Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP)
For more than 30 years, EPA led the Pesticide Environmental Stewardship Program (PESP), a voluntary, partnership program that worked with the pesticide-user community to reduce human health and environmental risks of pesticide use and implement pollution prevention strategies. From 1996 through 2003, more than 100 PESP grants totaling $4 million advanced integrated pest management (IPM) implementation where we live, work, play and farm. Regional and national conferences, along with a quarterly newsletter, in the 1990s and early 2000s brought together members to share IPM best practices and achievements. PESP Champion Awards (2002-2009) celebrated individual members’ sustained excellence in IPM. Most recently, six PESP grants totaling $780,000 were awarded in 2022 to reduce the risks from pests and pesticides in agriculture.
EPA is proud of the great collaboration and efforts by the more than 400 partners and grantees over the years that have helped to mainstream the reduction of pesticide risk through education and adopting innovative, alternative pest control practices, such as Integrated Pest Management and the use of biological pesticides.
As the administration refocuses the agency’s priorities on statutory work, EPA will be sunsetting the PESP as of May 8, 2025. We expect this sunsetting to have minimal impact on our stakeholders. PESP was guided by the principle that—while government regulation can reduce pesticide risk—the informed actions of pesticide users can potentially reduce pesticide risk more efficiently and to a greater extent than can be achieved through regulatory mandates. However, with much of the effort now mainstreamed and part of the overall IPM program, PESP has minimal activity.
The PESP members will have up to one year to phase out any marketing as needed. EPA will continue to provide opportunities for engagement through pesticide advisory committees such as the Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee. Additionally, mosquito control districts and state and local government agencies continue to provide public education on pest prevention and vector population management.
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