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.