As used in the part, the term:

(a) Act means the Inland Waterways Authorization Act of 1978, Pub. L. 95-502.

(b) Commission means the Upper Mississippi River Basin Commission, with headquarters at Fort Snelling, Twin Cities, Minnesota.

(c) Master Plan means the Upper Mississippi River System Comprehensive Master Management Plan mandated by Title I of the Act.

(d) GREAT refers to studies conducted by Great River Environmental Action Teams pursuant to section 117 of the Water Resources and Development Act of 1976 (Pub. L. 94-587) for purposes of developing balanced management strategies for multipurpose use of the Upper Mississippi River.

(e) System means those Upper Mississippi River reaches containing commercial navigation channels on the Mississippi River main stem north of Cairo, Illinois; the Minnesota River, Minnesota; Black River, Wisconsin; Saint Croix River, Minnesota and Wisconsin; Illinois River and Waterway, Illinois; and Kaskaskia River, Illinois.

(f) Public meeting means a meeting to provide individuals and representatives of interested organizations opportunities to present their opinions and suggestions by means of an informally structured format.

(g) Public hearing means a formally structured public meeting scheduled to provide adequate time for each testimony, which will be recorded, transcribed, published, and made available to the public.