(a) “Bond law” means the Water Conservation and Water Quality Bond Law of 1986 as set forth in chapter 6.1 of division 7 of the Water Code (commencing at section 13450), and the Water Conservation Bond Law of 1988 as set forth in chapter 4.7 of part 6 of division 6 of the Water Code (commencing at section 12879) and Local Projects, under the Safe, Clean, Reliable Water Supply Act, set forth in Article 4 of Chapter 6, Division 24 of the Water Code (commencing with section78680).

(b) “Applicant” means a public local agency or public agency as defined in the bond law which files an application for funding under the provisions of the bond law with the Department of Water Resources.

(c) “Ground water recharge project” means a project involving capital outlay expenditures to construct, expand, renovate or restructure land and facilities for artificial ground water recharge or in-lieu recharge, and may include the purchase of land or easements, but not the purchase of surface waters for use in lieu of pumping groundwater.

(d) “Water conservation project” means a project consisting of voluntary, cost-effective capital outlay water conservation programs as defined in the bond law.

(e) “Water supply project” means any canal, dam, reservoir, groundwater extraction facility or other construction or improvement, including rehabilitation of a dam for water supply purposes, by a local agency for the diversion, storage or distribution of water which will remedy existing water supply problems. This includes any such project for the storage or distribution of reclaimed water for reuse.

(f) “Local Project” means a project as defined in section 78680.4(b) of the water code.

(g) “Eligible project costs” means costs associated with (c), (d), (e), and (f), above that may be paid out of the proceeds of a loan made under the bond law. It includes the reasonable costs of engineering, land and easement acquisition, legal fees, preparation of the application to establish eligibility, preparation of environmental documentation, environmental mitigation, and construction. Costs incurred prior to applying for or entering into a contract for funding, including costs for a feasibility study, may be reimbursed from the loan proceeds at the Department's discretion.

Costs which are not eligible include:

(h) “Hydrogeologic feasibility” means a determination by a registered geologist that water placed in the ground water recharge facility will percolate to the aquifer intended to be recharged, and that water quality of that aquifer is compatible with the recharge water. For an in-lieu ground water recharge project, hydrogeologic feasibility means a determination by a registered geologist that the proposed operation will result in recharge of the aquifer.

(i) “Economic justification” means that the primary economic benefits of the project exceed the primary costs of the project.

(j) “Net water savings” means savings achieved by reducing water losses from already developed primary water sources, such as surface storage reservoirs or ground water.

(k) “Environmental documentation” means written documents prepared and filed in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (division 13, Public Resources Code commencing with section 21000), the State CEQA Guidelines (title 14, section 15000, et seq.), the National Environmental Policy Act (title 42, United States Code, commencing with section 4321), and all applicable regulations.

(l) “Engineering feasibility” means that the proposed project can be designed, constructed and operated to accomplish the purposes for which it is planned, and is planned in accordance with generally accepted engineering and environmental principles and concepts. Hydrologic studies and information on water rights and the sufficiency of water supply are essential to the determination of engineering feasibility.

(m) “Financial feasibility” means a determination by the Department that the applicant can complete the project, or feasibility study with the amount of funds requested in the funding application, and that the applicant has the ability to repay both the principal and interest on a loan over the designated repayment period. If the project or feasibility study cannot be completed within the amount of the funding requested, but the applicant can establish, to the department's satisfaction, that additional funds from other sources are available to complete the project or feasibility study and the applicant has the ability to repay all loans, whether from the Department or other sources; the Department may determine that the project, or feasibility study is financially feasible.

(n) “Overdraft” means that groundwater is being extracted from a basin at a projected long term average rate greater than the long term average recharge from natural and artificial sources, and that continuation of present water management practices would probably result in significant adverse overdraft related environmental, social and/or economic impacts.

(o) “Critical need” is the same as “urgency of need” and means physical and financial need for the project in the community. Physical need is determined by the general state of the water system, dependency on the water supply, water quality conditions and the availability of substitute supplies. Financial need is determined by the ability of an applicant to fund the project from other sources.

(p) “Water management program” means any formalized water management program, including relevant local land use, water management or general plans.

(q) “Statewide Interest” means the extent to which a project protects public or private property from damage, protects natural resources against loss or waste or fosters their conservation and proper use, or produces benefits that are disbursed generally throughout the community or project area.