144.9504 Secondary prevention.
Subdivision 1. Jurisdiction. (a) A board of health serving cities of the first class must conduct lead risk assessments for purposes of secondary prevention, according to the provisions of this section. A board of health not serving cities of the first class must conduct lead risk assessments for the purposes of secondary prevention, unless they certified in writing to the commissioner by January 1, 1996, that they desired to relinquish these duties back to the commissioner. At the discretion of the commissioner, a board of health may relinquish the authority and duty to perform lead risk assessments for secondary prevention by so certifying in writing to the commissioner by December 31, 1999. At the discretion of the commissioner, a board of health may, upon written request to the commissioner, resume these duties.
(b) Lead risk assessments must be conducted by a board of health serving a city of the first class. The commissioner must conduct lead risk assessments in any area not including cities of the first class where a board of health has relinquished to the commissioner the responsibility for lead risk assessments. The commissioner shall coordinate with the board of health to ensure that the requirements of this section are met.
(c) The commissioner may assist boards of health by providing technical expertise, equipment, and personnel to boards of health. The commissioner may provide laboratory or field lead-testing equipment to a board of health or may reimburse a board of health for direct costs associated with lead risk assessments.
(d) The commissioner shall enforce the rules under section 144.9508 in cases of voluntary lead hazard reduction.
Subd. 2. Lead risk assessment. (a) An assessing agency shall conduct a lead risk assessment of a residence according to the venous blood lead level and time frame set forth in clauses (1) to (5) for purposes of secondary prevention:
(1) within 48 hours of a child or pregnant female in the residence being identified to the agency as having a venous blood lead level equal to or greater than 70 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood;
(2) within five working days of a child or pregnant female in the residence being identified to the agency as having a venous blood lead level equal to or greater than 45 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood;
(3) within ten working days of a child in the residence being identified to the agency as having a venous blood lead level equal to or greater than 20 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood;
(4) within ten working days of a child in the residence being identified to the agency as having a venous blood lead level that persists in the range of 15 to 19 micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood for 90 days after initial identification; or
(5) within ten working days of a pregnant female in the residence being identified to the agency as having a venous blood lead level equal to or greater than ten micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood.
(b) Within the limits of available state and federal appropriations, an assessing agency may also conduct a lead risk assessment for children with any elevated blood lead level.
(c) In a building with two or more dwelling units, an assessing agency shall inspect the individual unit in which the conditions of this section are met and shall also inspect all common areas. If a child visits one or more other sites such as another residence, or a residential or commercial child care facility, playground, or school, the assessing agency shall also inspect the other sites. The assessing agency shall have one additional day added to the time frame set forth in this subdivision to complete the lead risk assessment for each additional site.
(d) Within the limits of appropriations, the assessing agency shall identify the known addresses for the previous 12 months of the child or pregnant female with venous blood lead levels of at least 20 micrograms per deciliter for the child or at least ten micrograms per deciliter for the pregnant female; notify the property owners, landlords, and tenants at those addresses that an elevated blood lead level was found in a person who resided at the property; and give them a copy of the lead risk assessment guide. The assessing agency shall provide the notice required by this subdivision without identifying the child or pregnant female with the elevated blood lead level. The assessing agency is not required to obtain the consent of the child's parent or guardian or the consent of the pregnant female for purposes of this subdivision. This information shall be classified as private data on individuals as defined under section 13.02, subdivision 12.
(e) The assessing agency shall conduct the lead risk assessment according to rules adopted by the commissioner under section 144.9508. An assessing agency shall have lead risk assessments performed by lead risk assessors licensed by the commissioner according to rules adopted under section 144.9508. If a property owner refuses to allow a lead risk assessment, the assessing agency shall begin legal proceedings to gain entry to the property and the time frame for conducting a lead risk assessment set forth in this subdivision no longer applies. A lead risk assessor or assessing agency may observe the performance of lead hazard reduction in progress and shall enforce the provisions of this section under section 144.9509. Deteriorated painted surfaces, bare soil, and dust must be tested with appropriate analytical equipment to determine the lead content, except that deteriorated painted surfaces or bare soil need not be tested if the property owner agrees to engage in lead hazard reduction on those surfaces. The lead content of drinking water must be measured if a probable source of lead exposure is not identified by measurement of lead in paint, bare soil, or dust. Within a standard metropolitan statistical area, an assessing agency may order lead hazard reduction of bare soil without measuring the lead content of the bare soil if the property is in a census tract in which soil sampling has been performed according to rules established by the commissioner and at least 25 percent of the soil samples contain lead concentrations above the standard in section 144.9508.
(f) A lead risk assessor shall notify the commissioner and the board of health of all violations of lead standards under section 144.9508, that are identified in a lead risk assessment conducted under this section.
(g) Each assessing agency shall establish an administrative appeal procedure which allows a property owner to contest the nature and conditions of any lead order issued by the assessing agency. Assessing agencies must consider appeals that propose lower cost methods that make the residence lead safe.
(h) Sections 144.9501 to 144.9509 neither authorize nor prohibit an assessing agency from charging a property owner for the cost of a lead risk assessment.
Subd. 3. Lead education strategy. At the time of a lead risk assessment or following a lead order, the assessing agency shall ensure that a family will receive a visit at their residence by a swab team worker or public health professional, such as a nurse, sanitarian, public health educator, or other public health professional. The swab team worker or public health professional shall inform the property owner, landlord, and the tenant of the health-related aspects of lead exposure; nutrition; safety measures to minimize exposure; methods to be followed before, during, and after the lead hazard reduction process; and community, legal, and housing resources. If a family moves to a temporary residence during the lead hazard reduction process, lead education services should be provided at the temporary residence whenever feasible.
Subd. 4. Lead risk assessment guides. (a) The commissioner of health shall develop or purchase lead risk assessment guides that enable parents and other caregivers to assess the possible lead sources present and that suggest lead hazard reduction actions. The guide must provide information on lead hazard reduction and disposal methods, sources of equipment, and telephone numbers for additional information to enable the persons to either select persons licensed by the commissioner under section 144.9505 or 144.9506 to perform lead hazard reduction or perform the lead hazard reduction themselves. The guides must explain:
(1) the requirements of this section and rules adopted under section 144.9508;
(2) information on the administrative appeal procedures required under this section;
(3) summary information on lead-safe directives;
(4) be understandable at an eighth grade reading level; and
(5) be translated for use by non-English-speaking persons.
(b) An assessing agency shall provide the lead risk assessment guides at no cost to:
(1) parents and other caregivers of children who are identified as having blood lead levels of at least ten micrograms of lead per deciliter of whole blood;
(2) all property owners who are issued housing code or lead orders requiring lead hazard reduction of lead sources and all occupants of those properties; and
(3) occupants of residences adjacent to the inspected property.
(c) An assessing agency shall provide the lead risk assessment guides on request to owners or occupants of residential property, builders, contractors, inspectors, and the public within the jurisdiction of the assessing agency.
Subd. 5. Lead orders. An assessing agency, after conducting a lead risk assessment, shall order a property owner to perform lead hazard reduction on all lead sources that exceed a standard adopted according to section 144.9508. If lead risk assessments and lead orders are conducted at times when weather or soil conditions do not permit the lead risk assessment or lead hazard reduction, external surfaces and soil lead shall be inspected, and lead orders complied with, if necessary, at the first opportunity that weather and soil conditions allow. If the paint standard under section 144.9508 is violated, but the paint is intact, the assessing agency shall not order the paint to be removed unless the intact paint is a known source of actual lead exposure to a specific person. Before the assessing agency may order the intact paint to be removed, a reasonable effort must be made to protect the child and preserve the intact paint by the use of guards or other protective devices and methods. Whenever windows and doors or other components covered with deteriorated lead-based paint have sound substrate or are not rotting, those components should be repaired, sent out for stripping or be planed down to remove deteriorated lead-based paint or covered with protective guards instead of being replaced, provided that such an activity is the least cost method. However, a property owner who has been ordered to perform lead hazard reduction may choose any method to address deteriorated lead-based paint on windows, doors, or other components, provided that the method is approved in rules adopted under section 144.9508 and that it is appropriate to the specific property. Lead orders must require that any source of damage, such as leaking roofs, plumbing, and windows, be repaired or replaced, as needed, to prevent damage to lead-containing interior surfaces. The assessing agency is not required to pay for lead hazard reduction. Lead orders must be issued within 30 days of receiving the blood lead level analysis. The assessing agency shall enforce the lead orders issued to a property owner under this section. A copy of the lead order must be forwarded to the commissioner.
Subd. 6. Swab team services. After a lead risk assessment or after issuing lead orders, the assessing agency, within the limits of appropriations and availability, shall offer the property owner the services of a swab team free of charge and, if accepted, shall send a swab team within ten working days to the residence to perform swab team services as defined in section 144.9501. If the assessing agency provides swab team services after a lead risk assessment, but before the issuance of a lead order, swab team services do not need to be repeated after the issuance of the lead order if the swab team services fulfilled the lead order. Swab team services are not considered completed until the clearance inspection required under this section shows that the property is lead safe.
Subd. 7. Relocation of residents. (a) Within the limits of appropriations, the assessing agency shall ensure that residents are relocated from rooms or dwellings during a lead hazard reduction process that generates leaded dust, such as removal or disruption of lead-based paint or plaster that contains lead. Residents shall not remain in rooms or dwellings where the lead hazard reduction process is occurring. An assessing agency is not required to pay for relocation unless state or federal funding is available for this purpose. The assessing agency shall make an effort to assist the resident in locating resources that will provide assistance with relocation costs. Residents shall be allowed to return to the residence or dwelling after completion of the lead hazard reduction process. An assessing agency shall use grant funds under section 144.9507 if available, in cooperation with local housing agencies, to pay for moving costs and rent for a temporary residence for any low-income resident temporarily relocated during lead hazard reduction. For purposes of this section, "low-income resident" means any resident whose gross household income is at or below 185 percent of federal poverty level.
(b) A resident of rental property who is notified by an assessing agency to vacate the premises during lead hazard reduction, notwithstanding any rental agreement or lease provisions:
(1) shall not be required to pay rent due the landlord for the period of time the tenant vacates the premises due to lead hazard reduction;
(2) may elect to immediately terminate the tenancy effective on the date the tenant vacates the premises due to lead hazard reduction; and
(3) shall not, if the tenancy is terminated, be liable for any further rent or other charges due under the terms of the tenancy.
(c) A landlord of rental property whose tenants vacate the premises during lead hazard reduction shall:
(1) allow a tenant to return to the dwelling unit after lead hazard reduction and clearance inspection, required under this section, is completed, unless the tenant has elected to terminate the tenancy as provided for in paragraph (b); and
(2) return any security deposit due under section 504.20 within five days of the date the tenant vacates the unit, to any tenant who terminates tenancy as provided for in paragraph (b).
Subd. 8. Property owner responsibility. Property owners shall comply with lead orders issued under this section within 60 days or be subject to enforcement actions as provided under section 144.9509. For orders or portions of orders concerning external lead hazards, property owners shall comply within 60 days, or as soon thereafter as weather permits. If the property owner does not hire a person licensed by the commissioner under section 144.9505 for compliance with the lead orders, the property owner shall submit a work plan to the assessing agency within 30 days after receiving the orders. The work plan must include the details required in section 144.9505 as to how the property owner intends to comply with the lead orders and notice as to when lead hazard reduction activities will begin. Within the limits of appropriations, the commissioner shall review plans and shall approve or disapprove them as to compliance with the requirements in section 144.9505, subdivision 5. Renters and volunteers performing lead abatement or lead hazard reduction must be trained and licensed as lead supervisors or lead workers under section 144.9505.
Subd. 9. Clearance inspection. After completion of swab team services and compliance with the lead orders by the property owner, including any repairs ordered by a local housing or building inspector, the assessing agency shall conduct a clearance inspection by visual identification of deteriorated paint and bare soil and retest the dust lead concentration in the residence to assure that violations of the lead standards under section 144.9508 no longer exist. The assessing agency is not required to test a dwelling unit after lead hazard reduction that was not ordered by the assessing agency.
Subd. 10. Case closure. A lead risk assessment is completed and the responsibility of the assessing agency ends when all of the following conditions are met:
(1) lead orders are written on all known sources of violations of lead standards under section 144.9508;
(2) compliance with all lead orders has been completed; and
(3) clearance inspections demonstrate that no deteriorated lead paint, bare soil, or lead dust levels exist that exceed the standards adopted under section 144.9508.
Subd. 11. Local ordinances. No unit of local government shall have an ordinance, regulation, or practice which requires property owners to comply with any lead hazard reduction order in a period of time shorter than the period established for compliance with lead orders under this section.
HIST: 1995 c 213 art 1 s 6; 1996 c 451 art 4 s 17-19; 1997 c 205 s 26; 1997 c 228 s 12; 1998 c 407 art 2 s 56-65
Official Publication of the State of Minnesota
Revisor of Statutes