01-001-802 Me. Code R. § 2
The 111th Legislature, in 1983, created a "Fund to Encourage Local Soil and Water Conservation Projects" (12 M.R.S.A. Sec. V, §§205 and 206). Each year since then, the Legislature has appropriated $100,000 to be disbursed to the Conservation Districts to initiate this program. The Legislature specified that the money be:
"...disbursed periodically by the Maine Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources on a competitive basis to one or more of the Soil and Water Conservation Districts for the funding of innovative soil and water conservation projects..."
The Legislature did not specify how to distribute the money or what criteria to use. It allows the Department to establish the rules, indicating the factors that should be used in establishing the selection criteria:
"The criteria shall, among other factors, address priority of need, boldness of approach, program feasibility and reproducibilities and verification of results...."
The guidelines are intended to assure that all the districts can successfully participate in this program. The purpose is to inform the districts of the procedures and criteria the Department will use in selecting projects. It is assumed that the value of the funds sought will exceed the available funds. While the point system proposed here is an aid in screening applications, subjective judgment is required in the use of the criteria. The judgment will be that of the Commissioner of Agriculture.
01-001 C.M.R. ch. 802, § 2