EPA hands lead-paint programs to states, then never checks they still protect children
A July 16, 2025 EPA Inspector General evaluation (Report 25-E-0042), opened after an anonymous hotline complaint, found the EPA does not conduct the periodic adequacy evaluations federal rules require to verify that state lead-based paint programs remain as protective as the federal program and are adequately enforced after authorization. EPA has authorized 39 states plus Puerto Rico, Washington, D.C., and four tribes to run the lead-based paint activities program, but relies on grant reports that do not contain the information needed to judge adequacy, and has no procedures for deciding when to withdraw a failing program; it has never withdrawn one. Staff in EPA's chemical-safety and enforcement offices each told the OIG their office was not responsible for writing the oversight policy. EPA agreed to the recommendations, with corrective actions scheduled for March 15, 2027.
Report No. 25-E-0042, Evaluation of the EPA's Oversight of Authorized State Lead-Based Paint Programs ... Rec. 1: 3/15/27 Rec. 2: 3/15/27 Rec. 3: 3/15/27 Rec. 4: 3/15/27 (unimplemented).
The EPA is not verifying that authorized state lead-based paint programs remain at least as protective of human health and the environment as the federal programs... According to the OCSPP, the EPA has never withdrawn a state LBP program authorization.
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
Contacted and responded — exact wording not on record.
No outcome recorded yet.