This cooperative agreement combines EPA's pesticide regulatory expertise with colorado state university's educational expertise to administer the pesticide regulatory education program (prep) which is…

The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention awarded Colorado State University a cooperative agreement worth $820,000 on October 1, 2025, under CFDA 66.716 (Research, Development, Monitoring, Public Education, Outreach, Training, Demonstrations, and Studies) to administer the Pesticide Regulatory Education Program (PREP).

Colorado State University delivers four four-day training courses annually, each serving 25–30 senior pesticide managers and staff from states, U.S. territories, and tribes implementing pesticide regulatory and enforcement programs under Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) cooperative agreements. Course topics address FIFRA implementation and enforcement issues selected by a PREP Steering Committee and cover technical, policy, and management subjects in pesticide regulation. The university assesses participant training needs through course evaluation forms and annual surveys, coordinates planning groups of approximately 7–8 state, tribal, and EPA employees to develop course curricula, maintains the PREP website, and facilitates steering committee calls. Attendees disseminate training content within their home organizations; in-person delivery enables networking and problem-solving collaboration among coregulators.

Place of performance is Fort Collins, Colorado. The cooperative agreement runs from October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2030.

This cooperative agreement combines EPA's pesticide regulatory expertise with colorado state university's educational expertise to administer the pesticide regulatory education program (prep) which is an educational program, designed primarily for senior state, U.S. Territory and tribal managers who implement pesticide regulatory and enforcement programs. Prep courses provide practical, up-to-date information on technical, policy, and management issues, as well as a wide array of cutting-edge pesticide topics. Prep provides four, four-day training courses annually for 25-30 pesticide managers and senior staff of states, tribes and U.S. Territories working under fifra cooperative agreements. Topics are selected by a prep steering committee and cover a wide variety of fifra implementation and enforcement issues of mutual concern to EPA and coregulators. Attendees then share what they have learned with the staff and managers in their organizations. The in-person aspect of this training allows for more honest conversations to take place between coregulators in a controlled venue, and allows for networking among attendees resulting in collaboration and problem-solving once they leave the classroom. In addition to administering the courses, CSU will also maintain the prep website and facilitate calls with the prep steering committee. Activities:1. Assess the training needs of the prep clientele by summarizing needs expressed by participants on course evaluation forms and annual surveys assist in preparing any other summary information as requested by the prep coordinator. 2. Coordinate planning group meetings to create course agendas or training approaches. Assemble a planning group, consisting of approximately 7-8 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 prep steering committee. Planning groups generally meet once a week for several weeks until the planning is complete. 3. Conduct a set of four training courses annually each lasting four days for up to 25 participants per course. The locations of the training courses will vary within the united states depending on the course and associated expenses. Activities in support of the classroom training include: a. Retain appropriate training consultants and instructors based on course needs, trainer availability and course budget. The course content will generally focus on pesticide programmatic issues (e.g., water quality, worker safety, endangered species, and certification and training); and pesticide compliance and enforcement issues, but may also include topics needed to support effective state and tribal pesticide programs such as, managerial and leadership training, risk communication training, issues related to homeland security, laboratory issues, new regulatory programs and emerging issues. B. Manage all aspects of in person training classroom courses including logistics for state, territory and tribal attendees. C. Maintain prep related information in an existing format using excel or other similar software. Appropriate fields for the database will be selected in conjunction with the prep coordinator such that reports can be generated on various topics, such as attendee history, etc. D. Design and maintain a prep website. A website will be designed to communicate both historical and current information on prep course offerings, agendas, and course participants. The website will be updated as necessary to keep the information current and as new information becomes available. Subrecipient:CO-investigator suzanne forsyth with the university of california davis (UCD) serves as a program advisor and assists with curriculum development, researching speakers and presenting material as needed. As a former prep progr