I met with the corp of engineers on Tuesday.
Very frustrating! They basically said that any time you dam up a hollow or any watershed you are probably going to have to get a private permit and deal with this costly "mitigation"
They said even if it is a small ditch that only gets water in it after a rain, it is considered a water of the state and is going to fall under these regulations.
This pretty much prohibits any dam being built in hilly or mountain regions like WV that back up more than 300 ft of a ditch, stream etc...
How in the world can I build a 5 acre lake without backing up a ditch/stream etc... and damming up a hollow or getting runoff from several hills?
They said the ditch doesn't even have to show up on a map to qualify. If it has water in it after a rain, chances are it will qualify. They also told me the minimum in leu mitigation fee was $800 per foot of stream you impact!
Apparently, the regulations got much more restrictive in 2008!
I have no idea now how to go about looking for property to build a 5 acre bass pond
