MDARD Inspections on Golf Courses on the Rise

Over the last three to four years the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division (PPPMD) have been increasing their focus on the Golf Industry here in Michigan. Many members have noted a drop in visit from these inspectors across the entire state this summer.

This started heating up in 2015 and we did publish letters from the MDARD and PPPMD folks in the magazine, online and in this blog, but based on some recent reports from MiGCSA Members I thought going over some of the facts again would be a good idea.

The Pesticide and Plant Pest Management Division (PPPMD) is responsible for the implementation of programs and enforcement of laws concerning agricultural products, export commodities, pesticide sale and use, pest management and groundwater protection. Here is a quote from them in 2015 on why their focus on golf has emerged: “MDARD has made a renewed effort to conduct inspections at golf courses in the last 3 years. MDARD began by identifying golf courses in Michigan that did not have a certified applicator as an employee in MDARD’s records. Of the approximate 900 golf courses in Michigan MDARD identified 322 golf courses who did not appear to employ a certified pesticide applicator. Over the past 3 years, 113 inspections have taken place with a high rate of non-compliance with MDARD’s regulations. 81 golf courses or 72% of the 113 inspected golf courses received an immediate stop order with enforcement action taken after the inspection was completed.” The goal of the PPPMD inspectors is not to fine but to help get compliance to protest our groundwater. I have many, many personal meetings with the PPPMD and MDARD and it is a very common theme among all of them.

Thankfully we here in Michigan have tools available to us to make sure your facility is following the rules and regulations. The Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program (MTESP) has been around as long as these regulations that came about in the late 90's. Many MiGCSA Members probably still have their MTESP binders in their offices to this day. When I took over the MTESP in 2013 we went through a full digital conversion of this booklet along with a review from the MDARD and PPPMD folks. It is an easy to navigate online survey style module based program that is FREE. The funding for this program comes from the Michigan Water Stewardship Program. The website www.MTESP.org is always improving as is the program. The individual information is only accessed by myself and John Johnson the MTESP Stewardship Specialist and not shared with any government regulators beyond overall website traffic and statistics to show use and viability.

So if you're not already go get an account set up at MTESP.org and identify where you may be lacking or in violation, ignorance is not an acceptable response if you are inspected. Know where you stand, inform your ownership or management, be proactive not reactive. The tools are free and easy to use. As always let me know if you have any questions at adamikamas@migcsa.org or adam@mtesp.org.