EPA Exposes Decades Of Lead Negligence in Newark Public Housing

In Newark, thousands of families have been living in public housing units built before 1978…. properties known to harbor lead-based paint.

For years, the Newark Housing Authority (NHA) failed to warn tenants or follow federal safety protocols. The Environmental Protection Agency’s 2025 Consent Agreement and Final Order lays bare a decades-long breakdown in compliance, oversight, and basic tenant protection under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). A copy of the CAFO can be found at the bottom of this article.

The violations were entirely systemic. Entire housing complexes lacked proper disclosure forms, safety barriers, and certified lead abatement.

The EPA’s findings show that from 2020 through 2022, the NHA repeatedly rented and renovated lead-contaminated housing in violation of federal law.

A PATTERN OF NEGLIGENCE

How the System Failed

• Between 2020 and 2022, the NHA repeatedly leased units in John W. Hyatt Court and Pennington Court without disclosing known lead paint hazards or providing required EPA pamphlets to tenants!
• EPA inspectors found lead paint on baseboards, ceilings, and walls across multiple properties — yet tenants were never warned.
• NHA could not produce records confirming whether previous abatement ever occurred, despite claiming such work had been done between 1995 and 2004.
• Renovation workers operated without EPA certification, failed to post warning signs, and left contaminated debris exposed in residential spaces!
• The agency did not cover doors, floors, or work areas during renovations, violating federal containment standards designed to keep residents safe from lead dust.
• The EPA determined that each of these failures constituted independent violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act, exposing residents (including children and elderly tenants) to preventable lead hazards.
• Despite the breadth of violations, the Authority neither admitted nor denied wrongdoing and settled with a deferred $170,000 penalty contingent on compliance

A MACRO VIEW ON THE CONSEQUENCES

The Public Health Crisis

Lead poisoning is irreversible. The very law NHA violated (the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act) exists because lead exposure damages developing brains, causing learning disabilities and neurological impairment. Newark’s most vulnerable residents, including children under six, were systematically denied the information and protections the law guarantees.

The Economic Fallout

Deferred compliance costs mean taxpayers-not NHA- shoulder the burden. The agency will spend years conducting mandated lead inspections and abatement across at least 11 housing complexes. Meanwhile, property maintenance budgets are diverted from other critical repairs, perpetuating the disrepair of public housing stock across Newark.

The Environmental Toll

EPA’s inspection reports show years of uncontrolled paint disturbance — sanding, scraping, and demolition — in occupied units. Each unsealed renovation spread lead dust into walls, vents, and common areas, contaminating shared environments far beyond single units. The damage is cumulative and costly to remediate.

The Erosion of Trust

Residents were left uninformed, living in potential hazard zones, while the Authority filed incomplete records and ignored basic disclosure duties. Even now, EPA’s agreement allows the NHA to defer payment of its fine until it “demonstrates compliance.” In other words: the penalty only materializes if the Authority fails again. Accountability has been postponed, not enforced.

ACCOUNTABILITY DEFERRED

The Newark Housing Authority’s violations were not isolated errors — they were structural failures within a public institution responsible for housing thousands of low-income residents.
EPA’s response, while detailed, highlights a troubling pattern in federal enforcement: penalties delayed, compliance optional, and residents left unprotected until after exposure occurs.

Under the settlement, NHA must:

• Inspect and abate all pre-1978 properties within two years.
• Conduct lead safety education for tenants and staff.
• Submit quarterly compliance reports for at least a year.

Yet, the $170,000 penalty (already reduced for “financial difficulty” btw lmao) will be waived entirely if NHA meets its reporting obligations.

No admission of guilt. No restitution for affected families.

You can see the above CAFO on the EPA’s website by visiting this following link: EPA Region 2 and Newark Housing Authority Consent Agreement signed by Respondent.pdf