Between 2025 and 2026, several proposed changes to New York’s lead regulations have emerged at both the state and city levels. One of the most significant is Bill S122A, introduced last year, which directs the New York State departments of Environmental Conservation and Health to establish updated standards for lead contamination in ambient air, soil, and household dust on floors, windowsills, and window troughs.

Under S122A, the DEC and DOH are required to promulgate new or revised standards for dust-lead hazards, soil contamination, and airborne lead levels within 180 days of enactment. These standards must incorporate current public health guidance, including recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and must be no less stringent than federal requirements under 40 CFR Part 745 as of January 13, 2025. The act would take effect 90 days after becoming law and is structured as a temporary directive, expiring one year after its effective date once the necessary regulatory framework has been established. In 2026, the bill advanced through the legislature and passed following substitution with its Assembly companion (A3682A).

At the federal level, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized updated lead regulations in 2024, effective January 2026, that redefine lead hazards by establishing two separate standards: a “dust-lead reportable level” (essentially any detectable amount of lead) for identifying hazards, and “dust-lead action levels” for post-abatement clearance.

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) is proposing amendments to Article 173 of the Health Code to revise the definition and regulatory treatment of “lead-contaminated dust.” Rather than adopting the EPA’s two-tiered framework, the department proposes a single, unified standard which it claims to be both more protective and easier to implement. The proposed thresholds would be lowered to 4 µg/ft² for floors, 32 µg/ft² for windowsills, and 80 µg/ft² for window wells, approximately 20 percent below the city’s current thresholds and aligned with the lowest levels that laboratories can reliably detect. This unified standard would apply both during inspections and after remediation.

The proposed amendment also includes several related updates. It would require that all dust-lead testing be performed by laboratories certified under both the EPA’s National Lead Laboratory Accreditation Program and New York State’s Environmental Laboratory Approval Program. Additionally, it contains provisions for independent third-party clearance testing, worker training, and detailed recordkeeping following remediation work.

The amendment is currently in the rulemaking stage. DOHMH issued a formal notice of proposed rulemaking and scheduled a public hearing for July 1, 2026, with written comments accepted through that date.