Idaho Meth Lab Law Receives Mixed Enforcemant

A 2005 Idaho law meant to alert renters to homes where meth has been manufactured and encourage owners to clean them up has met with, at best, mixed results. According to the Times-News Renters sometimes are told only after they sign a lease that their new home or apartment was once used as a site to cook the illegal stimulant. Chemicals associated with making methamphetamine are hazardous and can make such a property dangerous to inhabit. Homes must stay on the list until cleared by a certified industrial hygienist. Dozens of residences have been on the list for years. Until they're removed, homes on the list are supposed to remain vacant. However, it's up to the properties' owners — not police or health officials — to ensure that happens. As of Monday, more than 40 homes were on Idaho's meth-lab property list, with three dating to 2006; eight each from 2007 and 2008; nine from 2009; six from 2010; and 10 from 2011, including a home in rural Bonner County near Priest River listed just last month. According to Idaho's rules, an owner who hasn't properly cleaned the lab site could face civil liabilities for health claims by future owners or renters. But state officials say there's little they can do about people who reoccupy the homes. while property owners are supposed to tell potential buyers or renters that a property was once home to a meth lab, they are under no deadline to clean up the property. As a result, the law is little more than a paper tiger that's so far been unsuccessful in keeping people away.