§ 4823 - Priorities; state financial assistance awards
§ 4823. Priorities; state financial assistance awards
(a) Priorities. State financial assistance available under this subchapter shall in each fiscal year be allocated according to the following priorities, except as provided by subsection (b) of this section, and as further defined by rule by the secretary:
(1) First priority shall be given to proposed improvements on individual farms which do not meet AAPs because of physical constraints of a farm site, which are located, in descending order: within the boundaries of the Lake Champlain Basin, the Lake Memphremagog Basin, the Connecticut River Basin, or the Hudson River Basin as these boundaries are defined by the state water quality plan prepared by the agency of natural resources.
(2) Next priority shall be given to proposed improvements on all other individual farms which are located, in descending order, within the boundaries of the Lake Champlain Basin, the Lake Memphremagog Basin, the Connecticut River Basin, or the Hudson River Basin.
(b) Exceptions. The secretary may award financial assistance under this subchapter for improvements on a farm which otherwise would not receive assistance under the priorities established by this section, when the secretary determines a severe condition of nonpoint source waste discharge exists which requires immediate abatement. (Added 1995, No. 62, § 37, eff. April 26, amended 1995; 1997, No. 148 (Adj. Sess.), § 67, eff. April 29, 1998; 2003, No. 42, § 2, eff. May 27, 2003.)