Texas Administrative Code › Title 31 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION › Part 17 - TEXAS STATE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION BOARD › Chapter 517 - FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE › Subchapter B - COST-SHARE ASSISTANCE FOR WATER SUPPLY ENHANCEMENT › Section 517.23 - Definitions

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
For the purposes of this subchapter the following
					 definitions shall apply.
(1) Allocated
				  funds--Funds budgeted through the State Board for cost-share
				  assistance.
(2) Applicant--An
				  eligible person who applies for cost-share assistance.
(3) Area--A sub-basin or other portion of
				  land within a project.
(4)
				  Available funds--Allocated funds that have not been obligated.
(5) Average costs--The constructed cost,
				  which is based on actual costs and current cost estimates, considered necessary
				  to carry out a conservation practice.
(6) Brush control--The selective control,
				  removal, or reduction of noxious brush such as mesquite, juniper, salt cedar,
				  or other phreatophytes that, as determined by the State Board, consumes water
				  to a degree that is detrimental to water conservation; and the revegetation of
				  land on which this brush has been controlled.
(7) Water supply enhancement plan--A
				  site-specific plan for implementation of brush control, sound range management
				  practices, and other soil and water conservation land improvement measures. It
				  includes a record of the eligible person's decisions made during planning and
				  the resource information needed for implementation and maintenance of the plan
				  that has been reviewed and approved by the SWCD.
(8) Cost-share assistance--An award of money
				  made to an eligible person for brush control pursuant to the purpose(s) for
				  which the funds were appropriated.
(9) Cost-share rate--The percent of the cost
				  of brush control to be awarded an eligible person based on actual cost not to
				  exceed average cost.
(10) Eligible
				  land--Those lands within a designated critical area that are eligible for
				  application of water supply enhancement program cost-share
				  assistance.
(11) Eligible
				  person--Any individual, partnership, administrator for a trust or estate,
				  family-owned corporation, or other legal entity who as an owner, lessee,
				  tenant, or sharecropper participates in an agricultural or wildlife operation
				  within a water supply enhancement project watershed shall be eligible for
				  cost-share assistance.
(12) Field
				  Office Technical Guide, herein referred to as FOTG--The official NRCS
				  guidelines, criteria, and standards for planning and applying conservation
				  practices, management measures, and works of improvement that have the purpose
				  of solving or reducing the severity of natural resource use problems or taking
				  advantage of resource opportunities.
(13) Natural Resources Conservation Service,
				  herein referred to as NRCS--An agency of the United States Department of
				  Agriculture.
(14) Operator--Any
				  person(s), firm, or corporation with a contractual arrangement with the owner
				  of the land that grants operational control of an agricultural
				  enterprise.
(15) Obligated
				  funds--Monies from a critical area's allocated funds that have been committed
				  to an applicant after final approval of the water supply enhancement contract
				  by the State Board.
(16)
				  Performance agreement--A component of the water supply enhancement contract
				  whereby the eligible person receiving the benefit of cost-share assistance
				  provides written agreement to the SWCD to perform brush control in accordance
				  with standards established by the State Board and the terms of the water supply
				  enhancement contract.
(17) Practice
				  standard--A technical specification for a conservation practice within the NRCS
				  FOTG that contains information on why and where the practice should be applied,
				  and sets forth the minimum quality criteria that must be met during the
				  application of that practice in order for it to achieve its intended
				  purpose(s).
(18) Priority
				  system--The system devised under guidelines of the State Board, for ranking
				  water supply enhancement project applications and for facilitating the
				  disbursement of allocated funds in line with the project watershed's
				  priorities.
(19) Program year--The
				  period from September 1 through August 31.
(20) Project Area--An area of critical need
				  designated by the State Board according to the criteria established in §
										517.25
				  of this subchapter.
(21) Project--A
				  watershed or portion of a watershed in which water supply enhancement
				  activities are performed.
(22)
				  Proposal--A request submitted by a SWCD or other political subdivision of the
				  State for state funds to be used in a watershed or portion of a watershed for
				  water supply enhancement activities.
(23) Soil and Water Conservation District,
				  herein referred to as SWCD--A government subdivision of this State and a public
				  body corporate and politic, organized pursuant to the Agriculture Code, Chapter
				  201.
(24) State Board--The Texas
				  State Soil and Water Conservation Board organized pursuant to the provisions of
				  the Agriculture Code, Chapter 201.
(25) Water Conservation--The process of
				  reducing water consumption and/or preventing future increases in water
				  consumption. As related to brush control, the process of reducing
				  water-consuming brush and subsequently, the enhancement of available water
				  resources.
(26) Water Supply
				  Enhancement Contract--A legally binding 10-year agreement between the applicant
				  and the State Board whereby the applicant agrees to implement all brush control
				  practice(s) for which cost-share is to be provided in accordance with standards
				  established by the State Board. Only practice(s) that the State Board has
				  approved and are included in an approved water supply enhancement plan are
				  eligible for inclusion in the water supply enhancement contract.
(27) Water Supply Enhancement--The
				  enhancement of available water resources through brush control.