Three environmental advocacy groups, represented by Earthjustice, filed a lawsuit Thursday against the New York State Department of Health, accusing the agency of undermining a new state law designed to protect tenants—especially children—from lead poisoning.
The suit challenges two regulations issued to implement the Proactive Lead Inspection Law, which took effect in November 2025. According to the complaint, Sections 67-2 and 67-5 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations create loopholes that allow inspections to miss dangerous lead hazards, contrary to the law’s intent.
The groups also claim the Department of Health violated Article I, Section 19 of the New York State Constitution, known as the Environmental Bill of Rights, which guarantees every person “a right to clean air and water, and a healthful environment.” They ask the court to declare the regulations arbitrary and capricious and an abuse of discretion, and to order the agency to revise them.
Among the disputed provisions: inspectors may skip soil testing for lead when snow covers the ground. The rules also do not require visual inspections or dust-wipe sampling of open porches—areas where children frequently play—despite such steps being standard under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency protocols and required by the state law itself.
When lead paint is found, landlords may simply paint over it rather than remove or properly abate the hazard. In addition, the Department of Health relies on an outdated scientific threshold for defining lead-based paint that is significantly higher than New York City’s standard, meaning some paints banned in the city would not trigger action under state rules.
The Proactive Lead Inspection Law also established a Lead Rental Registry. Property owners of pre-1980 residential rental buildings with two or more units must address lead hazards, and the registry lists units in 25 communities certified as free of such risks.
The case underscores growing friction between public-health mandates and state administrative enforcement, testing the practical reach of New York’s constitutional environmental rights. The outcome will affect not only the safety of children living in older rental housing across the state but also how closely agencies must follow the clear intent of legislation. It echoes longstanding national disputes over lead enforcement.
Earlier high-profile matters include a 2020 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency action that secured a $20.75 million penalty against Home Depot for violations of federal lead-safe renovation rules, and a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that left standing a California ruling holding lead-paint manufacturers liable for substantial damages related to public health harms.
