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Health Department outlines targeted lead-hazard work, $1 million ECLP set-aside and ongoing abatement projects
Summary
Minneapolis Health Department reported first-quarter activity for the Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning program, citing concentrated impacts in North and South Central Minneapolis, ARPA-funded inspections and grant-funded repairs; staff described abatement methods, relocation procedures and a planned $1 million refurbishment fund.
The Minneapolis Health Department on April 9 presented a first-quarter update on the Eliminating Childhood Lead Poisoning (ECLP) program, reporting targeted inspections, ongoing abatement projects and a $1 million program set-aside to support lead-hazard renovations.
Why it matters: staff said childhood lead poisoning remains concentrated in historically impacted neighborhoods and low-income rental housing; the department is using data-driven targeted inspections, grant funds and coordination with state partners to reduce exposures and provide temporary relocation when abatement work requires it.
Jonathan Russell, supervisor of the Lead and Healthy Homes team at the Minneapolis Health Department, told the committee the department’s maps of 2015–2022 cases show more than 70% of children with documented lead poisoning lived in BIPOC households and more than 80% were in households earning under 80% of area median income. Russell said the majority of implicated properties are rental units and that proactive inspections in 2021–2024—supported by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds—allowed the program to complete over 700 additional inspections, identify more than 600 properties with lead-based paint and nearly 500 with deteriorated paint and lead hazards.
Russell said the department received about $3,000,000 in grant awards to complete lead-hazard repairs; about $300,000 of that total came from property-owner match contributions. He said the ECLP program has set aside approximately $1,000,000 for lead-hazard renovation grants and staff proposed using roughly $10,000 per unit as a planning figure; if project budgets exceed grant awards, owners remain responsible for the difference.
Russell described two technical approaches used in lead-hazard work: abatement-level actions (permanent removal or replacement, such as window replacement, intended to last decades) and interim controls (stabilizing and repainting surfaces that do not receive regular friction). He said abatement often requires resident relocation during work; the department uses a HUD-funded relocation house for families who lack alternate housing, and project timelines are usually structured to limit relocation to about a week where possible. Russell said the department was working with more than 100 properties in the quarter, about 20 of which have moved into contracting or begun repair work; 66 HUD-funded abatement projects are also underway. As of March, the department had received 13 confirmed child lead-poisoning cases in 2025.
Councilmember Pamela Sano asked about the scope and the resident impact of abatement work; Russell answered that windows are among the higher-cost items, that window replacement can yield energy and weatherization benefits, and that the department is finalizing a supervisor hire to scale inspections. Councilmember Rainville asked for an estimate of remaining properties; Russell said a precise citywide count will require combining housing-stock age and neighborhood targeting with trends in poisoning rates and offered to follow up with a specific estimate.
Chair Jason Chavez directed the clerk to receive and file the update. The department said it will continue quarterly reporting and pursue coordination with regulatory services, fire and housing inspections to create referral pipelines for target properties.
