WAC 173-170-020   Definitions.  (1) "Department" means the Washington state department of ecology.

     (2) "Agreement" means a binding legal document containing all applicable terms and conditions pertaining to loans and/or grants entered into under Referendum 38 which is signed by the program manager for the department's water resources program and by the duly authorized official of the applicant.

     (3) "Agricultural water supply facility" means a water supply and distribution system used for agricultural purposes and owned or operated by a public body, including but not limited to all equipment, utilities, structures, real property, and interests in and improvements on real property necessary for or incidental to the acquisition, construction, installation, or use of any such water supply or distribution system.

     (4) "Applicant" means the public body making a request for financial assistance under Referendum 38.

     (5) "Class A project" means a construction element associated with an agricultural water supply facility which:

     (a) Results in improved water use efficiency and/or quantitative water savings as determined by the department; and

     (b) Is one or more of the following: (i) Canal and lateral linings; (ii) piped conveyance and distribution system; (iii) consolidation and/or realignment of delivery systems; (iv) flow measuring devices, e.g., flow control devices; (v) entire structures/regulating structures (which are new or replace obsolete ones) including: (A) Checks, (B) checkdrops, (C) siphons, (D) turnouts, (E) flumes, (F) reregulation reservoirs; (vi) multiple use water storage dams and reservoirs; (vii) automation with central control of regulating structures including on-off control of pumping plants in canals and laterals; (viii) new booster pumps for pressurized systems; (ix) project pumping plants;

     (c) In the event there are technological advances that increase water use efficiency and/or result in significant water savings that are not described in (a) of this subsection, such project element(s) will be evaluated as a Class A project by the department.

     (6) "Class B project" means a construction element associated with an agricultural water supply facility which:

     (a) Does not contribute to quantitative water savings as determined by the department; and

     (b) Is one or more of the following: (i) In-line water withdrawal pumping plant; (ii) well drilling, well pumps; (iii) diversion dams; (iv) replacement, rehabilitation, or improvement of in-line booster pump(s); (v) rehabilitation or improvement of storage dam(s) or part(s) thereof.

     (7) "Emergency project" means a capital improvement construction element to repair, due to natural causes (except drought), water supply, diversion or conveyance facilities, which is necessary to prevent unsafe conditions or ensure the continued delivery or conveyance of water in the agricultural water supply system.

     (8) "Financial assistance" means grants and loans as authorized by chapter 43.99E RCW, Referendum 38.

     (9) "Fisheries facility" means a construction element associated with an agricultural water supply facility which:

     (a) Is identified as an integral element of a project for the construction, rehabilitation, and/or improvement of an agricultural water supply facility; and

     (b) Will provide recognized benefits to the anadromous and/or resident fish species of the state.

     (10) "Implementation phase" means the acquisition, design, construction, and improvement of agricultural water supply facilities within an irrigation district or a specific area or drainage basin for storing, diverting, transporting, or distributing water to land for irrigation and for protecting and enhancing fisheries, recreational, or other beneficial uses that may be associated with such facilities.

     (11) "Local clearinghouse" means the county or regional comprehensive planning agency designated to serve as a coordinating office for certain local areas. A list of clearinghouses is available from the department. The local clearinghouses review proposed projects for conformance to regional plans, ask for comments from other agencies, and relay these remarks back to the applicant. This process helps assure that policies and comprehensive plans of cities, counties, or regions will be followed.

     (12) "Payment schedule" means the due dates for loan payments and any interest thereon, as included in the loan agreement.

     (13) "Planning phase" means the preparation of a comprehensive water conservation plan which conforms with WAC 173-170-060, which covers the applicant's entire jurisdiction and service area.

     (14) "Plans and specifications" means engineering information and calculations to support the project and construction drawings with necessary engineering detail of the project and complete material specifications and standards to support the drawings and project. These will be prepared in sufficient detail and, upon approval by the department, become part of the bid documents which allow contractors to bid on and construct agricultural water supply facilities or attendant fisheries facilities or recreational facilities or a portion thereof.

     (15) "Public body" means the state of Washington or any agency, political subdivision, taxing district, or municipal or public corporation thereof; an agency of the federal government; and those Indian tribes which may constitutionally receive grants or loans from the state of Washington.

     (16) "Recreational facility" means a water and/or water-associated system which:

     (a) Is identified as an integral element of an agricultural water supply facility; and

     (b) Will provide recognized benefits for human use and recreation through fishing, boating, water skiing, swimming, rafting, picnicking, and/or camping.

     (17) "Referendum 38" means the grant and loan financial assistance program and its procedures, which pertain to agricultural water supply facilities alone or in combination with fishery, recreational, or other beneficial uses of water, as authorized in chapter 43.99E RCW.

     (18) "Request for financial assistance" means the formal application packet, as described in WAC 173-170-030 and 173-170-060, submitted to the department requesting grant and/or loan funds to accomplish an eligible project.

     (19) "Water use efficiency elements" means those implementation projects or portions thereof which result in reduced operational and conveyance losses and improved delivery of requisite amounts of water to farms within the limits of the pertinent water right permit or certificate.

     (20) "Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project" (YRBWEP) is a federal, tribal, state and local cooperative program for improving water supply, habitat and stream flow conditions in the Yakima River Basin of Washington. The project was originally authorized by Congress in 1979 with subsequent implementing legislation being passed in 1984 for fish passage improvements and in 1994 for water conservation and related elements.



[Statutory Authority: Chapter 43.99E RCW, Referendum 38, and RCW 90.54.040. 03-07-104 (Order 02-11), § 173-170-020, filed 3/19/03, effective 4/19/03. Statutory Authority: RCW 43.17.060. 90-20-109, § 173-170-020, filed 10/2/90, effective 11/2/90.]