United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Prevention, Pesticides,
and Toxic Substances
(7501W)
EPA730-F-95-002
September 1995
Partners for Pesticide
Environmental Stewardship
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*.* 'ship In Progress
—Carol M. Browner,
EPA Administrator
December 12, 1994
Each Partner makes a commitment to stewardship as an
integral part of pest management practices. All Partners
are to be guided by the following principles:
The partnership is completely voluntary.
Partners agree to develop environmental
stewardship strategies and implement specific
pest management practices designed for pesticide
use/risk reduction.
The Federal government recognizes the need to
protect public health and food in the United States
with efficient, cost-effective pest control. Through
research, education, and other means, the Federal
government will seek to promote and fund the
adoption of alternative techniques and practices
that enhance pest management and reduce
pesticide use and risks.
The Federal government will integrate the
environmental stewardship strategies developed
by member organizations into its policies and
programs for agriculture and the environment.
The Federal government will lead by example with
its own use practices.
Current members of the partnership include growers,
utilities, and associations that engage in a wide range of
activities to reduce pesticide use and risk:
• and their associations are—
Supporting laboratory research on integrated pest
management (IPM) techniques.
Conducting field and commercial-scale
demonstrations to test IPM techniques.
Developing predictive models and management
information systems to ensure that pesticide
applications are timely and precise.
Cooperating with equipment manufacturers to
achieve effective pest control while reducing
application rates, worker exposure, and air and
ground-water pollution.
Educating workers and association members to
increase awareness and use of alternate pest control
practices.
Making awards and taking other steps to recognize
growers that achieve high quality results while
reducing pesticide use and exercising
environmental stewardship.
i and their associations are—
Soliciting input from different regions of
the country as contributions to a national
environmental stewardship plan for utility
rights-of-way.
Supporting research on IPM technologies and
application methods that manage vegetation
efficiently while lowering risks to human beings
and the environment.
Training workers in pesticide safety to lower risks
to both the workers and the environment.
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se use in the United States is relatively
,t 1.1 billion pounds of active
.ch year.
;ed as application rates have been
lions have become more efficient
use of pesticides currently requires
Billion pounds of active ingredients
ree-fourths of the total
Nonagricultural uses of pestici
commercial, government, and
settings • -account for the remai
total, about 275 million pounds
Pesticides are used on more than
in 69 million households.
In 1993, US. spending for pesti
totaled $8.5 billion—-two-thirds
agricultural uses and the
third for other uses.
Joining the partnership gives your organization
opportunities to demonstrate a commitment to
environmental stewardship and take steps to put this
commitment into practice. Membership may well
enhance public perception of your organization,
constituent support, and employee morale. In addition,
membership offers access to the following benefits:
On joining, each Partner or Supporter is assigned
a liaison who serves as that organization's official
contact with EPA. The liaison can help obtain
information not only about the partnership,
but about other EPA programs, policies, and
procedures. Further, your contact can help express
your organization's concerns to EPA management
and ensure that these views are considered as the
agency develops pesticide regulations and makes
decisions on agricultural policies.
As funds allow, EPA and USDA provide Partners
with seed money to help support pest management
practices that reduce pesticide use and risk. In
addition, Partners participate in the identification
of needs for research on alternative systems for
pest management, as provided for in the August
1994 Memorandum of Understanding between
EPA and USDA.
The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship
Program will publicly recognize Partners and
Supporters that demonstrate their commitment to
environmental stewardship and achieve progress
in reducing pesticide use and risk while managing
pests cost effectively.
We
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The Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program is a
broad effort by EPA, USDA, and FDA to reduce pesticide
use and risk in both agricultural and noriagricultural
settings. In September 1993, the three agencies
announced a Federal commitment to two major goals:
Developing specific use/risk reduction strategies
that include reliance on biological pesticides and
other approaches to pest control that are thought
to be safer than traditional chemical methods.
(See the section on Innovative Approaches to
Pest Control.)
By the year 2000, having 75 percent of U.S.
agricultural acreage adopt integrated pest
management programs. (See Innovative
Approaches to Pest Control.)
A key part of the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship
Program is the public/private partnership. When
EPA, USDA, and FDA announced the partnership in
December 1994, more than 20 private organizations
signed on as charter members.
All organizations with a commitment to pesticide
use/risk reduction are eligible to join the Pesticide
Environmental Stewardship Program, either as Partners
or as Supporters.
are organizations that use pesticides or represent
pesticide users. Partners agree to develop and implement
formal strategies to reduce the use and risk of pesticides.
In particular, Partners agree that their pesticide use will be
tailored to specific sites, crops, and regions of the country.
Partners further commit themselves to define and
implement their strategies in a timely fashion and to report
regularly on progress. Associations of pesticide users
agree that members will use the safest, most effective pest
management practices available.
are organizations that do not use
pesticides, but do have significant influence over pest
management practices. Food processors, for example,
may influence the use of pesticides on produce they buy,
even though they do not apply pesticides to the produce
themselves. Supporters may include public interest
groups whose constituencies have a strong interest in
pesticide use/risk reduction. Unlike Partners, Supporters
do not need to develop formal pest management
strategies. Instead, they agree to promote programs that
facilitate environmental stewardship.
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Voluntary pollution prevention has been a cornerstone
of our efforts to protect human health and the
environment, and this new pesticide partnership
is an important step toward that goal."
M '{
An Invitation
In the 1990s, people have come to realize
that exercising environmental stewardship—
by taking responsibility for safeguarding
human and environmental resources—is
essential to sustain or improve the quality of
life for ourselves and for future generations.
All of us have a stake in developing the
knowledge, technology, and commitment
needed to carry out environmental programs
that are responsible, innovative, flexible,
and effective.
Most of us recognize that we benefit
from pesticides, but we also know
that some pesticides present risks. The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) in concert with the U.S. Department
of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) maintains a
strong program to regulate the production and
use of pesticides. As stakeholders, however,
we must all become partners in reducing the
risks from pesticides to a minimum.
aheUS.FoodandDrug
describes the partne^p, outlines the
o.asaSuppone
more information about the program.
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