DPR Offers $800,000 for Safe Pesticide Alternatives on the Farm and
in Urban Neighborhoods
SACRAMENTO -- Cal/EPA's Department of Pesticide Regulation will award
$800,000 in Pest Management Alliance grants aimed at reducing
pesticide risks to workers, consumers, and the environment.
Alliance grant details will be provided at a workshop at 1:30 p.m. on
October 19 in the Department of Food and Agriculture auditorium at
1220 N Street, Sacramento. Potential grant applicants must attend the
workshop. Agricultural marketing orders and commissions, trade
associations, urban groups, and others are eligible for grants.
"As DPR's Pest Management Alliance moves into its second year, our
focus is on promoting safe and effective alternatives to higher-risk
pesticides," said DPR Director Paul E. Helliker. "Our goal is to
create public-private alliances that reduce the impact of pesticides
on human health and the environment. And we're looking beyond the
farm to encourage new alliances that deal with the pest management
needs of urban and suburban areas."
DPR will fund approximately eight major grants, with up to $100,000
per year for each project. Individual Alliance grants may be renewed
for up to five years. Grant recipients must match their Alliance
awards dollar for dollar.
Proposals may involve applied research, demonstration projects, or a
combination of the two. Projects also must serve as a practical model
for adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) practices throughout
an industry and across the state. IPM works with nature to control
pest problems while minimizing the use of pesticides.
Alliance priorities for the 1999-2000 grants include:
-- Alternatives to high-toxicity pesticides, including
organophosphates and carbamates, toxic category I products, and other
restricted use materials;
-- Projects aimed at reducing worker exposure to pesticides;
-- Projects aimed at protecting surface and ground water quality;
-- Alternatives to methyl bromide and other fumigants;
-- Projects to promote IPM in schools and other public buildings;
-- Reduced-risk strategies for residential pest management in urban areas; and
-- Alternatives to using pesticides for new or secondary pest
problems that occur after adoption of a reduced-risk pest management
system.
DPR has awarded $4.3 million in grants for reduced-risk pest
management projects since 1996. In August, DPR announced that
$600,000 in grants are available in fiscal 1999-2000 for local and
regional projects under the Pest Management Grant program. The
Alliance program -- which supports large-scale, statewide projects --
is the latest in a series of reduced-risk initiatives by DPR that
rely upon communication, cooperation, and incentives, rather than
regulatory mandates.
Alliance funding involves a three-stage process: initial workshop,
proposal development, and evaluation of grant applications. First,
Alliance details will be explained to potential applicants at the
mandatory October 19 workshop. Applicants must then submit a detailed
proposal, which includes a work plan and timetable. Applicants that
submit the most promising proposals will receive up to $5,000 from
DPR to conduct a pest management evaluation. These evaluations will
help applicants develop full proposals that will be reviewed by DPR
to determine which projects will receive full funding. These will be
announced in mid-May, 2000.
For more Alliance information, or to receive a bid package by mail,
write to Lyndon Hawkins at the Environmental Monitoring and Pest
Management Branch, DPR, 830 K Street, Sacramento, CA 95814; call
Hawkins at (916) 324-4100, or e-mail <lhawkins@cdpr.ca.gov>.
Potential applicants can also get a copy of the proposal package from
DPR's Web site in the "What's New" section
(http://www.cdpr.ca.gov/whatnew.htm)
One of six boards and departments within the California Environmental
Protection Agency, DPR regulates the use of pesticides to protect
human health and the environment.
Media Contacts:
Veda Federighi, Glenn Brank
(916) 445-3974
#
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg". If you receive the digest format, use the command
"unsubscribe sanet-mg-digest".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".
All messages to sanet-mg are archived at:
http://www.sare.org/htdocs/hypermail