You are framing the question in a way that does not recognize that we all agree that we cannot do whatever we want on our property if it harms someone else. The issue is whether you preemptively punish everyone with red tape and financial burden, or do you punish those that actually cause the harm? The answer should be related to how severe the harm is likely to be and how likely the harm is to be reversible. If you poorly build a huge dam upstream of homes, then you might kill people. However, if you put a small pond in a ditch, any potential harm is likely to be minimal and reversible.
