interdisciplinary teams established under this section
in determining funding priorities:
‘‘(A) Projects located in or directly benefit-
ing low-income or economically depressed areas
adversely impacted by poor watershed manage-
ment.
‘‘(B) Projects that will restore or create
businesses or occupations in the project area.
‘‘(C) Projects providing opportunities for
participants in Federal, State, tribal, and local
youth conservation and service corps and pro-
vide training in environmental restoration, mon-
itoring, and inventory work.
‘‘(D) Projects serving communities com-
posed of minorities or Native Americans, in-
cluding the development of outreach programs
to facilitate the participation by such groups in
the program.
‘‘(E) Projects identified as regional prior-
ities that have been planned within a regional
context and coordinated with Federal, State,
tribal, and local agencies.
‘‘(F) Projects that will restore wildlife or
fisheries of commercial, recreational, subsist-
ence, or scientific concern.
‘‘(G) Projects training and employing fish-
ers and other resource harvesters whose liveli-
hoods have been adversely impacted by habitat
degradation.
‘‘(H) Projects providing significant im-
provements in ecological values and functions in
the project area.
‘‘(I) Projects previously approved under
this Act which meet or are redesigned to meet
the requirements of this section.
‘‘(5) COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS.—A project shall
be eligible for assistance under the program if an
interdisciplinary team established under this section
determines that the local social, economic, ecological,
and community benefits of the project based on local
needs, problems, and conditions equal or exceed the
financial and social costs of the project.
‘‘(6) FLOOD DAMAGE REDUCTION.—Projects for
which one of the purposes is to reduce flood dam-
ages shall be designed for the level of risk selected
by the local cosponsors and sponsors to best meet
their needs for reducing flood risks, their ability to
pay project costs, and community objectives to pro-
tect or restore environmental quality.
‘‘(7) INELIGIBLE
PROJECTS.—Projects involv-
ing channelization, stream bank stabilization using
methods other than biotechnical slope protection
methods, or construction of reservoirs shall not be
eligible for assistance under the program.
‘‘(c) PROGRAM ADMINISTRATION.—
‘‘(1) DESIGNATION OF PROGRAM ADMINISTRA-
TORS.—The Secretary shall designate a program ad-
ministrator for each State who shall be responsible
for administering the program in the State. Except
as provided by paragraph (2), the Secretary shall
designate the State Conservationist of the Soil Con-
servation Service of a State as the program adminis-
trator of the State.
‘‘(2) APPROVAL OF STATE AGENCIES.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A State may submit
to the Secretary an application for designation
of a State agency to serve as the program ad-
ministrator of the State.
‘‘(B) CRITERIA.—The Secretary shall ap-
prove an application of a State submitted under
subparagraph (A) if the application meets the
following criteria:
‘‘(i) Demonstration of the ability of
the State agency to solicit, select, and fund
projects within a 1-year grant administra-
tion cycle.
‘‘(ii) Demonstration of the responsive-
ness of the State agency to the administra-
tive needs and limitations of small non-
profit organizations and low income or mi-
nority communities.
‘‘(iii) Demonstration of the success of
the State agency in implementing State or
local programs with objectives similar to
the objectives of this section.
‘‘(iv) Demonstration of the ability of
the State agency to jointly plan and imple-
ment with Indian Tribes programs with
objectives similar to this section.
‘‘(C) REDESIGNATION.—Whenever the Sec-
retary determines, after a public hearing, that
a State agency with an approved application
under this paragraph no longer meets the cri-
teria set forth in subparagraph (B), the Sec-
retary shall so notify the State and, if appro-
priate corrective action has not been taken
within a reasonable time, withdraw the designa-
tion of the State agency as the program admin-
istrator of the State and designate the State
Conservationist of the Soil Conservation Service
of the State as the program administrator of
the State.
‘‘(3) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.—The State Con-
servationist of a State shall continue to carry out
the technical assistance portion of the program in
the State even if the State receives approval of an
application submitted under subparagraph (A).
‘‘(d) GRANT APPLICATION CYCLE.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Grants under the program
shall be awarded on an annual basis.
‘‘(2) GRANT AGREEMENTS.—The program ad-
ministrator of a State may enter into a grant agree-
ment with an eligible entity to permit the entity to
phase-in a project under the program for a period of
not to exceed 3 years; except that any such project
shall remain subject to reevaluation each year as
part of the annual funding cycle.
‘‘(e) SELECTION OF PROJECTS.—
‘‘(1) APPLICATIONS.—In order to receive assist-
ance to carry out a project under the program in a
State, an eligible entity shall submit to the program
administrator of the State an application which is in
such form and contains such information as the Sec-
retary may by regulation require.
‘‘(2) REVIEW
OF
APPLICATIONS
BY
INTER-
DISCIPLINARY TEAMS.—
‘‘(A) TRANSMITTAL.—Each application for
assistance under the program received by the
program administrator of a State shall be
transmitted to the interdisciplinary team of the
State established pursuant to this section.
‘‘(B) REVIEW.—On an annual basis, the
interdisciplinary team of each State shall—
‘‘(i) review applications transmitted to
the team pursuant to subparagraph (A);
‘‘(ii) determine the eligibility of pro-
posed projects for funding under the
program;
‘‘(iii) make recommendations concern-
ing funding priorities for such eligible
projects; and
‘‘(iv) transmit its findings and rec-
ommendations to the program adminis-
trator of the State.
‘‘(C) PROJECT
OPPOSITION
BY
FEDERAL
REPRESENTATIVES.—If 2 or more of the mem-
bers of an interdisciplinary team of a State ap-
pointed pursuant to clause (ii), (iii) or (iv) of
subsection (f)(2)(B) are opposed to a project