Waco, TX Building Safety: Lead Paint (2026)

Article VIII of Chapter 16 sets up Waco's lead response system, run through the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District. Under Sec. 16-221, once a child has a venous blood lead test at 10 micrograms per deciliter or higher, the local health department may contact the child's parents or physician and either conduct its own environmental lead investigation of the home, child-care facility, or child-occupied facility, or ask the state Department of State Health Services to do one. Sec. 16-223 lets the city investigate using Form Pb-103 only with written adult-occupant or facility-owner consent, and Sec.

16-224 requires the investigation be led by a person currently certified by the state as a lead risk assessor, who may be a third-party contractor. If that investigation turns up lead-based substances hazardous to a child under six, Sec. 16-228 requires the city to send written notice, in person or by certified mail, telling the owner (or facility operator or principal) that a lead hazard exists, how to remove it, and that a written removal plan is due to the city's housing and economic development department within 90 days of the notice; the notice must also spell out the possible penalties for noncompliance. Sec. 16-229 makes it an offense for the owner, operator, or principal to fail to submit that 90-day plan.