3. Related to the new EPA RRP rule, what are your top two concerns?
To be sure, any company affected by the RRP rule has its reasons for choosing to comply or not. Whatever the choice, companies large and small have concerns about the rule. Reader Panelists were offered a list of 12 concerns about the RRP Rule, and were asked to choose their two most pressing concerns from the list.
Three of the top five reasons deal directly with the costs associated with RRP. More than half of remodelers are concerned about the increased labor burden, including higher insurance costs and paying for employee health care, as well as the potential for non-compliance fines (up to $37,500 per occurrence) and RRP-related lawsuits. Of course, increased business expenses must be recovered somehow, leaving just under a third of respondents (29%) worried about how to raise prices on their jobs and continue to sell successfully. Another quarter of remodelers (24%) are concerned with the up-front costs of RRP compliance, including shelling out for training sessions and new equipment. EPA answers the question “How much will it cost contractors to comply with the Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule?” on this page of its website.
Also in the realm of cost concerns is the fear of how non-compliant competitors will affect business. Twenty-six percent of remodelers noted this as a top concern, presumably because illegally operating companies will not have the extra expenses to deal with, allowing them to keep their prices low and possibly take work away from compliant companies. In a business climate where remodelers more frequently find themselves in bidding situations, a low-ball competitor is a concern, indeed. Making the situation worse is the lack of information on how the RRP rule will be enforced, about which 17% of respondents are concerned. Compliant contractors not only have the costs to deal with, but are unclear on what recourse – if any – they have against non-compliant competitors.
Of slightly less concern to respondents were administrative issues surrounding RRP, such as learning what the rule actually says and explaining it to staff and clients, meeting documentation requirements, and keeping up with RRP amendments. Among issues listed in the “other” category, respondents wrote in that they are concerned about an over-regulatory government, and “all of the above.”
