Lead paint in soil - Enforcement Documentation

[Calvin N.]

We purchased an older home and are remodeling it. Our neighbor was having their home repainted last summer and the crew that was working on their property was dry sanding off the old paint and burning off some of it. Someone in the neighborhood complained due to the dust they were creating. The EPA was called. An agent from Atlanta drove down and while conducting the inspection at the neighbor's property, walked over and took a wipe sample from my front porch and also took some paint chips for testing.

She contacted me a few weeks later and said we had lead paint on our house. I knew that since it is 104 years old with many coats of paint on it. She asked if we were going to repaint it and I told her yes. She explained what needed to be done to safely remove the old paint. She mailed me some information regarding lead paint hazards. I talked to my painter and explained what she said we needed to do to be within the guidelines of the EPA. He did as she instructed as far as using plastic around the house when any scraping was done and disposed of the plastic after he was finished.

Now, 8 months later, she calls and says she came back last week and retested the soil around the house. She took a core sample of dirt and said we have lead paint chips down to 10 inches deep around the property.

She is sending me "enforcement documentation" that I should recieve later this week. From what I gather, I will be required to hire a state licensed lead abatement contractor to dig up all the dirt around the property and property dispose of it. Oh, and the cost ranges from 10-25K.

Have any of you dealt with this process? Every fought the EPA on a test result? I have worked with a corporation in an industrial park that dealt with contaiminated soil but never heard of them going into a subdivision and doing this. Any suggestions are appreciated.