(a) “Bioengineering” is the use of horticultural and landscape planting techniques with living materials, in conjunction with grading, earth moving and conventional soil stabilization structures, to produce a self-repairing, low-cost composite bank or channel.

(b) “Citizens' Group” is an organization of the public which has no official governmental status, including but not limited to clubs, societies, neighborhood organizations, advisory councils, and non-profit local community conservation corps and other non-profit organizations.

(c) “Co-sponsor” means a local agency involved in planning, flood control or waterway management or an individual or citizens' group interested in floodplain management and stream restoration which, jointly with the sponsor, supports and actively participates in a project. There may be more than one co-sponsor for a single project. If the sponsor is a local agency, at least one co-sponsor must be a citizens' group and vice-versa.

(d) “Department” means the California Department of Water Resources.

(e) “Eligible project costs” means reasonable costs associated with carrying out a project as described in section 451.3, including the reasonable costs of organizing community and/or volunteer groups, engineering, land and easement acquisition, legal fees, preparation of the application for funding, preparation of environmental documentation, environmental mitigation, and construction. Costs incurred prior to applying for or entering into a contract for grant funding may be reimbursed at the Department's discretion. Costs that are not eligible include regular operation and maintenance costs, and costs for the purchase of movable equipment not an integral part of the project.

(f) “Endorse” or “Endorser” means a group or individual who expresses written support for a grant application and may or may not have a commitment to actively participate.

(g) “Enhancement” means the process of improving upon current conditions, and may be used to describe a program that would result in a channel gaining desired features, while considering conditions for fish and wildlife. It is distinguishable from “restoration” in that it does not imply merely a return to natural conditions, but may include the provision of recreation or other features that were not part of the natural channel.

(h) “Flood mitigation measures” refers to selective removal of excess sediment or debris deposited during a flood event which is likely to deflect or restrict flows and increase flooding or erosion in the future, bioengineering projects to restore streambanks damaged during flood events, and revegetation efforts to improve the fluvialgeomorphology of streams.

(i) “Local Agency” means any political subdivision of the State of California, including but not limited to any county, city, city and county, district, joint powers agency, local community conservation corps agency, or council of governments.

(j) “Local Community Conservation Corps” is a non-profit benefit corporation formed or operating pursuant to Part 2 (commencing with Section 5110) of Division 2 of Title 1 of the Corporations Code, or an agency operated by a city, or city and county, which is certified by the California Conservation Corps under Section 14507.5 of the Public Resources Code. These organizations may also be referred to as local urban conservation corps or local conservation corps to avoid confusion with the California Conservation Corps.

(k) “Nonstructural” refers to measures which solve flooding or erosion problems without physically changing the dimensions of a waterway. This may include floodplain zoning, land acquisition, flood insurance, watershed management, debris removal, and floodproofing of existing structures by elevating or building a berm around them, but does not include constructing storage reservoirs or lining channels.

(l) “Restore” means to reproduce and reestablish the physical and biological characteristics of a natural channel which would occur at a given location under the current climatic, geologic and hydrologic conditions. Either a natural channel that has been damaged or a channel that has been modified by human efforts can be restored.

(m) “Sponsor” means a local agency involved in planning, flood control or waterway management or an individual or citizens' group interested in floodplain management and stream restoration. which is acting as the principal party making the grant application and which will have primary responsibility for executing the contract, submitting the invoices and receiving reimbursements.

(n) “Stable” and “stabilize” refer to the state or process of bringing a channel to a condition of equilibrium in which the dimensions and gradient are appropriately matched to the watershed and the runoff of water and sediment, with the objective to have a self-maintaining system.

(o) “Stream clearance” refers to removal of garbage, junk and excessive vegetation to allow for more effective geomorphic functioning of the stream, so that there is neither excessive deposition or excessive erosion, while maintaining suitable vegetation and woody debris to provide aquatic and riparian habitat.