Robinson, I wish you were right because then I would know why. I was told "NO, you cannot build a pond" before we ever discussed where I was building it, whether it was on a creek or not, whether there was a wetland involved, or any of these trivial details. When I pointed this out to the Corps engineer, I was told that I could go ahead and submit the 404 application, but that it would be denied because "we are discouraging people from building ponds". Then they explained to me how mitigation works. $150,000 is how mitigation works. So I said - Why don't you just say NO? They replied, "We did."
