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PA MARYLAND FIRM RECEIVES PENALTY RELIEF FOR REPORTING VIOLATIONS OF DISCLOSURE RULE

Release Date: 09/18/98
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FOR RELEASE: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1998

MARYLAND FIRM RECEIVES PENALTY RELIEF FOR REPORTING
VIOLATIONS OF DISCLOSURE RULE

EPA and Grady Management Inc. (Grady) reached a settlement agreement on Sept. 10, that recognized the firm’s voluntary efforts to find, disclose and correct violations of the Real Estate Notification and Disclosure Rule (Disclosure Rule), a public right-to-know initiative under the Residential Lead Based-Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992. Grady disclosed four violations of the Disclosure Rule to EPA in May 1998 after conducting a voluntary self-audit of its 28 apartment complexes in Maryland. The violations concerned two apartment complexes in which Grady failed to properly disclose the presence of known lead-based paint to its tenants, as required by the Disclosure Rule. After notifying EPA of the violations, Grady promptly provided the required disclosure notices to its tenants. EPA waived a $10,560 penalty in which Grady became the first company to be approved for penalty relief under the audit policy for violations of the Disclosure Rule. Under the Disclosure Rule, sellers, landlords and agents must provide purchasers and tenants with an EPA-approved lead hazard information pamphlet; purchasers are allowed a 10-day period to inspect housing units for the presence of lead-based paint and associated hazards; and sales and leasing contracts must include certain notification and acknowledgment language. EPA’s audit policy is designed to encourage greater compliance with laws and regulations that protect human health and the environment. Nearly 300 companies to date have disclosed environmental violations at more than 1,000 facilities nationally. EPA recently announced four civil cases with penalties totaling $439,725 for violations of the Disclosure Rule. In those cases, the respondents did not self-disclose the alleged violations. More information about EPA’s audit policy can be found at Internet address: https://www.epa.gov/oeca/auditpol.html. If you would like to report any alleged violation of the Disclosure Rule, call the EPA/HUD “Tips and Complaints” Hotline at 1-800-424-LEAD.


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