Personalities

Chip And Joanna Gaines Agree To Pay $40K EPA Fine

The hosts of HGTV's "Fixer Upper" settled with the EPA over lead-based paint renovations.

Chip And Joanna Gaines Agree To Pay $40K EPA Fine
HGTV / "Fixer Upper"
Article by Caitlin Baldwin
SMS
June 7, 2018

Chip and Joanna Gaines, the stars of the popular HGTV show "Fixer Upper," will pay the Environmental Protection Agency a $40,000 settlement.

The EPA announced the settlement Tuesday. The Gaineses own Magnolia Homes, and the agency had been looking into allegations of improper lead-based paint renovations on their show.

Lead-based paints were banned in homes in 1978. The EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting Rule requires that firms renovating homes built before 1978 use EPA-certified renovators. 

The EPA found evidence that Magnolia Homes hadn't complied with those rules in renovations at 33 properties. The company cooperated with the investigation and is now an EPA-certified renovator. 

As part of the settlement, the Gaineses touched on the topic of lead-based paint in a March episode of "Fixer Upper." Chip Gaines also released a tweet about renovating homes with lead-based paint and will film and release a lead safety video within three months of the settlement.

Magnolia Homes also agreed to spend $160,000 on a program to reduce lead-based paint in the Waco, Texas, area.