Wherever used or referred to in this article, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context:

(1) "Agency of this state" means the government of this state and any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the government of this state.

(2) "Committee" or "State Conservation Committee" means the agency created in §19-21A-4 of this code.

(3) "District" or "conservation district" means a subdivision of this state, organized in accordance with the provisions of this article, for the purposes, with the powers and subject to the restrictions hereinafter set forth.

(4) "Grant" means the providing of grants for conservation purposes pursuant to legislative rule.

(5) "Governing body" means the supervisors of any conservation district, town or city, council, city commission, county court, or body acting in lieu of a county court, in this state, and the term "governmental division" means any conservation district, town, city, or county in this state.

(6) "Land occupier" or "occupier of land" means any person, firm, or corporation who shall hold title to, or shall be in possession of, any lands lying within a district organized under the provisions of this article, whether as owner, lessee, renter, or tenant.

(7) "Landowners" or "owners of land" means any person or persons, firm, or corporation who holds title to any lands lying within a district organized under the provisions of this article.

(8) "Notice" means notice published as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of §59-3-1 et seq. of this code and the publication area for the publication is the county in which is located the appropriate area. At any hearing held pursuant to such notice at the time and place designated in the notice, adjournment may be made, from time to time, without the necessity of renewing the notice for the adjournment dates.

(9) "Petition" means a petition filed under the provisions of §19-21A-5(a) of this code for the creation of a district.

(10) "Soil conservation", "erosion control", or "erosion prevention projects" means those projects that have been established by federal agencies in cooperation with state agencies for the purpose of demonstrating soil erosion control and water conservation practices.

(11) "State" means the State of West Virginia.

(12) "Supervisor" means one of the members of the governing body of a district, elected or appointed in accordance with the provisions of this article.

(13) "United States" or "agencies of the United States" means the United States of America, Natural Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of Agriculture, and any other agency or instrumentality, corporate or otherwise, of the United States of America.

(14) "Works of improvement" means such structures as may be necessary or convenient for flood prevention or the conservation, development, utilization, or disposal of water.