UpaTree -
First off, let me thank you for your service. I pray for your safety and that before long you'll be back here in Va enjoying the planning and construction of a new pond!
I'm in your neck of the woods (Greene County) and just finished a new pond this past Friday. The 5.3 inches of rain we got Monday nite & Tuesday has it half full already, so the timing was great.
As far as permitting, I had to contact the county erosion and sediment guy at the building department. Since I was able to declare it an agricultural pond, as opposed to recreational, the E&S permit was waived. If you're in Albemarle County things may be different.
You're also supposed to contact the Army Corps of Engineers. I think most people around here never do and just take their chances, but Vinny Pero is the engineer who covers the charlottesville area - Vincent.D.Pero@usace.army.mil. The Corps gets alot of flack around here - and alot of times for good reason - but luckily this guy was very reasonable. He allowed me to build under "Regional Permit 5" which limited me to 300' of streambed. However, RP5 is no longer in effect and I was told the permit they'll replace it with will be more cumbersome.
Also, if you havn't realized already there is tons of great info on pond contruction and pond management on this site. So get into the archives and ask questions when you got em!
