(a) The coastal protection and improvement fund shall be used only to make a qualified payment to a coastal county sponsoring a qualified project under this subchapter.
(b) The commissioner may make a qualified payment from the fund to a coastal county only if and to the extent that the coastal county is sponsoring a project that qualifies for funding as certified by the coastal county and the land office.

(c) The amount and timing of a qualified payment shall be determined by agreement between the land office and the coastal county sponsoring the project. The amount of a qualified payment may not exceed the estimated project costs.