I just got off the phone with the Tulsa USACE office. I was talking to a nice guy named Michael and in a brief 4 minute call, I got some information.
First, his jurisdiction is limited to wetlands and waterways defined as creeks or greater. As we have seen, this definition is highly flexible. I asked about a farm pond, and he mentioned an exemption. The entire code as I could get from him was 33 USC 1344 (jurisdiction) Section 323.4 and the Farm Pond exemption is E-3. I asked about number of critters watered and he said there was no minimum. I asked "So I could have one billy goat drinking out of a 5 acre pond and it would be OK" and he replied, "You better have that one billy goat there or we are going to come after you."
He offered more help, to include assistance (most likely the kind I probably don't want) to fix my leaking pond. I tried to get more detailed definitions out of him, but I have a feeling he was a little busy. I mentioned the only creek involved the one leaking out of the back side of my existing pond and he said that he could help in getting that fixed. Again, I'm almost afraid to ask what assistance, because there is the possibility that I could get slapped with a whole bunch of new requirements.
I am going to continue getting information from the Corps. Although there are mostly civilians running it, I do occasionally bump into people I have known in my military career that I may be able to get some answers from. I'll keep everyone posted.
