United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Preventiqn, Pesticides
And Toxic Substances
(7503W)
EPA-733-N-94-001
December 1994
PEST SMART UPDATE
Information on EPA's Pesticide Environmental Stev/ardship Program
Update ffl
On December 12, 1994 the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency issued the following press release
in connection with the federal pesticide initiative
announced in June 1993.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
have formed a partnership with, a number of groups
and companies representing agricultural and non-
agricultural pesticide users to promote environmental
stewardship in pesticide use in the United States.
The partnership is the first under the commitment
made by the three agencies before the U.S. House of
Representatives in September 1993 to work jointly
with pesticide user groups to develop commodity-
specific initiatives toward achieving the
Administration's goal of reducing the use and risks of
pesticides in the United States.
"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," said Carol M.
Browner, EPA Administrator. "I congratulate the
companies and grower groups that are joining with us
for their forward-thinking approach to
environmentally-sound pesticide use practices and look
forward to seeing others follow their lead."
The groups and companies that have joined the
partnership include: the National Potato Council, the
American Corn Growers Association, the International
Apple Institute, the California Citrus Research Board,
the California Pear Growers and California Pear
Advisory Board, Appalachian Power, Atlantic
Electric, Carolina Power & Light, Columbus Southern
Power, Delmarva Power, Duke Power, Indiana
Michigan Power, Kentucky Power, Kingsport Power,
New York State Electric & Gas, Ohio Power,
Pennsylvania Electric, Pennsylvania Power and Light,
Pennsylvania Rural Electric Association, the Virginia,
Maryland, Delaware Association of Electric
Cooperatives, Wheeling Power, and Wisconsin Public
Service Corp. ^
"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" - Carol M.
Browner, EPA Administrator
In forming this partnership, the federal government
agencies and the participating groups and companies
agree that environmental stewardship is an integral
part of pest management practices. Specifically, the
partnership has agreed to commit to a number of
guiding principles that will shape pest management
practices. The principles are:
• Pesticide users will continue to work towards pest
management practices that reduce risk to humans
and the environment and will continue to work to
minimize the use of pesticides where desirable and
practicable.
• The groups and comp.inies will continue to develop
and implement regional environmental stewardship
plans containing specific pest management
PEST SMART UPDATE
December 1994
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strategies that reduce risk to humans and the
environment.
• In recognition of the need to maintain cost-
effective pest control in the marketplace, the
federal government will seek to foster, fund and
promote through education, research and other
means the adoption of alternative pest management
technologies and practices that enhance pest
management and reduce pesticide use and risk.
• The federal government shall integrate the
environmental stewardship plans developed by the
participating groups and companies into its
agricultural and environmental policies and
programs.
Many of the grower groups and utility companies
have taken specific steps to demonstrate their
commitment to the partnership. The grower groups
have committed to more research and demonstration
into, Integrated Pest Management techniques and
programs, the development of prediction models for
more targeted and precise pesticide applications,
education programs to encourage alternative pest
control technologies, and cooperation with equipment
manufacturers to find application techniques that
maintain pest control efficacy while reducing
application rates.
"I congratulate the companies and
grower groups that are joining -with
us for their forward-thinking
approach..." - Carol M. Browner,
EPA Administrator
The utility companies have committed to promote
regional input on environmental stewardship so that a
national environmental stewardship plan for utility
rights-of-way can be formulated; to research IPM
technologies and application methods which will lower
the risk to humans and the environment; and to
promote worker training on pesticide use to lower the
level of risk to the workers and the environment.
Specific actions being taken by some members of
the partnership are listed below.
Steps To Be Taken By The Environmental
Stewardship Partners
This section describes the specific steps that
participating groups and companies have agreed to
take.
The National Potato Council will:
« Work with the Agricultural Research Service of
USDA to increase efforts to conduct field
demonstrations for promising alternative pest
control practices.
• Maintain its commitment to research into IPM and
alternative pest control techniques including new,
safer pesticides.
• Encourage its membership to adopt promising new
technologies once they become viable and educate
its membership through the use of newsletters and
meetings.
• Work with equipment manufacturers to find better
application technologies, especially where
application rates are lowered with equal efficacy or
a reduction in worker exposure.
• Develop an awards process for recognizing potato
growers who produce a high quality crop while
practicing sound environmental stewardship.
The American Corn Growers will: .
• Promote and expand its "bottom-line" corn
growing contest; which seeks to maximize a
grower's profit from corn production while
reducing production inputs such as pesticides.
• Maintain its commitment to research into IPM and
alternative pest control techniques including new,
safer pesticides.
• Encourage its membership to adopt promising new
technologies once they become viable and will
educate its membership through the use of
newsletters and meetings.
• Work with equipment manufacturers to find better
application technologies, especially where
application rates are lowered with equal efficacy or
a reduction in worker exposure.
PEST SMART UPDATE
December 1994
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The International Apple Institute will:
• Continue to encourage grower meetings that stress
the use of IPM and develop and implement IPM
training programs for county agents, consultants,
scouts and growers.
• Continue to develop and utilize prediction models
for more timely pesticide applications.
• Continue to develop commercial-scale IPM plots.
• Continue to develop the Western Areawide Codling
Moth IPM Program in cooperation with USD A.
The California Pear Growers and California Pear
Advisory Board will:
• Expand current IPM programs to show the benefits
of biological controls — including pheromones and
insect growth regulators — as alternatives to
conventional chemical pesticides.
• Support and fund through grower and processor
check-offs the Pear Pest Management Research
Fund and research programs of the California Pear
Advisory Board which seek safer, more efficient
ways to manage pests.
• Communicate to growers promising results of
research through information letters, demonstration
plots, and facilitation of farmer-to-farmer
discussions.
The California Citrus Board will:
• Commit $628,000 during 1994-95 to research in
entomology and $118,000 in post-harvest studies,
all aimed at IPM programs for California citrus
with a focus on biocontrol and risk reduction.
• Provide continued research support to, and liaison
with, the various citrus biocontrol districts - both
public and private.
• Increase the frequency of grower meetings from
approximately three per year to an average of one
per month with primary focus on biocontrol, IPM
programs, and risk reduction education.
• Provide the grower education programs to the
California Citrus Expo, an annual two-day event.
The 1995 program will focus on achieving citrus
quality in the current regulatory environment
which includes emphasis on reduced risk
procedures, with grower education programming
in the morning and trade show exhibits and
demonstrations in the afternoon.
• Involvement by the California Citrus Board and the
California Citrus Quality Council in the California
IPM program and the California Department of
Pesticide Regulation's pesticide reduction program.
• Work to develop real-time, on-farm information
management systems aimed at reducing
dependency on chemical use and improvement of
biocontrpl and cultural practice systems.
• Continue efforts to achieve enrollment of a
minimum of 75 % of the California citrus industry
in IPM programs by the year 2000.
• Fund a research program studying the application
methods for existing pesticides to reduce the risk of
air pollution, groundwater pollution and exposure
to humans.
Utility Companies
A number of utility companies, which sometimes
use pesticides along power line rights-of-way and in
other areas, have also joined the partnership. These
companies are:
Appalachian Power, Atlantic Electric, Carolina Power
& Light, Columbus Southern Power, Delmarva
Power, Duke Power, Indiana Michigan Power,
Kentucky Power, Kingsport Power, New York State
Electric & Gas, Ohio Power, Pennsylvania Electric,
Pennsylvania Power & Light, The Pennsylvania Rural
Electric Association, Thti VirginiaMaryland Delaware
Association of Electric Cooperatives, Wheeling
Power, and Wisconsin Public Service Corporation
These companies agree to:
• Promote pesticide us;er training and education on
pesticide use technologies and pest management
practices to lower the level of risk to humans and
the environment. '
i
• Continue to research and promote IPM
technologies and application methods which will
provide efficient vegetation management and will
lower the level of risk to humans and the
environment.
• Promote regional input on environmental
PEST SMART UPDATE
December 1994
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stewardship so that a national environmental
stewardship plan for utility rights-of-way can be
formulated.
For More Information...
For more information on the PEST SMART
UPDATE, contact Sherry Click, BEAD/OPP/EPA.
If you wish to write, the address is: US EPA
(7503W), 401M Street, SW, Washington, DC 20460.
The fax number is: 703-308-3189.
The EPA, along with USDA and FDA, is
committed to expanding the Pesticide Environmental
Stewardship Program (the "Partnership"). If your
organization or company would like to obtain more
information on how it can become involved with the
Partnership please contact Martin Lewis, or Davis
Bernstein, at (703)308-8144 and (703)308-8097,
respectively.
SERA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Washington, DC 20460
(7503W)
Official Business
Penalty for Private Use
$300
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