The Responsible Industry for Sound Environment (RISE) in conjunction with CropLife America hosted a regulatory conference, April 19-21, in Washington, D.C. Within this conference is an event called EPA Labels Live, which allows EPA regulators to learn more about how consumers adhere to labeling and how practitioners manage pesticides. Kristen Spotz, senior director of regulatory affairs at RISE, invited two of GCSAA’s own to present at the event.

Katrin Wolfe, the Mid-Atlantic field staff representative, and Eric David, CGCS, the superintendent at the U.S. Naval Academy Golf Club, put together an amazing station for about 75 EPA regulators. They ran their station five times as small groups of EPA staff rotated around different stations throughout the event.

Eric had created a device that showcased nozzle fixtures and use. He equipped several different nozzles and explained to the EPA staff how nozzle selection adheres to the label on a given chemical. The mechanism used water as a visual to model drift and spread. The visual model was a great asset, as many of the EPA representatives stood up to gain a better look and later followed up with questions.

Katrin then highlighted pesticide and label-specific best management practices (BMPs) to the group. Through her presentation, participants learned about the BMP manuals produced in all 50 states and the calls for responsible label reading. Further, a video was provided for the participants which showcased the specificity of sprayers and how application can be down to the square inch in preciseness. In this way, both preservation of the environment and conservation of chemical supply are prioritized.

Communication with regulatory groups is vital because they might not know the care with which golf course superintendents apply chemicals. Often times, the golf industry is judged for its use of pesticides and other chemicals. Events like the EPA Labels Live are great opportunities to personally showcase the conscious management practices of superintendents and other appliers. GCSAA looks forward to the possibility of attending the event next year as a part two.