EPA's $359,069 lead-paint fine was about paperwork, not the work
A landlord was fined for failing to disclose known lead paint to tenants in 11 apartments where children lived, under the disclosure rule rather than the RRP work rule.
EPA fined Konover Residential Corp. $359,069 on August 11, 2026 over 11 apartment units at the Cargill Falls Mill property, 58 Pomfret Street, Putnam, Connecticut, where children were living. The violations were of the Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act and the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act: failure to provide the EPA lead pamphlet, failure to attach the lead warning statement to leases, failure to disclose known lead hazards, and failure to hand over records about lead conditions.
Why it matters
Most contractors think about lead as the RRP rule, which governs how you do the work: containment, certified renovator, cleaning verification. This fine was not about any of that. It was about what got handed to the occupant on paper before anyone touched a wall. If you work multifamily, pre-1978, for property managers or institutional landlords, the disclosure obligation sits with the owner but the file lands in your scope conversation, and a landlord under an EPA order becomes a very different client to work for. Connecticut also has the mold certification mandate arriving October 1, so New England compliance load is stacking.
The read
You know the RRP rule cold and you probably have the certs on the wall. This fine was not about how anybody worked, it was about what the tenant was handed before the work started. On pre-1978 multifamily, ask for the disclosure file during the walkthrough. An owner who cannot produce it in an afternoon is telling you exactly how the rest of the job will go.
How we got here
Storyline: OSHA & EPA 4 stories so far
- Regulators tighten the screws: OSHA heat NEP extended, EPA RRP penalties go live
- OSHA heat enforcement keeps its teeth this summer
- OSHA's "training before exposure" requirement catches restorers
- EPA's $359,069 lead-paint fine was about paperwork, not the work You are here
Read next
Sources Cleanfax, cleanfax.com/epa-fines-company-for-lead-base… (published ).
Trade press reporting an EPA enforcement settlement. Medium confidence