Herald Tribune: Florida finally holds a hearing on tainted drywall

The Herald Tribune published this article on October 7, 2009.

Nearly a year after learning that tainted Chinese drywall was corroding wires and pipes, pushing down property values and possibly creating health problems for Floridians, legislators are gearing up to tackle the problem.

But they start far behind their counterparts in other states — where the problem is sometimes less pervasive — and the efforts under way on the national political stage.

Earlier this year, the Louisiana legislature approved a measure intended to provide as much as $5 million to help homeowners affected by Chinese drywall, and several state senators there are pushing for $25 million in post-Katrina funds to be provided by the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

In Virginia, local officials in two cities — Norfolk and Virginia Beach — struck by tainted drywall took matters into their own hands this summer, passing ordinances banning the use of Chinese-manufactured drywall altogether.

Member of Congress have been pushing for laws aimed at recalling the tainted drywall, determining its health effects and establishing tighter regulatory standards over wallboard and other construction materials.

But in Florida, there is still nothing legally to stop builders from continuing to use tainted Chinese drywall or stopping suppliers from selling it.

State lawmakers who are part of the Florida Senate’s Community Affairs Committee held their first hearing on the issue in Tallahassee on Tuesday. They said there was an urgency to get something done to help affected homeowners.

“Their lives have been turned upside down,” said Sen. Ted Deutch, D-Boca Raton. “If this were a hurricane, action would have already been taken to provide for them. I believe we need to take action as quickly as we can and address what has been a major disaster in some parts of the state.”

Legislative action, as well as action by state agencies, could still be contingent on ongoing investigations trying to determine the scope of the problem, the health hazards and best means of correcting the flawed homes.

“This is an issue that is continuing to unfold,” said Ellen Wolfgang, a Senate lawyer who helped write a report on the issue for the Community Affairs Committee. “We don’t have all the answers yet.”

Sen. Rudy Garcia, R-Hialeah, said steps should be taken to prevent any more contaminated drywall from being used in Florida and that he also wanted officials to review other potentially hazardous imported products that are being used in construction.

“My biggest concern is what is Florida doing today to make sure this product is not coming in,” he said.

Deutch said he hopes the state can begin taking action before the legislative session starts this spring.

“The great frustration among my constituents is that they see different levels of government doing different things to try to address this, and that results in confusion,” he said.

Some legislative action under consideration:

• Providing relief on mortgage payments for homeowners trying to rehabilitate their homes at the same time they have had to move their families because of potential health threats from the drywall.
• Developing a standard for remediating homes and certifying them as being free from the drywall problems.
• Allowing homeowners to receive a tax break to offset their rehabilitation costs.
• Providing help to homeowners trying to deal with insurance companies over the cost of the home rehabilitation.

A number of Florida’s property appraisers, including those in Sarasota and Manatee, already have been out front on the tax issue, taking it upon themselves to offer the owners of Chinese drywall-laden homes a break on their property taxes.

Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, said consumers and home builders need more warnings about the products they are buying. In addition to drywall, other products imported from China have been cited for safety hazards, including baby formula and toys.

Storms said consumers deserve “a very big bold notice” of the country of origin for the products so that they know what they are buying. She said labels need to be more than “just a little sticker on the bottom of the thing.”

Some of the problematic wallboard began coming into Florida as early as 2002.

As the Herald-Tribune first reported, a seven-year-old home in WCI Communities’ Waterlefe development in Manatee shows that the builder’s use of Chinese drywall in this area began earlier than the company previously disclosed.

Bonita Springs-based WCI has declined to answer questions from the Herald-Tribune regarding the Waterlefe home of Jim and Joan Norton.

The couple first alerted the builder to the home’s air-conditioning problems in 2005, and the Nortons have spent thousands of dollars in repair costs. WCI cancelled a plan to inspect the couple’s house for Chinese drywall earlier this year after learning when it was built.

Blackening corrosion is visible throughout the house, and a distinct odor is present.

This week, Michael Foreman, head of Sarasota-based consulting firm Foreman & Associates, returned to the Nortons’ home and cut out a second set of drywall samples, which provided the smoking gun.

“It says right on it, ‘Made in China,'” Foreman said.

The Senate committee’s report found that the number of tainted drywall cases being self-reported to the government were “probably just a fraction of the homes affected by Chinese drywall” and that “Florida residents are asking the Legislature for answers.”

“Florida appears to be the state that is most burdened by the Chinese drywall problem. The problem is causing homeowners to make difficult choices without much guidance, rendering property valueless, and exacerbating the housing crisis,” the report continued. “There are many scientific and policy problems yet to be resolved that the Legislature may choose to address.”