Increasing the Lead-Safe Certified Workforce in North Dakota

September 09, 2026 | Madison Novosel, Ronak Kumar

Lead-based paint can be found in pre-1978 homes and buildings. The EPA requires that any contractor performing a renovation, repair, or painting (RRP) job done on a pre-1978 home, childcare center, daycare, or preschool should be lead-safe certified by an EPA-approved training course. North Dakota continues to face a shortage of lead-certified contractors, limiting capacity to address lead hazards and support lead-safe renovation work across the state.

In 2024, the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality reported that there were only nine lead-based paint licensed companies in North Dakota along with 11 out-of-state companies certified to do work in North Dakota. This is a key issue for a rural state where distance and access can already make these services harder to obtain. Expanding the certified contractor pool remains an important part of building long-term capacity for lead hazard reduction in the state.

To help address this need, the Public Health Division of North Dakota Health and Human Services (NDHHS) provided lead training opportunities through a partnership with University of North Dakota’s Environmental Training Institute. The cost of training is a significant barrier for contractors becoming certified, so it was a priority to eliminate this barrier for local businesses. NDHHS provided travel stipends to alleviate the cost of traveling and days of work missed.

NDHHS reevaluated recruitment and outreach methods to determine how to get more contractors to sign up for the RRP contractor training. Initially, local public health and other state agencies were the primary outreach channels. NDHHS broadened its outreach to include a wider network of partners, including tribal liaisons, housing authorities, community colleges, builder associations, and other contacts who could help share the opportunity with contractors and community partners across the state.

The revised outreach effort produced a stronger response. Fifteen of the 16 available training slots were filled, with 11 participants completing the training. NDHHS again offered a travel stipend to limit training costs for businesses. Strong enrollment and participant completion demonstrated continued demand for contractor training opportunities in North Dakota and the need to continue to push awareness of the harms of lead-based paint, as well as the requirements of the federal RRP rule.

This effort also reinforced that building contractor capacity will require more than simply offering training. The rule is enforced at the federal level with the regional office for North Dakota based out of Denver.

The importance of lead-safe renovation practices may not always feel immediate or visible to contractors at the local level. Future efforts should continue to support training access while also increasing awareness of the health risks associated with lead exposure and the value of following safe practices. Strengthening both workforce capacity and public awareness and understanding will be important to improving lead-safe work practices across North Dakota.

Reviewed by Meredith Allen, DrPH, MS, Vice President, Health Security; Abraham Kulungara, MPH, Senior Director, Environmental Health; and Kerry Wyss, Director, Environmental Health.