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Certification & Training Assessment Group
The Certification & Training Assessment
Group (CTAG) 
was
established in 1996 by EPA and USDA to define the national direction of the
pesticide applicator certification and training program. Over the last two
decades, the certification and training program has gone through many changes
and expanded its audience. Recently, the urban use of agricultural pesticides
and the need for chemical-specific applicator certification have been the
focus of attention.
Membership
The Certification & Training Assessment Group consists of representatives of:
- EPA Headquarters and Regions
- USDA/Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service
- Pesticide State Lead Agencies
- State FIFRA Issues Research and Evaluation Group
- American Association of Pesticide Control Officials
- Association of American Pesticide Safety Educators
- Association of Structural Pesticide Control Regulatory Officials
- Armed Forces Pest Management Board
- Tribes
Activities
CTAG met in December 1997 to review state baseline data and provide
recommendations on the future direction of the program. The draft report, "Pesticide
Safety for the 21st Century" was
released in January 1999 for reactions by pesticide state lead agencies,
territories, tribes, pesticide applicator training coordinators, and
private sector organizations. The report and its 15-page, separate executive
summary may also be obtained from EPA (call 703-305-7666).
EPA addresses the issues raised by CTAG in the "Pesticide Safety for the 21st Century" report as part of the Report on the National Assessment of the Pesticide Worker Safety Program. (69 pages, 1.37MB, PDF)
CTAG meets periodically to discuss current issues related to the pesticide applicator certification and training program. The next CTAG Board meeting is scheduled for December, 2005 at a location to be decided.
Documents and Daft Proposals
CTAG has produced many proposal documents which have been presented
to EPA. Its current and past reports, issue papers, presentations and
surveys are available to the public at http://pep.wsu.edu/ctag/archive.html.
Contact
For more information contact:
Certification and Worker Protection Branch
Office of Pesticide Programs
U.S. EPA (7506C)
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20460-0001
Phone: 703 305-7666
Fax: 703 308-2962
email pesticide-safety@epa.gov