The federal Environmental Protection Agency has reached an $80,000 settlement with Lancaster landlord Tony Papadimitriou for his failure to disclose known lead-paint hazards to tenants in his city-owned properties.
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Settlement terms dictate Papadimitriou must pay an $8,000 fine to the EPA and then spend $24,000 a year for the next three years to remediate any lead-paint problems at other properties he owns in the city.
EPA spokeswoman Terri White said the agency will monitor Papadimitriou's efforts by reviewing construction contracts and ensuring all contractors Papadimitriou hires to perform the work are certified in lead-paint remediation.
She added that the settlement outlines a specific time frame to complete the work.
Darren Parmer, the city's certified lead-risk assessor, said the stipulation that Papadimitriou spend money to remediate lead hazards at his properties means, "That's $72,000 that will be used to make other people safe."
As part of the settlement, Papadimitriou did not admit liability for the violations alleged in the EPA complaint but certified he is now complying with legal requirements to notify tenants.
However, he said he does not feel he was justly treated.
"I don't think that the American government is fair," Papadimitriou said.
Disclosures requiredPapadimitriou was cited under the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992, which requires sellers and landlords of residential properties built before 1978 (when the sale of lead-based house paint was banned by the government) to provide buyers and tenants with warnings about past lead-paint hazards at the properties.
The EPA first filed a complaint in December 2007, citing Papadimitriou for failing to provide disclosures and warnings in 21 lease agreements between 2003 and 2006.
The lack of disclosures came to light in spring 2005 when a child living in a Papadimitriou-owned apartment at 713 N. Duke St. was diagnosed as having more than seven times the federal threshold for lead poisoning.
According to Parmer, that threshold is 20 micrograms of lead per one deciliter of blood. By law, he said, doctors must report the name and address of any child under the age of 6 who tests higher than that threshold to the state Department of Health.
The health department then relays the information to PinnacleHealth, a Harrisburg hospital and health care system contracted by the state to operate the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention program in 35 central and northeastern Pennsylvania counties. Pinnacle dispatches a nurse certified in lead-risk assessment to the property to determine if the poisoning occurred there.
Suzanne Long, the certified nurse for Lancaster County, checked the property and confirmed lead paint contamination. She filed a report with the state and sent copies to Papadimitriou and Parmer.
"I contacted the landlord, we set up an appointment and I explained to him what he had to do," Parmer said.
Parmer also inspected the property and found that Papadimitriou had already repainted its exterior, but not the interior.
The family with the lead-poisoned child moved out of the apartment and the city condemned the property as a health hazard. The location of the family is unknown; city officials would not disclose their names because of privacy concerns.
Parmer said Papadimitriou did some renovation work and asked the city to conduct a lead-pollution test.
The property, Parmer said, failed that test.
Papadimitriou then repainted the interior and requested a second test. It failed again.
"He painted, but he didn't clean up enough of the dust," Parmer said. "Scraping makes dust, and lead-based paint dust is very hard to clean up. It sticks to everything."
Papadimitriou cleaned the interior and requested a third test. The property passed the test and, Parmer said, "we lifted the condemnation and the property was re-occupied."
At that point, Parmer said, he thought the case was closed. However, the incident, and the reports it generated, caught the attention of the EPA.
"We have to give credit to the system in place in the city and the state," White said. "Through the chain of events that occurred, we found out about this.
"When the doctor notifies the health department and the nurse goes to the home, we receive reports and that led to our involvement."
Parmer said federal law dictates property owners must tell either tenants or buyers that a lead hazard once existed in the property. For landlords, Parmer said, "Every time they lease they have to pass that information on" by providing tenants with a federal disclosure form.
EPA officials began reviewing Papadimitriou's leases and determined he was not providing that form.
The EPA investigation culminated in the December 2007 complaint and a March 2009 hearing in Philadelphia.
On the first day of that hearing before an EPA administrative law judge, Papadimitriou agreed to the settlement.
Papadimitriou said he owns 50 properties in the city and the $72,000 he must spend will clean up other potential lead-paint hazards, but added, "I think the $8,000 [fine] is a lot of money. I had to pay my lawyer a lot of money.
"I don't think I got treated fairly. I cleared everything with the city and they [the EPA] still sued me for $80,000."
Mayor Rick Gray said the city has made lead-paint remediation a priority because "it is an incredible problem that can handicap a kid for life."
He said the age of the city's housing stock lies at the root of the problem.
"Older houses are great," he said. "I live in one. But unfortunately older houses come with some problems."
He credited Parmer for his work on this case and other lead-paint problems in the city.
"He tracks it, he's dedicated to something that's very important to him," Gray said. "He does a job that's critical to the future of individuals he may never meet."
Chip Smedley is a staff writer for the Sunday News. E-mail him at csmedley@lnpnews.com.
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