Section 700.10  Definitions

"Act" means the "Farmland Preservation Act" (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 5, par. 1301 et seq.).

"Agency" means one of the State agencies listed in Section 3 of the Farmland Preservation Act.

"Agricultural land" or "farmland" means all land in farms including cropland, hayland, pastureland, forestland, corrals, gardens and orchards, land used for farmsteads, buildings, barns, and machinery sheds, adjacent yards or corrals, pens, waste lagoons, feedlots, farmstead or feedlot windbreaks, grain bins, lanes for farm residences and fields, field windbreaks, ponds, commercial feedlots, greenhouses, nurseries, broiler facilities and farm landing strips.

"Agricultural land conversion" means the taking of land directly out of agricultural production or displacing it by another use and not returning it to production.

"BOB" means the Bureau of the Budget.

"CDB" or "Board" means the Capital Development Board.

"Committee" means the Inter-Agency Committee on Farmland Preservation as established in Section 3 of the Act.

"Compliance" means conformance to the rules of this Part by an agency that is participating in a State-funded capital development project or in executing its responsibilities which will lead to the direct or indirect conversion of agricultural land to nonagricultural purposes.

"Conflict Resolution Process" or "CRP" means a procedure utilized to reach an agreement between DOA and one or more agencies when there are differences on how to avoid the impact of agricultural land conversion or the loss of such land as an environmental or food production resource.  The Conflict Resolution Process is explained in 8 Ill. Adm. Code 700.APPENDIX A:  EXHIBIT C.

"Cooperative Working Agreement" means a written agreement between the DOA and an agency stating what projects shall be reviewed, when a project shall be reviewed, and the time limits of the review.

"DCCA" means the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs.

"DOA" means the Illinois Department of Agriculture, Division of Natural Resources, Agriculture Building, State Fairgrounds, P.O. Box 19281, Springfield, Illinois 62794-9281; phone (217) 782-6297.

"DOC" means the Illinois Department of Conservation.

"DOT" means the Illinois Department of Transportation.

"ENR" means the Department of Energy and Natural Resources.

"Exceptions" means State projects exempted from review to assess impact on agricultural land as identified in agency working agreements or Section 7 of the Act.

"Executive Order 80-4, 'Preservation of Illinois Farmland'" means the Executive Order which directed specific State agencies to develop agricultural land preservation policies and methods to protect the State's agricultural land as an environmental or essential food production resource from irreversible conversion (e.g., buildings, highways, and dams).

"ICC" means the Illinois Commerce Commission.

"IEPA" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Initial analysis" means a review of an agency's project proposal by the DOA to determine whether the proposal conforms to the rules of this Part.

"Land class" means one of eight classes of land in the Land Capability Classification System (Handbook 210, issued September, 1961, and approved for reprinting January, 1973) as developed by the Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D.C..  Incorporation by reference does not include any future editions or amendments.  The land capability classification shows, in a general way, the suitability of soils for most kinds of field crops.  The soils are grouped according to their limitations for field crops, the risk of damage if they are used for crops, and the way they respond to management.

"Modern soil survey" means a document published after 1965 by the Soil Conservation Service, containing a description of a county's soils, maps showing their distribution and discussions concerning their behavior and adaptability.

"Policy statement" means a written statement developed by each agency named in Section 3 of the Act which specifies the policy of that agency toward agricultural land preservation.

"Secondary impact" means an action taken by an agency which does not convert agricultural land directly but does create a more favorable climate for conversion to take place or may create unfavorable conditions for normal farming operations. Unfavorable conditions occur when a project requires a farmer to deviate from his normal farming operations.  For example, the granting of a permit for the installation of a water line may not convert land directly, but the presence of the line increases the likelihood that the surrounding area will be developed.

"Sign-off" means written notification to the affected agency by the DOA which indicates that the manner in which agricultural land is addressed in a project proposal or in a compromise is in compliance with the rules of this Part and that the DOA has completed its review.

"Study of Agricultural Impacts" or "Agricultural Impact Study" means the analysis of a proposed project not in compliance with the Act or the rules of this Part to determine the probable impact on the agriculture environment.

(Source:  Amended at 11 Ill. Reg. 20527, effective December 2, 1987)