Attorney General's News Release

May 28, 1999

Nixon offers full power of Attorney General's Office to assist in lead abatement

Jefferson City, Mo. — Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon is offering legal assistance to St. Louis City Mayor Clarence Harmon and local health departments throughout the state to encourage focused and aggressive efforts to prevent lead poisoning in children.

In a letter to Harmon and St. Louis City Health Director Larry Fields, Nixon specifically offered to appoint a team of assistant attorneys general to act as a legal resource to help with issues of access to buildings and enforcement of lead abatement orders and to assist with lead cases in local courts.

"I want health officials to know they have our full cooperation and the full power of the state's Attorney General's Office to assist their efforts in addressing the lead problem and to eliminate lead poisoning hurting our young children," Nixon said. "We need to solve this problem, and we can solve it if we all work together."

The Attorney General has statutory authority to bring civil actions at the request of city, county or state officials whenever there is a threat of health hazard. Nixon said attorneys from his office will be available to health officials if they need to obtain search warrants or otherwise gain access to homes, or if they need assistance in securing enforcement abatement orders or dealing with coercive landlords.

Nixon sent letters to Dr. Fields and to local health officials in several Missouri cities following discussions and meetings between Assistant Attorney General Reuben Shelton, who serves as chief counsel for special litigation, and health officials in St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, Joplin, and in the "lead belt" counties of Washington, Iron, St. Francois and Jefferson. At Nixon's request, Shelton and environmental attorney Jennifer Graham of the Jefferson City office have met over the past several months with officials and formulated strategies for assisting health officials.

Nixon said areas his office is pursuing include:

• Providing legal assistance for health departments who request help on enforcement issues, which could include getting court orders to allow inspections and enforcing lead abatement orders;
• Identifying funding sources for lead abatement in low-income homes; and
• Determining the feasibility of a state revolving fund/trust fund or loan money for prevention and abatement.

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to Press Secretary John Fougere.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818