Army Corps Halts Utah Housing Project Over Small Ditch, Raising Concerns About Clean Water Act Authority
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has halted a 265-home subdivision project in Willard, Utah, citing the Clean Water Act (CWA) due to the presence of a small irrigation ditch and 2.74 acres of wetlands on the property. Developers Lew Swain and Brent Bailey, who had invested significantly in the project and secured city approval, were informed by the Corps that construction would disturb and pollute the Great Salt Lake, approximately nine miles away. The Corps' determination connected the small ditch to the Great Salt Lake via a tortuous pathway involving other ditches, an interstate culvert, and an underground siphon. The Corps also deemed the wetlands regulable under the CWA because the ditch occasionally overflowed into them, making them "indistinguishable" from navigable waters. This decision led to the withdrawal of the developers' CWA permit, three years after they initially contacted the agency for clarification. The developers, with the assistance of the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), are now suing ... 
