GCSAA recently participated in a virtual meeting with EPA leadership and the Responsible Industry for a Sound Environment coalition (RISE). GCSAA Associate Director of Environmental Programs Mark Johnson and GCSAA Director of Government Affairs Chava McKeel represented the association at the meeting.

Apart from GCSAA, the meeting convened by RISE included other applicator partners in the specialty pesticide industry and EPA leadership such as the new Deputy Assistant Administer in the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention (OCSPP) under the Biden Administration. One of the reasons the meeting was held was to introduce the new deputy assistant administrator to the specialty pesticide industry. In addition, RISE and GCSAA wanted to highlight environmental stewardship and conservation practices that the industry has implemented with much success. The meeting also held a discussion about the ways in which specialty use applications contrast with crop protection applications and why these differences should be accounted for under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

McKeel spoke to EPA representatives about GCSAA, its members and the mission that the association strives to fulfill. She talked about her long standing relationship with EPA and working in particular with the Office of Pesticide Programs. Johnson talked about GCSAA’s groundbreaking Golf Course Environmental Profile (GCEP) project, which was launched in 2006 to develop a comprehensive environmental profile of golf courses in the United States. He talked about the two prior survey sets and the current survey effort underway. Johnson also talked about the BMP initiative and the completion of 50 state BMP programs and the current BMP facility adoption effort.

The meeting concluded after a discussion of mitigation practices in the specialty pesticide industry. Participants believe the meeting was educational and well-received among participants. GCSAA will continue to work directly with the agency of pesticide matters impacting the golf course management industry.