The Pesticide Inspector Residential Training program provides national pesticide educational training to inspectors and enforcement staff of pesticide state lead agencies, territories and tribes working under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act cooperative agreements. PIRT’s goal is to develop or enhance pesticide enforcement staff’s ability to formulate and implement pesticide regulatory programs and undertake new initiatives. Our programs support staff by delivering a foundational understanding of FIFRA’s basic inspector concepts and activities, while enhancing their ability to conduct different types of inspections and develop strategies to address ongoing challenges through tackling complex and highly nuanced issues surrounding implementation of new federal registrations, rulemaking and priorities.  

PIRT uses classroom instruction and field trips, including mock inspections, to teach demonstrated approaches to conducting investigations. PIRT will promote uniformity in enforcement approaches and understanding while considering differing needs based on geography and varying state or tribal regulations.

Workshop Determining Compliance with Endangered Species Act (ESA) Strategy Requirements

September 18-19, 2024, Philadelphia, PA

Overview: Pesticide regulatory agencies’ inspection and compliance programs will be responsible for determining how pesticide applicators are implementing and complying with the ESA Strategy pesticide use requirements. Guidance and information on how to conduct inspections and determine compliance is needed by EPA and co-regulators (states, territories and Tribes) to ensure successful implementation of the ESA Strategies. This workshop will be an initial step towards forming a consistent and roust approach for monitoring compliance with pesticide use requirements related to EPA’s ESA Strategies. The workshop will focus on inspection processes for documenting pesticide applicators’ compliance with the EPA ESA Strategies as they become implemented. Participants will be asked to work together to identify issue areas and form recommendations for monitoring compliance with the run-off/erosion and drift mitigation measures, which are the core of the ESA Strategies. We will work in small groups with facilitators and note-takers. We will provide a report to SLAs and EPA after the workshop is complete. There will not be a virtual component to the workshop.

More trainings will be announced shortly. In the past, the PIRT program has covered the following topics: 

• Urban FIFRA issues 

• Advanced inspector skills 

• Agricultural use 

• Structural training 

• Fumigation 

• Product-related training.

State Lead Agencies
Tony Cofer, Alabama Department of Agriculture
Michael Ekedahl, Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection
Michael Rigirozzi, Colorado Department of Agriculture, Division of Plant Industry
Matt Wood, Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets
Garret Creason, Office of Indiana State Chemist
Patrick Jones, North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
Africa Dorame-Avalos, Inter Tribal Council of Arizona, Inc.

Association of Structural Pest Control Regulatory Officials
Allison Cuellar, Texas Department of Agriculture

Association of American Pesticide Control Officials
Kelly Friend, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Sharon Dobesh, EPA Region 7
Ricardo Jones, EPA OECA, Office of Compliance
Royan Teter, EPA OECA, Office of Civil Enforcement
Cindy Wire, EPA PREP Liaison

Enforcement and compliance assistance programs work to ensure that human health and the environment are adequately protected. They also provide structure that strengthens the pesticide applicator community and industry interests and serve as an important element in garnering the public’s faith in our government’s ability to address issues related to pesticide use. Pesticide enforcement field staff are the front line in regulating pesticide use and integral in supporting EPA’s goals.

PIRT is a collaboration between the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture Foundation, the EPA, and subject matter experts that provides high-quality, relevant training for State Lead Agency, the Tribal Pesticide Enforcement Program, and Territorial Lead Agency inspectors. Offering three to four in-person courses a year, training focuses on fundamentals as well as a wide variety of topic-specific and advanced content to engage varying levels of experience among enforcement staff. Courses are hosted across the U.S., typically over four days, and include classroom instruction, field trips and mock inspections. Training is provided by leading subject matter experts, with topics informed by input from our steering committee.

PIRT seeks to strengthen and expand networks for inspectors and build collaborative relationships, providing opportunities for staff to engage in ongoing learning, the sharing of resources and a platform to discuss current issues they face while developing effective strategies for fostering compliance among the regulated community.

PIRT will solicit nominations from pesticide state lead agencies for enforcement staff to attend the courses several months in advance of the course. Instructions for submissions will be included in the course announcements.

If you have any questions regarding PIRT or would like further information about the program, please contact Amy Sullivan at amy.sullivan@nasda.org or Cary Giguere at cary.giguere@nasda.org.

PIRT is funded by a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.