WACO, Texas - Joanna and Chip Gaines, stars of HGTV's Fixer Upper, will pay $40,000 after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined 33 of its home renovations were conducted without adequate lead paint protections.
The EPA notes Fixer Upper footage "reviewed by EPA did not depict the lead-safe work practices normally required." EPA says the couple's company, Magnolia Homes, took immediate steps to ensure compliance after being notified.
In a settlement, the Waco, Texas-based Magnolia Homes will pay $40,000 in civil penalties and spend $160,000 to "abate lead-based paint hazards in homes or child-occupied facilities in the Waco area."
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Magnolia must also educate the public about lead-based paint hazards. In March, as the Fixer Upper's final season was airing, Chip Gaines tweeted a link to finding "certified renovators" who could answer questions about possible lead-based paint. Chip will also star in a Magnolia-paid video on lead paint safety.
The couple was also involved in a separate lawsuit that recently settled. Joanna Gaines discovered that Chinese suppliers LF Products was using buffalo hide on Magnolia Home, a furniture line designed by Gaines and her husband Chip. Manufacturers Standard Furniture filed a complaint against LF and a lawsuit was launched.
Gaines requested $150,000 per hour to sit in on a deposition, but was denied by a federal judge back in January.
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