellers, lessors and agents to disclose known lead-based paint hazards to buyers or renters of housing built before 1978. In addition buyers and renters must be provided with an EPA-approved pamphlet on lead and any lead-based paint inspection records. More than 80 percent of all homes built before 1978 in the U.S. have lead-based paint in them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 890,000 children in the U.S. between the ages of one to five have elevated blood lead levels. Lead poisoning can cause learning disabilities, behavioral problems, and at very high levels, seizures, coma and even death. The Judge’s decision will become an EPA final order unless appealed to EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board. The parent of the four children has filed a legal action on their behalf against Yee under a provision of Section 1018 of the Act, which allows renters and buyers to seek treble damages against lessors, sellers and agents who fail to comply with the Disclosure Rule, as well as court costs, reasonable attorney fees and expert witness fees. Copies of the order can be obtained at: https://www.epa.gov/oalj/orders2.htm
R-102 ###
Search this collection of releases | or search all news releases
View selected historical press releases from 1970 to 1998 in the EPA History website.
