Update: Finally got a hold of someone from the NRCS, and can confirm that this is good information as of September 2020. If your pond dam is less than 15' in height and the total volume of the pond is less than 10 acre-feet, you do NOT need a permit. An acre-foot is approximately 325,000 gallons of water, so 10 acre-feet is 3.25 million gallons. 10 acre-feet would be a one-acre pond that is exactly 1 foot deep, as an example, so you could have a 1 acre pond with an average depth of 10 feet and be at the limit, or a half-acre pond with a 20' average, which is pretty unrealistic. You could theoretically have a 1.5 acre pond with an average depth of 6' (more realistic) and still be under the limit. The surface area of the pond does NOT matter, only the volume of water does.
And of course, it can't affect a stream, wetland or public body of water, and can't put people's lives or property in danger if the dam were to fail.
Last edited by Steve_; 09/02/20 02:31 PM.
