PURPOSE: This rule establishes guidelines for the administration of the Cost- Share Program by the participating districts.

1. (1) Application. This rule shall apply only to districts which have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the commission agreeing to assist the commission in the administration of the Cost-Share Program and to applicants having active conservation plans as required by 10 CSR 70-5.010(1) as approved by the district and to eligible practices covered by the conservation plan.
2. (2) Board Action on Applications. The board of supervisors shall review the cost-share assistance application and any amendments and shall approve or disapprove each application or amendment. The action shall be recorded in the official minutes of the district meeting and the landowners shall be notified of the action within ten (10) days. The board at this time also shall determine the amount of funding under 10 CSR 70-5.020(3). Special circumstances may arise where board approval for cost-share assistance is needed before the next monthly board meeting. In those cases, the board shall establish specific criteria by which any board member may approve that action. All those approvals shall be reviewed at the next board meeting and recorded in the official minutes of the district meeting. Applications for cost-share assistance may be approved by the board only when there is a sufficient unobligated fund balance to provide the estimated cost-share amount based upon the actual cost information available to the district. The board shall not approve any application for cost-share assistance on which the construction or implementation of projects or practices has begun.
3. (3) Recordkeeping. The district shall maintain a record of funds obligated as applications for cost-share assistance are approved based upon estimated costs. A cost-share ledger will be kept current showing the balance of unobligated funds and other information as the commission determines is necessary to provide for proper documentation of all expenditures from the Cost-Share Program.
4. (4) District Review of Claim for Payment. Upon completion of an approved practice, the district shall review the claim for payment prepared by the landowner in accordance with 10 CSR 70-5.040(4) and, if it finds that the practice was installed properly, that all other conditions have been satisfied and that the claim has been completed properly and is accompanied by all required supporting documentation, shall approve the claim for payment. If the district determines that the claim is prepared improperly, or that other deficiencies exist, it shall so notify the landowner and shall provide the landowner with a reasonable opportunity to correct the deficiencies and to resubmit the claim for payment.
5. (5) District Assistance to Landowner. The district shall provide assistance as it considers appropriate to the landowner in the completion of necessary forms and any other Cost- Share Program matters.
6. (6) Filing System. To provide for efficient processing of requests for cost-sharing assistance and for maintenance of necessary documentation of matters relating to the administration of the Cost-Share Program, the district shall develop and maintain with the assistance of the commission, a filing system which includes copies of all forms completed by the landowner and all other information considered relevant to the construction of the eligible practices and to the cost-sharing assistance provided. The files shall be available for inspection by the personnel of the commission and by representatives of the state auditor’s office during normal business hours of the district.
7. (7) Quarterly Reports. The district, no later than the tenth day of October, January, April and July of each state fiscal year, shall submit a report to the commission indicating the status of cost-share funds as shown on each district cost-share ledger required by section (3) at the close of the last day of the preceding month.

8. (8) Delegation of Responsibilities by the Board. The commission shall be notified in writing of any delegation of responsibilities. The board of supervisors may delegate any of the authorities and responsibilities assigned to it by these rules to a member or subcommittee of the board, except—

   1. (A) Establishment of preferred practices in accordance with 10 CSR 70-5.020(1);
   2. (B) Establishment of cost-sharing dollar amounts under 10 CSR 70-5.020(3);
   3. (C) Application amendment determination as specified in 10 CSR 70-5.030(6); and
   4. (D) Application and claim for payment approval in accordance with this rule.

9. (9) Regardless of the source of funding, each district board of supervisors is authorized to deny any application for participation in any program generally available through the district which is administered by the State Soil and Water Districts Commission. The district board of supervisors shall notify the applicant of the denial by certified mail, return receipt requested. The applicant may request the Soil and Water Districts Commission to conduct a review of his/her application. The request must be in writing and be directed to the Soil and Water Districts Commission, P.O. Box 176, Jefferson City, MO 65102-0176. The request must be received by the commission no later than thirty (30) days from the date the applicant received the denial letter from the district board. The applicant, upon request, may appear before the commission in person, by a representative or in writing. The commission shall schedule the review of the application at a regularly scheduled meeting of the commission within one hundred twenty (120) days of the district board’s denial. The commission shall give the applicant at least twenty (20) days’ notice by letter of the regularly scheduled meeting when the commission will review the application.

   Authority:: sections 278.070, 278.080 and 278.110, RSMo (1986).* Original rule filed Aug. 12, 1980, effective Jan. 1, 1981. Amended: Filed Dec. 14, 1982, effective April 11, 1983. Amended: Filed Oct. 13, 1983, effective Feb. 13, 1984. Amended: Filed May 2, 1990, effective Sept. 28, 1990. Emergency amendment filed March 9, 1992, effective March 19, 1992, expired July 16, 1992. Amended: Filed Nov. 15, 1991, effective April 9, 1992.

   *Original authority: 278.070, RSMo (1943), amended 1961, 1969, 1980; 278.080, RSMo (1943), amended 1961, 1980, 1986; and 278.110, RSMo (1943), amended 1961, 1980.