Since it began distributing federal money to remove lead paint hazards from city homes a decade ago, the San Diego Housing Commission hasn’t required any proof of where the resulting waste has been disposed.

Debris has just been sent to the Miramar Landfill — regardless of whether was hazardous or not, as our recent story showed. Hazardous waste has to be sent to specially designed landfills.

That’s now changed.

In a two-page report to the City Council, the commission’s top officials say their agency will no longer pay contractors unless they’ve provided documentation that debris has properly been disposed. That’s a step that has been missing for the last decade.

Housing Commission officials also say they’ll provide quarterly reports about the lead remediation effort to the council if asked. Their federally funded effort has removed lead hazards from 814 homes throughout the city.

The commission is due before a council committee Wednesday afternoon to discuss the issue.

— ROB DAVIS

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