SACRAMENTO -- Cal/EPA's Department of Pesticide Regulation has announced a
new, $750,000 grant program to create alliances targeted at reducing
pesticide risks to workers, consumers, and the environment.
NEXT PARAGRAH IS VERY IMPORTANT!!
Pest Management Alliance grant details will be provided at a
workshop at 1 p.m. on March 11 in Room 215 at the Department of Pesticide
Regulation, 1020 N St., Sacramento. Potential grant applicants must attend
the workshop. Agricultural marketing orders and commissions, trade
associations and others are eligible for grants.
"DPR will establish alliances to encourage reduced-risk pest
management from farm fields to schoolyards," said DPR Chief Deputy Director
Jean-Mari Peltier. "This is an ambitious plan to develop and demonstrate
new pest control ideas in our most important areas of regulatory concern."
DPR expects to fund about seven major grants, each ranging up to
$100,000 per year. Grant recipients must match their Alliance awards.
Successful proposals may involve applied research, demonstration projects,
or a combination of the two. Projects also must serve as a practical model
for adoption of new pest practices throughout an industry and across the
state.
DPR funds for reduced risk pest strategies and integrated pest
management (IPM) have nearly tripled since 1996. This year, DPR plans to
award about $1.5 million in grants, thanks to a $1 million appropriation
from the Legislature.
Alliance grants are the latest in a series of reduced-risk
initiatives by DPR that rely upon communication, cooperation, and
incentives, rather than regulatory commands. Examples include DPR's annual
"IPM Innovator" awards, which recognize leadership in developing and using
innovative pest management techniques. Through the Pest Management Advisory
Committee, DPR funds grants to encourage non-traditional solutions to
agricultural and urban pest problems. And the Department has streamlined
its registration process to speed the approval of new, reduced-risk
products. With the creation of the Alliances, DPR has the opportunity to
fund larger scale, industry-wide pest management programs.
"The Alliance is a broad-based development and implementation
program," said Peltier. "Our goal is to attract the best ideas for reducing
pesticide risk, and we will give top priority to ideas that show a high
probability for success."
Alliance funding involves a three-stage process:
* Grant details will be explained at the March 11 workshop.
* Applicants must then submit a proposal to develop an evaluation
of their existing pest management system. The most promising proposals may
qualify for up to $5,000 in Alliance funds to help develop these
evaluations.
* Depending on their evaluation scores, Alliance applicants may
receive up to $100,000 a year to support their work. Second-year renewals
may also be offered.
Alliance priorities include pest management strategies that may
need to be revisited as a result of pesticide tolerance reassessments
required by the federal Food Quality Protection Act. Other priorities
include reduced-risk pest strategies for school districts, and protecting
surface waters and groundwater from farm and forestry herbicides.
For a PMA information package, write to Lyndon Hawkins at the
Environmental Monitoring and Pest Management Branch, DPR, 1020 N St.,
Sacramento, CA 95814; call Hawkins at (916) 324-4100, or send e-mail to
<lhawkins@cdpr.ca.gov>.
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