Building a Pond - permitting vs just digging a hole

[gamecock1974]

I've talked to two separate people, whose name's i can't recall, over the last week told me they were putting a pond in on their land. One already had, and the other was in the process.

I then asked if they would tell me about the permitting process, how that went with site selection, any environmental considerations they had to take into account, soil tests, etc, etc... Both smirked and said, nope - didnt do any of that, just digging a hole and hope it holds water.

What kind of risks are these guys taking in doing this? I get the risks that the dam may not hold water, but more so curious about legal risk/fines/remediation, etc.

[bitesize]

How close is your hole to existing wetlands?

[gamecock1974]

How close is your hole to existing wetlands?

Not sure on either parcel.

[Quack07]

From my research on the subject, bitesize' question is the most important factor.

[centurian]

Used to be you could do that and if you couldn't see it from the road no one knew it was there or when it was built. Now with sat and areal surveys by the county and or state it is no secrete today. Brandon is pushing the WOTUS regulation that has the potential of much worse than dealing with the county or state, dealing with BLM or several alphabet agencies.. This reg was supposed to start today as a matter of fact. I don't know what it will do for us on the east coast, not good for the mid west and west coast. Brandon is trying to cripple farmers and run them off.

[Carlisle]

You Can dig a hole or dike a field without any oversight. Building a dam on a creek or watershed is where mucho hassle comes in.


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[Swift Strike]

If you're not blocking a flowing stream, it's 50 ac ft of water capacity or 25' height of dam from rear toe and you won't need any kind of permit ... If it's for Ag Irrigation purposes, you get a pass on a little more, ( ???? ), no exact number.

I've built too many to count, from frog holes to 200+ ac ... You don't want to deal with wetlands or COE if you don't have to.

[gamecock1974]

How far does one need to be away from wetlands to avoid any issues?

[Swift Strike]

If it's marked wetlands, you can go right up to the edge.

The line is the line ......

[BrandonWagner]

What county?

[lil 2 sleepy]

If it’s just a dug hole with no natural stream, it would be a highland dug pond, and not delineated as a wetland. You can dig and fill as you see fit.

[Palmetto Bug]

If you move the dirt off the property, it's a mine and needs permits for that.

[Otter 1200]

I went round and round with the CoE on this over the last 10 years or so, had them out to my property a couple of times to make sure they did not have jurisdiction over areas I wanted to build a pond. 1st meeting 10 or so years ago, I had no idea what the regulations/requirements even were. I was wanting to dam a creek and someone told me I needed a permit, I thought no problem and put in for one-yea, that didn’t go as planned even though NRCS came out and laid the pond out. Anyway, had them out a couple times since to agree the area had no wetlands, was in an uplands area, and was going to be a catch basin pond. Built one about 4 years ago and probably the second one this year.