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.

Source Note: The provisions of this §517.23 adopted to be effective February 13, 2003, 28 TexReg 1209; amended to be effective March 21, 2004, 29 TexReg 2651; amended to be effective April 16, 2012, 37 TexReg 2679; amended to be effective September 8, 2014, 39 TexReg 7173