The following words and phrases used in this chapter, and others evidently intended as the equivalent thereof, shall, in the absence of clear implication herein otherwise, have the following respective meanings:

(1) ALLOCATED FUNDS. That portion of the funds appropriated to the commission that are allocated by the commission to the soil and water conservation district in each county of the state.

(2) AUTHORIZED INVESTMENTS. Bonds or other obligations of, or guaranteed by, the United States of America or the state, or interest bearing bank and savings and loan association deposits or obligations, obligations of any agency of the United States of America, any obligations in which a state chartered savings and loan association may invest its funds, any agreement to repurchase any of the foregoing, or any thereof.

(3) COMMISSION. The Alabama Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission organized pursuant to the provisions of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, as amended, and this chapter.

(4) COST-SHARE GRANT. An award of money made pursuant to the terms of this chapter with no requirement that such money be repaid except in the events outlined herein.

(5) ELIGIBLE LAND:

a. Privately-owned land within the state;

b. Land owned by the state or a political subdivision of the state;

c. Lands owned by corporations which are partly owned by the United States;

d. Lands temporarily owned by the United States or a corporation wholly owned by it, which were not acquired or reserved for conservation purposes, including lands administered by the Farmers Home Administration, the U.S. Department of Defense, or by any other government agency;

e. Any cropland farmed by private persons which is owned by the United States or a corporation wholly owned by it;

f. Noncropland owned by the United States on which practices are performed by private persons where such practices directly conserve or benefit nearby or adjoining privately-owned lands of the persons performing the practices and such persons maintain and use such federally-owned noncropland under agreement with the federal agency having jurisdiction thereof.

(6) ELIGIBLE PERSON. An individual, partnership, family-owned corporation the owners of all the stock of which are related by blood or marriage, estate, or trust who, as an owner, landlord, lessee, tenant or sharecropper, participates in the operation of (1) a farm lying within a soil and water conservation district, or (2) a tract of land devoted to the growth of timber lying within a soil and water conservation district.

(7) GOVERNOR. The Governor of the state.

(8) LANDOWNER. Any person, firm, or corporation holding title to land lying within a soil and water conservation district.

(9) PROGRAM YEAR. The period from October 1 to September 30.

(10) SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT. A governmental subdivision of this state and a public body corporate and politic organized pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 8 of Title 9.

(11) SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION PRACTICES. The measures approved by the commission and applied to the land that prevent soil erosion in the state or improve the quality of water from agricultural sources in the state or improve the forest resources of the state.

(12) STATE. The State of Alabama.

(13) STATE SOIL AND WATER CONSERVATION COMMITTEE. The agency of the state established and existing pursuant to Section 9-8-22.

(14) HEREIN, HEREBY, HEREUNDER, HEREOF, and other equivalent words refer to this chapter as an entirety and not solely to the particular section or portion thereof in which any such word is used. Where used in the chapter, words in the present tense shall be construed to include the future tense, the singular shall be construed to include the plural and the plural shall be construed to include the singular, and nouns and pronouns shall be construed to include all genders.

A qualified technician of, or technician designated by, the soil and water conservation district in which a particular project is located shall design and lay out proposed soil and water conservation practices for which allocated funds have been obligated. Such technician shall be responsible for determining compliance with applicable design standards and specifications.

As a condition for receipt of a cost-share grant of allocated funds for soil and water conservation practices, the eligible person receiving the benefit of such grant shall agree to maintain those practices for the expected life of the practice as established by the commission and outlined in the applicable conservation plan. Agreement to maintain practices for which allocated funds are being paid shall be accomplished by completing and signing a maintenance agreement. Specific conditions of the maintenance agreement shall be detailed on a form specified by the commission, and may include provisions for repayment of cost-share grants. Completion of the form and signature of the eligible person is required prior to transfer of the payment from the district to the recipient.

Agreements to perform soil and water conservation practices for which allocated funds are being paid shall be by completing and signing a performance agreement. Specific conditions of the performance agreement shall be detailed on a form specified by the commission. Completion of the form and signature of the eligible person is required prior to transfer of the payment from the district to the recipient(s).

The soil and water conservation district shall establish and maintain in the case file the maintenance agreement and any amendments to the maintenance agreement. The maintenance agreements shall be accessible for review by the public. The soil and water conservation district shall also establish and maintain in the case file any performance agreement and amendment to performance agreement. The case file shall be accessible for review by the public.

In the event that adjustment to the project cost estimate is necessitated by the final design, the applicant shall either agree to assume the additional cost or complete and submit amendment to application for allocated funds to the district for approval or denial by the district.

The soil and water conservation district shall adjust the amount of allocated funds obligated for the project or secure adjusted obligation from the commission for funds obligated by the commission. In the event that additional funds are not available, the project may be redesigned, if possible, to a level commensurate with available allocated funds, provided the redesign still meets standards established by the commission, or the applicant can agree to assume full financial responsibility for the portion of the project cost in excess of the amount obligated.

The successful applicant shall be responsible for securing any contractor(s) needed and for all contractual or other agreements necessary to construct or perform the approved practice(s). The designated technician will determine if the completed practice is in compliance with applicable standards and specifications. The designated technician shall attest to completion and compliance to the standards by completing and signing a certification of practice quantities and cost. The completed certification will be retained in the district case file for the appropriate landowner.

A seller of agricultural or timber land with respect to which a maintenance agreement is in effect may request the soil and water conservation district to inspect the practices. If the practices have not been removed, altered, or modified, the district shall issue a written statement that the seller has satisfactorily maintained the permanent practice as of the date of the statement.

The buyer of lands covered by a maintenance agreement may also request that the district inspect the lands to determine whether any practice has been removed, altered, or modified as of the date of the inspection. If so, the district will provide the buyer with a statement specifying the extent of noncompliance as of the date of the statement. The seller and the buyer, if known, shall be given notice of the time of inspection so that they may be present during the inspection to express their views as to compliance.

Since appropriations made by the Legislature to the commission are anticipated to be made to the commission with respect to each fiscal year, each soil and water conservation district committee will maintain separate control ledgers and prepare separate reports of work accomplished with allocated funds for each fiscal year. The district supervisor will submit a monthly report to the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee indicating the unobligated balance of allocated funds as shown on each ledger at the close of the last day of each month. Quarterly compilation of the reports shall be submitted by the state to the commission. The districts will also submit through the state committee an annual progress report to the commission. These reports will reflect accomplishments 'to date' by program year funds. Annual reports shall be submitted to the commission on or before November 4 each year.

Each district will, based on estimated cost, maintain a record of allocated funds obligated for approved applications.

The property and income of the commission, conveyances by or to the commission, and leases, mortgages and deeds of trust or trust indentures by or to the commission shall be exempt from all taxation in the state. The commission shall be exempt from all taxes levied by any county, municipality or other political subdivision of the state, including, but without limitation license and excise taxes imposed in respect of the privilege of engaging in any of the activities in which the commission may engage. Nothing in this section shall be construed to exempt any private person, firm or corporation from payment of any ad valorem, mortgage or deed taxes or recording fees notwithstanding the fact that the commission shall have acquired an interest in the property or instrument subject to such taxes or fees.

The gross income for Alabama income tax purposes of an eligible person receiving a cost-share grant from the commission pursuant to this chapter shall not include the amount of such cost-share grant. The commission shall take such steps as may be necessary to qualify the cost-share grant program provided herein with the United States Secretary of the Treasury and the United States Secretary of Agriculture as a program qualifying under Section 126(a)(10) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended.

This chapter is intended to aid the state through the furtherance of the purposes of the chapter by providing an appropriate and independent instrumentality of the state with full and adequate powers to fulfill its functions. Except as expressly provided in this chapter, no proceeding, notice or approval shall be required for the incorporation of the commission, or the exercise of any of its powers by the commission. The provisions of the Alabama Administrative Procedure Act shall not be applicable to the commission or to the promulgation of its rules and regulations.

The commission shall be a political subdivision of the state and no part of its net earnings remaining after payment of its expenses shall inure to the benefit of any individual, firm or corporation, except through the cost-share grants herein provided for.

It is hereby found and declared to be the policy of the state to provide for the restoration and conservation of the soil resources of this state, to provide for the improvement of water used in agriculture, and for the control and prevention of soil erosion and for the prevention of floodwater and sediment damages, and for the establishment or improvement of stands of forest trees, all of which will preserve natural resources, control floods, prevent impairment of dams and reservoirs, preserve wildlife, protect the tax base, protect public lands and promote the health, safety and public welfare of the citizens of the state. It is further declared that at the present time, due to cutbacks in federal soil conservation and reforestation programs there exists an inadequate supply of funds in the state to enable the financing of much needed soil conservation, agricultural water quality and forestry improvement programs; that the inability to finance such programs impedes the economic and physical development of the state, adversely affects the welfare and prosperity of all of the people of the state and accordingly creates and fosters conditions adverse to the general health and welfare of the citizens of the state; and that the making available in the manner provided in this chapter of appropriated moneys to assist the financing of much needed soil conservation, agricultural water and forestry improvement programs will result in the alleviation or reduction of the adverse consequences which have resulted.

(a) The members of the commission shall consist of the Governor; the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries; the President of the Alabama Farmers Federation; the President of the Alabama Cattlemen's Association; the Chair of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee; a member of the Alabama Forestry Commission designated by the Governor; the President of the Alabama Association of Conservation Districts; and two citizens of the state of good reputation who are active farmers or timberland owners or involved in environmental protection appointed by the Governor. Each voting member of the commission, except the two citizens appointed by the Governor, may appoint a designee to represent him or her at all commission meetings. The members of the commission may request that a member replace his or her designee if the designee has been absent from three or more consecutive meetings without good cause. The Chair of the Senate Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, the Chair of the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee, two members of the House, and two members of the Senate appointed by the Speaker of the House and the Lieutenant Governor, respectively, shall also serve as nonvoting ex officio members of the commission and as an oversight committee to review and report to the Legislature respecting the programs and activities of the commission. The members of the commission appointed by the Governor shall be appointed at the beginning of each organizational session of the Legislature to serve until the next organizational session of the Legislature; provided, however, that the initial appointed members will be appointed promptly following ratification by the qualified electors of the state of the amendment to the Constitution of Alabama of 1901 that was proposed by House Bill 10 introduced at that special session of the Legislature that convened on January 23, 1985. Each member shall hold office for the term of his or her appointment, if he or she is appointed, or as long as he or she serves in one of the positions listed above, and until his or her successor shall have been appointed and qualified.

(b) The Governor shall serve as chair of the commission and the commission shall elect from among its members a vice-chair, a secretary, and such other officers as it may determine. The State Treasurer of Alabama shall serve as treasurer of the commission.

(c) If at any time there is a vacancy among the appointed members of the commission, a successor member shall be appointed to serve for the unexpired term applicable to the vacancy. The appointment of each appointed member of the commission, other than those initially appointed, whether for a full term or to complete an unexpired term, shall be made by the same officer of the state who appointed the member of the commission whose term has expired or is to expire or in whose position on the commission the vacancy otherwise exists. The appointment shall be made not earlier than 30 days prior to the date on which the member of the commission is to take office. Each appointed member of the commission shall hold office from the effective date of his or her appointment until the expiration of the term, or portion thereof, for which he or she was appointed, and if the term of any member of the commission expires prior to the reappointment of the member of the commission or prior to the appointment of his or her successor, the member of the commission shall continue to serve until his or her successor is appointed, and if the member of the commission is reappointed for a new term after the expiration of the immediately preceding term which he or she has been serving, his or her new term of office shall be deemed to have commenced at noon on the date on which the immediately preceding term shall have expired. Members of the commission shall be eligible for reappointment without limit as to the number of terms previously served.

(d) Each member of the commission shall, at the time of his or her appointment or otherwise becoming a member and at all times during his or her term of office, be a qualified elector of the state, and a failure by any member of the commission to remain so qualified during the term shall cause a vacancy of the office of the member of the commission. Any member of the commission may be impeached and removed from office as a member of the commission in the same manner and on the same grounds provided in Section 173 of the Constitution of Alabama of 1901, or successor provision thereof, and the general laws of the state for impeachment and removal of the officers of the state subject to Section 173 or successor provision thereof. The Governor and the Commissioner of Agriculture and Industries may not be impeached and removed from office as members of the commission apart from their impeachment and removal from the respective offices by virtue of which, ex officio, they serve as members of the commission.

(e) Regular meetings of the commission shall be held at the time and place fixed by resolution or by law of the commission. Special meetings of the commission shall be held at the call of the chair or whenever three members of the commission so request, in each case upon two days' notice to each member of the commission given in person or by registered letter or telegram. The notice to each member of the commission may be waived by the member of the commission, either before or after the meeting with respect to which notice would otherwise be required. A majority of the voting members of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, and decisions shall be made and resolutions adopted on the basis of a majority of the quorum then present and voting, with each voting member of the commission having a single vote. No vacancy in the membership of the commission or the voluntary disqualification or abstention of any member of the commission shall impair the right of a quorum to exercise all of the powers and duties of the commission. No member or officer of the commission shall receive any salary therefor, but may be reimbursed for necessary travel and the reasonable expenses of performing the duties of office. All proceedings of the commission shall be reduced to writing by the secretary, signed by the chair and at least three members of the commission, recorded in a substantially bound book, and filed in the office of the commission. All proceedings of the commission shall be open to the public, except that executive or secret sessions may be held when the character or good name of a person is involved, and all records of the commission shall be subject to public inspection during business hours. Copies of the proceedings, when certified by the secretary under the seal of the commission, shall be received in all courts as prima facie evidence of the matters and things therein certified.

(f) No member, office, or employee of the commission shall be personally liable for the obligations or acts of the commission.

(a) There is hereby established the Alabama Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission Revolving Fund to consist of all moneys received by the commission from legislative appropriations or from any other source, including any and all interest earned from such funds. Any funds remaining in the Alabama Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission Fund at the end of any fiscal year shall remain in said fund and is hereby reappropriated to the commission in each subsequent year.

(b) The state Budget Officer shall allocate to the commission its entire state appropriation for any fiscal year prior to January 2 of that fiscal year.

(c) The commission is hereby authorized to expend funds in the Alabama Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission Revolving Fund to pay expenses of the commission, to pay salaries of any personnel employed or contracted with by the commission, to reimburse the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee for expenditures and expenses incurred in its support of the Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission, to support the operations of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, and to perform any other legitimate power of the commission. The remainder of funds may be allocated to the soil and water conservation districts in the manner prescribed in Section 9-8A-5.

The commission shall have the following powers:

(1) To have succession by its corporate name until it shall have been dissolved as provided herein;

(2) To sue and be sued and to prosecute and defend in any court having jurisdiction of the subject matter and of the parties thereof;

(3) To adopt and use a seal and to alter the seal at pleasure;

(4) To designate and maintain a principal office in the City of Montgomery;

(5) To adopt, and from time to time amend and repeal, bylaws and rules and regulations, not inconsistent with this chapter, to carry into effect the powers and purposes of the commission in the conduct of its business;

(6) To allocate funds through the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee to the soil and water conservation districts of the state for use by them in making cost-share grants and approving technical assistance to eligible persons as provided herein;

(7) To appoint, employ, contract with, and provide for the compensation of, such employees, attorneys, fiscal advisers, technical personnel and agents as the business of the commission may require;

(8) To establish, with the advice of the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, standards and specifications for soil and water conservation practices eligible for cost-share grants of allocated funds;

(9) To designate, delegate and assign to the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee any clerical, administrative and record-keeping responsibilities required in carrying out the purposes of this chapter that the commission may designate;

(10) To invest in authorized investments any funds of the commission that the commission may determine are not presently needed for other uses, purposes or functions of the commission;

(11) To enter into a management agreement or agreements with any person, firm, corporation or other state agency for the performance by said person, firm, corporation or other state agency for the commission of any of its delegable functions or powers upon such terms and conditions as may be mutually agreeable;

(12) To sell, exchange and convey any or all of its properties whenever the commission shall find any such action to be in furtherance of the purposes for which the commission was organized;

(13) To establish a private endowment fund. The commission may receive and accept from any source gifts, grants and contributions of money. Said money shall be deposited as part of the corpus of the private endowment fund and invested by the commission. The commission shall not allocate any of the corpus of said private endowment fund but shall be authorized to distribute the interest earned by the fund to the cost-share grant program. Appropriations of the Legislature shall not be considered funds which are required to be placed in the private endowment fund; and

(14) To make, enter and execute such contracts, agreements, leases and other instruments and to take such other actions as may be necessary or desirable to accomplish any purpose for which the commission is organized or to exercise any power granted hereunder.

(a) Funds allocated to the soil and water conservation districts by the commission shall be used only to pay the costs of installing soil and water conservation practices of the types listed in Section 9-8A-7. Soil and water conservation district supervisors shall designate which soil and water conservation practices will be eligible for cost-share grants in their district, subject to approval by the Agricultural and Conservation Development Commission. The commission will, through the State Soil and Water Conservation Committee, allocate any available appropriations and other moneys received by the commission for cost-share grants to the soil and water conservation districts in steps identified as original allocation, reversion of allocated funds, and reallocation of reverted funds.

(b) Original allocation. The commission will allocate funds to the state's 67 soil and water conservation districts at the beginning of each fiscal year following June 4, 1985, in accordance with formulas established by the commission taking into account the percentage of the state's highly erosive areas in, the reforestation needs and the agricultural water pollution problems of, each soil and water conservation district in the state, subject to a minimum base allocation of 1 percent of available funds for each soil and water conservation district. The minimum is imposed to assure that each district receives an allocation that will allow a workable program.

(c) Reversion of allocated funds. Any allocated funds allocated in a fiscal year that the soil and water conservation districts have not obligated by March 1 of that fiscal year, and any allocated funds that were obligated during the previous year for projects respecting which disbursements have not been begun by March 1 will revert to the commission for reallocation.

(d) Reallocation of reverted funds. The soil and water conservation districts shall submit requests for reallocation of reverted funds identifying valid applications and cost estimates, if any, to the commission by February 1 of each year. The allocation to any district will be the lesser of:

(1) The amount of available moneys less reserve fund divided by the number of districts applying for a reallocation, or

(2) The amount requested.

(e) Reserve funds. The commission shall administer a reserve fund for each program year that shall not exceed $10,000.00 to be set aside and used only to meet contingencies that occur in the districts or within the commission. Each time a reallocation is made to the districts an allocation will be made to the reserve fund if necessary to return the reserve fund balance to the appropriate level.

In order to qualify for a cost-share grant, an eligible person shall file, accompanied by the applications specified in this section, a conservation plan approved by the soil and water conservation district in which the eligible person's eligible land is located. Cost-share grants shall be available only with respect to those soil and water conservation practices determined to be needed by the soil conservation district to reduce erosion, improve agricultural water quality and improve forest resources in the district. Such determination of need shall be made by a qualified soil and water conservation or forestry technician. All application forms and agreements for allocated funds shall be available from and completed forms shall be submitted to the local soil and water conservation district office located in the county where such practices are proposed to be implemented. If an applicant's land is in more than one soil and water conservation district, the respective district committees will review the application and agree to obligate all funds from one district or prorate the funding between districts. All applications and agreements shall be signed by the eligible person unless a power of attorney has been obtained. Applications and agreements may be signed by any person designated to represent the eligible person, provided an appropriate power of attorney has been filed with the soil and water conservation district office. The power of attorney requirement may be met by submitting a properly executed and notarized durable power of attorney to the soil and water conservation district office. In the case of estates, letters of administration or letters testamentary designating the responsible person or administrator may be submitted to the district in lieu of a power of attorney.

The following soil and water conservation practices shall be eligible for cost-share grants of the allocated funds:

(1) REDUCED TILLAGE SYSTEMS. Reduced tillage practices, used in conjunction with row crop production to reduce sediment damage and soil depletion caused by wind or water, including planting of seasonal noncash cover crops.

(2) NO-TILL SYSTEMS. A form of noninversion tillage that retains protective amounts of residue on the surface throughout the year.

(3) CRITICAL AREA PLANTINGS. stablishment of vegetative planting to control sediment movement from severely eroding areas by stabilizing the soil. These plantings would include vegetation such as trees, shrubs, vines, grasses or legumes.

(4) DIVERSIONS. A channel with a supporting ridge on the lower side constructed across the slope to conduct excess runoff water to a suitable outlet.

(5) FIELD WINDBREAKS. A strip or belt of trees or shrubs established within or adjacent to a field to reduce sediment damage and soil depletion caused by wind.

(6) GRADE STABILIZATION STRUCTURES. An earthen dam or embankment with a mechanical outlet (pipe conduit, drop spillway or chute outlet) to stabilize the flowing grade or control head cutting in a natural or constructed channel.

(7) GRASS STRIPS. A strip of close-growing perennial vegetation within or adjacent to a field to reduce sediment damage and soil depletion caused by wind.

(8) GRASSED WATERWAY or OUTLETS. A natural or constructed waterway or outlet, shaped and graded on which suitable vegetation is established, to conduct excess surface runoff water from terraces, diversions or natural watershed basins.

(9) PASTURE AND HAYLAND PLANTINGS. The establishment of long-term stands of adapted species of perennial forage plants, to control excessive water erosion, by converting land from row crop production to permanent vegetative cover.

(10) TERRACES. An earthen barrier or embankment constructed across the field slope using a combination of a ridge and channel to reduce field erosion, and trap sediment. Types of terraces commonly referenced to as broad based, narrow based, grassed backslope, basin, level, gradient and parallel are eligible for allocated funds.

(11) UNDERGROUND OUTLETS. A conduit installed beneath the ground surface to collect surface water from terraces, diversions, water and sediment basins, and convey the water to a suitable outlet.

(12) WATER AND SEDIMENT CONTROL BASINS. A short earthen embankment with an underground outlet, constructed across the slope in minor watercourses to reduce erosion and trap sediment.

(13) WATERSHED AND LAGOON PROJECTS.

(14) REFORESTATION of unproductive or highly erodable lands.

(15) ESTABLISHMENT AND IMPROVEMENT OF TREE NURSERIES and cultivation and protection of permanent forest stands and of seedlings for use in reforestation projects.

(16) ANIMAL WASTE CONTROL FACILITIES. A facility for storing and handling livestock and poultry waste and controlling surface run-off water to permit the recycling of animal waste onto the land in a manner that will abate pollution that would otherwise result from existing livestock or poultry operations.

(17) OTHER PRACTICES conducive to soil and water conservation in the state as approved by the commission.

Allocated funds shall not be used to reimburse other units of government for implementing soil and water conservation practices. Privately-owned land not used for agricultural or timber production shall not qualify for allocated funds. Tracts of land used for agricultural or timber production smaller than 20 acres in size from which less than $1,000.00 of agricultural products are sold annually shall not qualify for allocated funds.

Applicants for cost-share grants for soil and water conservation practices shall complete and submit an application for allocated funds as described herein to the soil and water conservation district office located in their counties. Assistance in completing the form shall be made available from technical personnel of the soil and water conservation district office. Applicants shall specify the anticipated total cost of the practice to be implemented and the percentage, if any, of such cost which the applicant proposes to bear, which percentage shall not be less than the minimum specified by the commission for cost-share grants to assist in implementation of the particular practice.

Applications for allocated funds which are denied by the soil and water conservation district supervisors shall be retained in the district to the end of the program year. Written notification of the denial shall be provided to the applicant along with the reason(s) that the application was denied. Application denial as used herein refers to those applications which cannot be approved for reasons other than lack of allocated funds.

Those applications that meet the eligibility requirements will be given initial approval by the soil and water conservation district. The applications that have received initial approval by the district shall be evaluated under the priority system adopted by the district for disbursement of allocated funds. The high priority applications that can possibly be funded by the district's allocated funds will be identified, and successful applicants may be requested to provide such additional information as the supervisors may specify in order to assist the district supervisors in determining proper priority of the various applications.

Upon receipt of such additional information as may be requested, the soil and water conservation district supervisor, in accordance with guidelines developed by the commission, may give the application final approval and obligate allocated funds for the project in the amount of the project cost estimate identified on the application. Following approval of an application, the district supervisor may obligate allocated funds for the project or, as appropriate, secure obligation of funds from the commission for the amount of the project cost estimate identified on the application. In those cases where funds are not available, the application will be held by the soil and water conservation district until allocated funds become available or until the end of the program year. Upon obligation of allocated funds the soil and water conservation district shall notify the applicant.

An application may be withdrawn by the applicant at any time prior to receipt of cost-share grant by notifying the district in writing that withdrawal is desired. Applications withdrawn by the applicant shall be retained in the records of the district until the end of the program year.

A case file shall be assembled and maintained for each application approved. The file will contain the approved application for allocated funds, any amendment to application for allocated funds; a copy of the estimated cost sheet; certification of practice quantities and cost, voucher and bills or receipts; receipt of payment, maintenance agreement, or performance agreement; a map and legal description locating the practice. Case files shall be filed by program year.

The commission shall establish the minimum cost-share grant from year to year that may be made under the program and the maximum cost-share grant that an eligible person may receive under the program in any one program year. There shall be no limit to the number of cost-share grants an applicant can receive.