HGTV stars Chip and Joanna Gaines will spend $200,000 as part of a settlement with the EPA over alleged violations of the agency's Toxic Substances Control Act and Lead Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule (RRP), the EPA announced June 5.
The couple, which operates Magnolia Homes in Waco, Texas, "will spend $160,000 to abate lead-based paint hazards in those homes where occupants are at the highest risk for exposure to dust from lead-based paint," EPA said. Magnolia also will pay a $40,000 civil penalty, the agency said.
The violations stem from work done in 2015 on 33 properties in Waco. The EPA says video footage of Magnolia's renovations in the hit show Fixer Upper did not depict the lead-safe practices normally required by the RRP rule.
RRP requires that when remodelers are working in houses built before 1978 on projects that could disturb lead paint, they must determine whether any lead paint is present and--if they do find presence of the paint or didn't do a test--must then use certain practices to contain the spread of the lead paint dust while they perform the remodel. The company doing the work and the renovators following lead-safe work practices both must be certified by EPA-approved training programs.
The agency says Magnolia took immediate steps to obtain EPA certification and bring its activities into compliance when it was first contacted in 2015.
Magnolia is also creating its own compliance management program, Magnolia spokesman John Marsciano told the Dallas News.
"We continue to be proactive with our efforts to ensure total compliance moving forward and remain committed to raising awareness in our community and our industry" Marsciano said.
