Definitions

PURPOSE: This rule provides a legal description of terms used throughout Division 70. (1) Definitions. (A) Act means the Missouri Soil and Water Conservation Districts Law; (B) Commission or Soil and Water Districts Commission or State Soil and Water Districts Commission means the agency created by section 278.080, RSMo for the administration of the soil and water conservation districts provided for by the Act; (C) Conservation plan means the properly recorded decisions of the cooperating landowner on how the landowner plans, within practical limits, to use land in an operating unit within its capabilities and to treat it according to its needs for maintenance or improvement of the soil, water, and other related resources; (D) Cost-Share Program means the Missouri State Soil and Water Conservation Cost-Share Program created by the Missouri State Soil and Water Conservation Districts Act, Chapter 278, RSMo; (E) District means a soil and water conservation district as defined in section 278.070(4), RSMo; (F) District board or board or board of supervisors means the local governing body of a soil and water conservation district elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of the Act; (G) Eligible practice means a soil and water conservation practice designated as eligible for state cost-share funds by the commission in accordance with 10 CSR 705.020(1); (H) Farm means land which has been assigned a United States Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency (FSA) farm number or assessed as agricultural land by the county assessor where agriculture activities are normally performed and from which one thousand dollars ($1000) or more of agriculture products are normally sold in a year; (I) Land representative means the owner or representative authorized by power of attorney of any farm lying within an area proposed to be established, and subsequently established, as a soil and water conservation district under Chapter 278, RSMo. Each farm is entitled to representation by a land representative; provided, however, that the land representative is a taxpayer of the county within which the soil and water district is located; (J) Landowner means any person, firm, or corporation holding title to any lands lying within a district organized or to be organized under the provisions of Chapter 278, RSMo. Any landowner may be represented by notarized power of attorney not more than one (1) year old. The term operator may be used interchangeably with landowner only for Chapter 5. The operator is the principal person who runs a farm by conducting or supervising the work, making day-to-day management decisions, and incurring expenses for applying or implementing conservation practices. The operator may be a landowner, tenant, lessee, or sublessee; (K) NRCS means the United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service; (L) Participating district means a soil and water conservation district which is a party to a memorandum of understanding or a cooperative working agreement as determined by the commission, which is entered into in accordance with 10 CSR 70-5.010(1); (M) Practice means any individual structure, conservation measure, or operation which constitutes a viable method of erosion abatement, sediment control, or protection of water quality; (N) State cost-share funds means funds available through the Missouri State Soil and Water Conservation Cost-Share Program; and (O) Technician means a person recognized by the commission as demonstrating acceptable technical knowledge and skills to evaluate and verify whether conservation practices meet required standards and specifications. AUTHORITY: Chapter 278, RSMo 2016 and RSMo Supp. 2018.* Original rule filed Aug. 12, 1980, effective Jan. 1, 1981. Amended: Filed Dec. 14, 1982, effective April 11, 1983. Amended: Filed May 23, 2018, effective Jan. 30, 2019. *Original authority: Chapter 278, RSMo (see Revised Statutes of Missouri).