§ 3839aa-3. Evaluation of applications
(a)
Evaluation criteria
The Secretary shall develop criteria for evaluating applications that will ensure that national, State, and local conservation priorities are effectively addressed.
(b)
Prioritization of applications
In evaluating applications under this part, the Secretary shall prioritize applications—
(1)
based on their overall level of cost-effectiveness to ensure that the conservation practices and approaches proposed are the most efficient means of achieving the anticipated environmental benefits of the project;
(2)
based on how effectively and comprehensively the project addresses the designated resource concern or resource concerns;
(c)
Grouping of applications
To the greatest extent practicable, the Secretary shall group applications of similar crop or livestock operations for evaluation purposes or otherwise evaluate applications relative to other applications for similar farming operations.