The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)/Office of Compliance (OC), is soliciting applications to implement the Pesticide Inspector Residential Training (PIRT) program from eligible states, federally recognized Indian tribes, Alaska Native Villages, inter-tribal consortia and state and tribal institutions for 2024 through 2028.
Donor Name: Environmental Protection Agency
State: All States
County: All Counties
Territory: Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 08/18/2023
Size of the Grant: up to $2,500,000
Grant Duration: 5 years
Details:
Under this program OC will provide financial assistance on an annual basis to carry out a PIRT program. This pesticide-related training is intended for inspectors, scientists, supervisors, and managers of pesticide regulatory programs from state/tribes and U.S. territories working under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) Cooperative Agreements with EPA throughout the U.S.
Purpose and Scope
The purpose of the program is to provide pesticide educational training to inspectors and staff of states, tribes, and U.S. territories working under FIFRA cooperative agreements, to develop or enhance their ability to formulate and implement pesticide regulatory programs, and/or undertake new initiatives.
This program provides training to inspectors on how to conduct the different types of pesticide inspections as well as provide tips and necessary tools to instruct other inspectors on how to conduct inspections. PIRT is designed to facilitate open discussion and exchange of information and insights among each State Lead Agency, Tribal Pesticide Enforcement Program, and Territorial Lead Agency inspectors. This training program combines classroom lectures with practical application of demonstrated techniques including mock inspection to teach and promote investigative teamwork. Mock inspections afford the students the ability to practice the techniques and skills taught through classroom lecture in an applied real-life situation.
For this solicitation, the word “tribe” refers to federally recognized tribes, and any intertribal consortium defined as a partnership of two or more federally recognized tribes authorized by its membership to apply for, and receive, assistance under FIFRA. State and/or tribal employees not currently working under a FIFRA Cooperative Agreement may be eligible to attend PIRT courses based on need and/or space availability in the courses as determined by the PIRT steering committee or the PIRT coordinator (particularly the years a Tribal PIRT is held).
Objectives
EPA expects that the recipient will use funding provided under this solicitation to:
- Provide high quality training to pesticide inspectors and staff of the states, tribes, and U.S. territories working under FIFRA Cooperative Agreements on a wide variety of pesticide issues. The PIRT courses will be three to four days long with a field component on one of those days. The specific type and format, in-person preferred, virtual, if necessary, of the PIRT courses to be offered annually will be determined by the PIRT Steering Committee
- Foster the building of networks and collaborative relationships among states, tribes, U.S. territories, EPA, and other federal and state agencies, to more effectively utilize limited resources aimed at implementing pesticide programs
- Provide a forum to learn about emerging pesticide issues that impact state, tribal, and US territory programs, and share effective strategies
- Quantitatively and qualitatively measure the success of the training provided according to training recipients to improve future programs
- Evaluate the PIRT steering committee selection and member process and determine the best course of action over the course of the cooperative agreement. The PIRT charter may need to be revised and/or updated to reflect any changes made.
Funding Information
The total estimated amount available for award under this announcement is up to $3,000,000, depending on availability of funds. EPA expects to provide an estimated $500,000 annually, for a total of up to $2,500,000 for five years (FY2024 through FY2028), depending on the Agency’s budget, satisfactory performance, and other applicable considerations. In FY2024, the first year of the cooperative agreement, EPA also expects to provide a one-time additional allocation of $500,000, which should be spread throughout the five-year cooperative agreement period. The maximum funding level requested for the first year of the project must not exceed $600,000. Applications requesting more than the maximum funding will be rejected.
Project Period
The estimated project period for the award resulting from this solicitation will begin in October 2024. The proposed project period is up to five (5) years.
Eligible Activities
- Activities to be funded under this cooperative agreement support the purpose and objectives listed above and include, but are not limited to the following:
- Assess the training needs of the PIRT clientele by summarizing needs expressed by participants on course evaluation forms and other methods. Assist in preparing any other summary information as requested by the PIRT Coordinator
- Undertake management of the PIRT Steering Committee and membership selection process from PIRT coordinator
- Coordinate steering committee meetings to create course agendas or training approaches
- Assemble a planning group, consisting of approximately seven to eight state/tribal and EPA employees for each course annually. The goal of the planning groups is to develop an appropriate curriculum for each course in accordance with the guidance from the PIRT Steering Committee. Planning groups generally meet once a week for several weeks until the planning is complete
- Conduct between three to four (3-4) National PIRTs a year plus one Tribal PIRT every other year, lasting three to four days for 25-30 participants per course. The locations of the training courses should vary within the United States to take advantage of different environments and types of pesticide usage across the country. For Tribal PIRTs, the preference is to work with a tribe/s who have a FIFRA cooperative agreement, if possible. Activities in support of the classroom training include:
- Research and prepare for one field trip site per course. Field trips should, if possible, support a major theme of the overall course
- Collect and collate course materials from instructors and presenters in a timely manner and arrange for their distribution prior to each course
- Secure classroom space for all courses
- Secure and pay for lodging for all course participants and develop a system of paying participants for per diem food expenses
- Make arrangements for working lunches that allow participants additional time for further networking, rapport building, informal discussions on implementation issues, or new ideas
- Arrange and pay for participant travel costs to and from the course
- Confirm all logistical arrangements for trainer/instructor participation for all courses and arrange for payment as necessary
- Establish a qualitative and quantitative evaluation system for participants and instructors to be used in developing future training
- Manage the nomination and selection process for each PIRT course
- Maintain PIRT-related information in a database using Access or other similar software. Appropriate fields for the database will be selected in conjunction with the PIRT Coordinator such that reports can be generated on various topics, such as attendee history, etc
- Design and maintain a PIRT Website. A website will be designed to communicate both historical and current information on PIRT course offerings, agendas, and course participants. The website will be updated as necessary to keep the information current and as new information becomes available.
Eligibility Criteria
In accordance with FIFRA 23(a)(1), applications will be accepted from the following eligible entities: States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, and American Samoa, federally recognized Indian tribes, Alaska Native Villages, inter-tribal consortia and State and tribal institutions. Funding for this grant will be provided from the Agency’s State and Tribal Assistance Grant (STAG) appropriation and is intended to support the implementation of state and tribal pesticide compliance and enforcement programs.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
