(1) “Applicant” means any person planning or proposing a project which has been designated a major energy project;

(2) “Approval” means any permit, license, lease, certificate, right-of-way, or other grant, rate, ruling, or decision authorized or issued by an agency of state or local government;

(3) “Contact agency” means the department of economic and community development;

(4) “Joint review process” means the process provided by §§ 13-18-108 — 13-18-115 by which the applications for permits or approvals required by state, local, or federal agencies for a major energy project are consolidated and coordinated;

(5) “Joint review staff” means those persons from involved agencies who are designated to staff the joint review team;

(6) “Joint review team” or “team” means a coordinating group organized to conduct the joint review process on a major energy project. It is an officially composed group of government agencies organized to work with the applicant to coordinate government review and decision-making activities and is composed of involved state, local, and federal agencies and the applicant;

(7) “Lead local agency” means the local department or agency designated by the chief executive officer of that local government to be most affected by or involved in the proposed major energy project;

(8) “Lead state agency” means the department or agency of the state determined by the governor to be most involved in the joint review process;

(9) “Local government” means any government body, including any municipality, county, or utility district or any political subdivision of this state;

(10) “Local law” means the rules, regulations, resolutions, ordinances, codes, case law, and other laws of any local government;

(11) “Major energy project” means any project at one (1) physical location which has been determined by the contact agency to be in the state interest pursuant to its authority under § 13-18-103, which has a capital cost of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) or more, and which is likely to reduce the dependence of the state on imported energy projects;

(12) “Person” means any individual, cooperative, partnership, corporation, association, consortium, unincorporated organization, trust, estate, nonprofit institution or any entity organized for a common purpose, and any instrumentality of state or local government;

(13) “Project decision schedule” or “schedule” means the timetable set out by the joint review team in which to accomplish the joint review process, submit applications, hold hearings, and obtain approval of involved agencies;

(14) “State agency” means any general or special purpose executive agency of Tennessee;

(15) “State law” means the laws, rules, resolutions and case law of Tennessee; and

(16) “Team leader” means the state or local lead agency which is selected by the joint review team to lead the team and coordinate and supervise the joint review process.