Volume VI, Number I - January, 2001

In this bulletin:

•	Ergonomics Final Rule Applies to General Industry
•	Fair Credit Reporting Requirements
•	Environmental Protection Agency Announces New Standards For Lead
•	Asbestos Worker Protection Rule
•	CCIM Institute Adopts New Statements of Policy

Ergonomics Final Rule Applies to General Industry

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) published a final rule regarding Ergonomics Program Standards that will take effect on January 16, 2001.

Work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) result when there is a mismatch between the physical capacity of workers and the physical demands of their jobs. Workplace MSDs are caused by exposure to the following risk factors: repetition, force, awkward postures, contact stress, and vibration

In order to comply with the new program standards, employers must provide basic information to their employees about MSDs (common MSDs and their signs/symptoms) within one year of the January 16, 2001 effective date. OSHA has developed information for employers to distribute to employees or to post in the workplace. To download copies of these information sheets, go to www.osha.gov. Employers are not required to take any other action until an MSD incident is reported.

Small businesses are not exempt from the new standards; however, some special provisions were included to assist small businesses with compliance. A Basic Screening Tool was developed giving employers a quick, simple way to determine whether further action is needed once an MSD is reported. A Quick Fix option allows employers to fix a problem job without having to put in a full ergonomics program. The standard includes clearly defined tools employers can use to guarantee their compliance with requirements to analyze and control MSD hazards, including a checklist for jobs involving computer work. The standard exempts employers with 10 or fewer employees from recordkeeping requirements.

If you have any questions regarding compliance with OSHA’s Ergonomics Program Standards, please contact Charles Achilles at cachille@irem.org or at (312) 329-6020 or visit the OSHA website.

Fair Credit Reporting Requirements

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), Federal Reserve System (Board), and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has proposed regulations implementing the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

In 1996, the FCRA was amended to include disclosure and opt out provisions; however, the Agencies were prohibited from issuing implementing regulations until 1999 (due to the enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act). According to Gramm-Leach-Bliley, prospective buyers, sellers or lessees are consumers if a real estate broker or property manager collects information from them. If a broker or property manager shares that information with a nonaffiliated party, then the consumer must receive disclosure and the right to opt out.

The proposed rule offers no new requirements for compliance; however, the Agencies do propose a single document that would allow a real estate broker or property manager to provide a consumer with a single document that addresses both privacy and FCRA regulations thereby reducing paperwork and simplifying the transaction.

The CCIM Institute will continue to monitor this proposed regulation and will report on the final rule when published.

Environmental Protection Agency Announces New Standards For Lead

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final rule regarding the identification of lead hazards in housing and child-occupied facilities. The new national standards are more protective than previous EPA guidelines and are intended to be used to identify properties that present risks to children before children are harmed.

These new standards are intended to help property owners by providing the Federal government’s best judgement concerning lead dangers in residential paint, dust, and soil and establishing what conditions must be disclosed to prospective purchasers and renters as lead-based paint hazards prior to the sale or rental of target housing. Although other regulations may require property owners to evaluate properties for the presence and/or control of lead hazards this EPA action does not.

Under the new standards, lead is considered a hazard if there are greater than : 40 micrograms of lead in dust per square foot on floors; 250 micrograms of lead in dust per square foot on interior window sills and 400 parts per million (ppm) of lead in bare soil in children’s play areas or 1200 ppm average for bare soil in the rest of the yard.

The rule becomes effective on March 6, 2001.

For more information, please contact Charles Achilles at cachille@irem.org or at (312) 329-6020 or visit the EPA website at www.epa.gov/lead.

Asbestos Worker Protection Rule

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) adopted a Final Rule amending both the Asbestos Worker Protection Rule (WPR) and the Asbestos-in-Schools Rule. The WPR amendment protects State and local government employees from the health risks of exposure to asbestos to the same extent as private sector workers by adopting for these employees the Asbestos Standards of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). This rule does not require asbestos-containing building material to be removed and replaced with non-asbestos substitutes. This rule only applies once a decision has been made to disturb asbestos-containing material. Entities affected by this rule include public educational institutions and state or local governmental employers.

CCIM Institute Adopts New Statements of Policy

Brownfields
The CCIM Institute emphatically opposes holding a present property owner liable for actions of a former property owner. However, the CCIM Institute is fully aware of the litigious nature of today's society and supports measures that a prudent owner and/or agent can implement to help shield the owner and/or agent from undue liability. In doing so, the CCIM Institute recommends that standards of inspection for an environmental audit be established and implemented by the states. Such a standard could save commercial real estate investors substantial sums of money and avoid increasing liability from Superfund by providing a baseline for defense. If an owner and/or agent were able to contract with a firm that had met state approved standards of inspection methods, then there could be little or no room for doubt that the owner and/or agent acted in good faith. The CCIM Institute also strongly supports the concept of not requiring inspections to be performed on all properties. Rather, inspections should be required only if there is a desire to involve the innocent landowner defense should it be needed. Once a site has been completed, federal law should recognize the finality of successful hazardous waste cleanup efforts by limiting EPA's authority to re-open completed cleanups.

Furthermore, the federal government should provide adequate funding for cleanup and redevelopment of our nation's brownfields sites. The CCIM Institute supports efforts to enhance the cost recovery of environmental remediation and cleanup expenditures by providing either current deduction or short amortization period for those costs.

International Building Codes
The CCIM Institute supports the International Code and the concept of one uniform model building code to establish consistency and uniformity across the nation. The CCIM Institute encourages local and state governments to adopt these Codes as guidelines to adhere by.

We encourage the International Code Council to continue an open dialog through the annual review process, insuring the most up to date and timely codes and issues are addressed and adopted. The CCIM Institute also encourages HUD to continue to maintain an open dialog and monitor future updates of the Codes to ensure they are consistent with the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility requirements.

Water Conservation
The CCIM Institute supports the continued voluntary usage of water conservation efforts such as retrofitting, landscape efficiency, reuse of graywater, education programs, water-use audits, pressure management, water accounting and loss control by commercial real estate where feasible. States and localities should have the authority and flexibility to determine what types of these measures are most suitable for their state or location with the assistance of guidelines from federal government agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency.

The CCIM Institute supports state efforts and initiatives that encourage economic growth while promoting the sustainability of water resources. Regulations, requirements and penalties should be minimized in order to foster commercial growth due to commercial real estate’s measurable and continued commitment to water conservation. Commercial investment real estate professionals understand that the quantity of water available has a direct impact on the quality of water for all uses. In addition, the CCIM Institute supports the states in their efforts to maintain control over water use issues.

CCIM Institute Legislative Staff
Charles Achilles, IREM VP Legislation & Research, (312) 329-6020, cachille@irem.org

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