Chip And Joanna Gaines Given Big Fine From EPA
Chip and Joanna Gaines, our favorite home-makeover team, were just fined for not properly removing lead-based paint.
By nowproducerdave on June 6, 2018
This is one of those “whoops” things that should have been avoided from the start. Chip and Joanna Gaines were just fined about $40k from the Environmental Protection Agency. The fine goes back to something that happened on the show “Fixer Upper.”
So basically what happened was that Chip and Joanna didn’t remove lead-based paint from houses correctly. The EPA had reviewed footage from several seasons’ worth of the show. They found that in the show, they “did not depict the lead-safe work practices normally required.” This was on 33 houses in total, that they found. Chip and Joanna’s company, Magnolia Homes, agreed to pay a $40,000 fine and demonstrate proper safety procedure for lead-based paint removal. That actually was on an episode that aired back in March, so if you saw that, this is why it was in there.
The full statement from Magnolia Homes says: “The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a complaint alleging that Magnolia Homes did not comply with all of the requirements of the RRP (Renovation, Repair and Painting) Rule. Shortly after being first contacted by the EPA three years ago, Magnolia Homes took immediate steps to bring its activities into compliance with [the Toxic Substances Control Act]. Additionally, to take its commitment a step further, Magnolia Homes made the decision to implement a compliance management program in which it adopted an enhanced renovation record-keeping checklist for use by Magnolia Homes staff and subcontractors.”
That “program” mentioned is a “lead-paint abatement program for homes and child-occupied facilities,” and the couple contributed $160,000 additional to start that up. Chip and Joanna are obviously very concerned about environmental impact, and they want to make it very clear that they’re complying with all current standards. The EPA’s website lists ways to properly remove lead based paint. Some methods include collecting all paint chips, proper disposal, how to store, etc. Check out more on that here, and more on Chip and Joanna’s fine here.
