Chat with your Congressman Jack Kingston. My late father-in-law was his aid. The guy would be appalled at the hassle you have to go through. If he cannot directly help you, he will try to find someone who can.
We lived in northeast GA for ten years and just moved up to northern VA about two years ago. In that part of GA, no permits were needed for ponds. When we moved up here, I expected a huge hassle in the preliminary stages of planning for a pond. I checked very thoroughly, and was pleasantly surprised to find nothing. I then chatted with the county's enviro. engineer and told him everything I had found. I almost fell over when he said there were indeed no restrictions, no permits for what I was proposing. I almost felt like I was living in a free country again.
