Kentucky Pond Permits & Regulations

Permit tiers in Kentucky

A Kentucky pond's tier turns on the dam tests, its position relative to streams, floodplains and wetlands, and whether one acre or more is disturbed. The Department for Environmental Protection (DEP) advises applicants to identify every permit, including local ones. [1][2][3][4][6][11]

Dams: when a pond embankment is a regulated dam

Under KRS 151.100(5), a Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS), an artificial barrier, including appurtenant works, that does or can impound or divert water is a "dam" if it is or will be 25 feet or more high, or has or will have 50 acre-feet or more of impounding capacity at maximum water storage elevation. Height is measured from the natural bed of the stream or watercourse at the downstream toe of the barrier, as determined by the Energy and Environment Cabinet. [1]

Smaller ponds can still be covered. The design criteria in 401 KAR 4:030, a Kentucky Administrative Regulation (KAR), apply to every statutory dam and to "all other impounding obstructions which might create a hazard to life or property." [15]

The Division of Water (DOW) says building or modifying a dam requires a permit from its Dam Safety Program. Unless the cabinet waives it, plans and specifications must be drawn by an engineer licensed in Kentucky. Separately, plans and specifications submitted to the cabinet must be the responsibility of, and signed by, an engineer licensed in Kentucky and experienced in the design and construction of dams, as the cabinet determines. [5][24][28]

Once it has all plans and specifications, the cabinet must answer a dam permit application in writing within 45 working days: issue, deny, or require plan changes. Starting site preparation before the permit is issued counts as commencing without a permit. The permit lets construction start. No approval to impound exists until the cabinet approves the as-built plans, makes an on-site inspection, and issues written approval. [15][28][29]

DOW sources disagree on inspection frequency. Its June 2024 fact sheet says every two years for high and moderate hazard dams and every five years for low hazard dams. Its inspection form lists 12, 36 and 60 months for high, significant and low hazard dams. Contact: kydamsafety@ky.gov or 502-564-3410. [5][27][30]

Streams and floodplains: the stream construction permit

Under Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 151.250(1), no one may build, rebuild, relocate or improve a dam, embankment, fill or other obstruction in a stream's floodplain or floodway without written approval of the plans and a permit from the cabinet (the Energy and Environment Cabinet). Kentucky Transportation Cabinet structures are excepted, and the cabinet may by regulation exempt obstructions not of a size or type that require approval. [1][2]

Under 401 KAR 4:050 (a Kentucky Administrative Regulation), the permit is not needed for construction in or along a stream whose watershed is less than 1 square mile, except dams as defined in KRS 151.100, other water impounding structures, and construction that does or may endanger life or cause severe damage to residential or commercial property. [31]

The Division of Water (DOW) says any development in an identified floodplain needs state and local floodplain permits. Development neither in a Special Flood Hazard Area nor along or across a stream needs no floodplain permit. DOW's floodplain contact: DOWFloodplain@ky.gov, 502-564-3410. [6][9][32]

DOW's floodplain general permit for minor activities (July 3, 2025 to July 2, 2030) automatically covers eligible development along or adjacent to a stream that has no potential to change the base flood elevation, including development in a watershed less than one square mile. It excludes dams, other water-impounding structures, and construction that does or may endanger life or cause property damage. Excavated ponds are not listed. [20]

Fill and other encroachments in the regulatory floodway are prohibited unless a licensed engineer certifies "no impact": no increase in base flood elevation, floodwater elevations or floodway width. Open-space uses with no appreciable flood-damage potential, such as those associated with agriculture or recreation, are allowed there if they do not result in increases in flood elevations. [33]

State waters, wetlands and Clean Water Act permits

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps) says all regulated activities in jurisdictional waters need its permit, citing recreational ponds and lakes as examples. It decides what is a jurisdictional water and what needs a permit. Kentucky statute says dredged or fill discharges to build or maintain farm or stock ponds need no Clean Water Act Section 404 permit. [10][34]

Senate Bill 89, effective March 27, 2025, narrowed Kentucky's "waters of the Commonwealth" from all surface and underground water to navigable waters under 33 U.S.C. 1362, sinkholes with open throat drains, certain springs, and wellhead protection areas. The Energy and Environment Cabinet warns that a narrower federal definition would leave many wetlands unprotected under Kentucky law. [35][36][37]

The Division of Water (DOW) tells anyone planning work in streams or wetlands to contact the local Corps office and DOW. A Section 401 Water Quality Certification may be needed to flood, excavate, drain and/or fill a wetland, or to build a barrier across a stream that creates a reservoir. [3]

Work qualifying for both a Corps Nationwide Permit and DOW's matching General Certification can proceed under the certification's conditions without a certification request, though DOW's Form 7116 may still be needed to obtain a floodplain permit. Under the 2026 General Certification for Nationwide Permits 3, 18, 33 and others, cumulative impacts greater than 300 linear feet of surface waters or 0.25 acre of wetland need an Individual Certification. [8][38]

Individual certification fees run $1,000 to $5,000 for stream impacts greater than 500 linear feet, and $500 per wetland acre, capped at $5,000. Applications for general certifications, and agriculture operations and personal residences as the regulation defines them, are exempt from these certification fees. For General Certification help, DOW lists 401WQC@ky.gov and (502) 564-3410. [8][39]

Construction stormwater permit (KYR10)

The Kentucky Division of Water (DOW) issues KYR10, the construction stormwater general permit. It applies to sites that disturb one acre or more, including contiguous activities in a common plan of development that together disturb one acre or more. A June 2024 DOW fact sheet says "more than one acre" instead. [4][40]

The KYR10 Fact Sheet's construction definition has no general farm exclusion. A Department for Environmental Protection page says crop cultivation is exempt from a stormwater quality permit, but KYR10 "is required for construction of holding ponds, barns, feeding areas or construction activities that disturb one acre or more." It does not define "holding ponds" or say whether the acre limit applies to them. [11][41]

Each permittee must develop a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan and implement it when disturbance begins. Pumping water out of excavations is authorized if it is managed by appropriate controls and the permit's requirements are met. [4]

Within 25 feet of, and sloping toward, a water of the Commonwealth, erosion prevention measures such as mats, mulch or straw must go on within 24 hours, or as soon as practical, after grading ends or activity stops. Temporary stabilization must start within 14 days after work temporarily stops on part of the site, and final stabilization within 14 days after it permanently stops. [4][41]

Applicants file a notice of intent through DOW's online eForms system at least 7 days before construction begins. The review fee is $0. Discharges are authorized only once DOW emails written notice of coverage. Questions go to DOW's Surface Water Permits Branch, (502) 564-3410 or SWPBSupport@ky.gov. [4][41][42]

Water rights and water use

A Kentucky Revised Statute, KRS 151.120, says diffused surface water is not "public water": the owner of the land it falls or flows on has the right to use it. That is rain or melting snow or ice spreading over or flowing across the ground until it reaches a stream or watercourse. [1][43]

Under KRS 151.140, withdrawing, diverting or transferring public water from a stream, lake, groundwater or other water body needs a cabinet permit. No permit is required for agricultural and domestic purposes, including irrigation, or for amounts less than the amount set by regulation. A Kentucky Administrative Regulation, 401 KAR 4:010, requires a permit if the average withdrawal rate is more than 10,000 gallons per day, except as KRS 151.140 exempts. [14][23]

The Division of Water (DOW) web page says permits or authorizations are required at 10,000 gallons per day or more, so the sources disagree about exactly 10,000. DOW says to apply four to six months before the withdrawal starts, except in emergencies, and lists no required application fees. Questions go to DOW's Watershed Management Branch at (502) 564-3410. [7][44]

KRS 151.210 gives an owner of land bordering public water, operating under a withdrawal permit, the right to impound water behind a dam in the natural stream bed or on their land, if impounding will not impair existing uses, or will not unreasonably interfere with others' beneficial use. A dam across a natural stream needs cabinet approval under KRS 151.250, which lets the cabinet exempt by regulation dams and other obstructions not of such size or type as to require approval. The obstruction must also provide an outlet, operated by the owner, to release water the owner is not entitled to use or withdraw. [2][45]

Special waters, trout streams and Wild Rivers

The Kentucky Division of Water (DOW) calls waters listed in Kentucky Administrative Regulations (KAR) as worthy of additional protection "special waters." They include cold water aquatic habitat (CAH), outstanding state resource waters (OSRW), outstanding national resource waters, exceptional and reference reach waters, state wild rivers and federal wild and scenic rivers. CAH waters are able to support indigenous aquatic life or self-sustaining or reproducing trout populations year-round, so CAH waters need not be trout streams. [46][47]

Kentucky's general Section 401 water quality certifications for listed Nationwide Permits, issued December 18, 2025, do not authorize activities in designated OSRW, National Resource Waters, CAH or Exceptional Waters, or in candidate OSRW or candidate Exceptional Waters. These need an Individual Certification. One certification also deems certain agricultural operations implementing an Agriculture Water Quality Plan under Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 224.71-145 to have certification. [8][48]

A Wild River corridor reaches at least to the visual horizon from the stream but no more than 2,000 feet from the stream's center. There, 400 KAR 4:125 prohibits in-stream disturbances, such as dam construction, dredging and fill. Under 400 KAR 4:130, no new land use may start until the landowner has a change of use permit from the Office of Kentucky Nature Preserves. Its web page instead names DOW and says the permit takes several months. [49][50][51][52]

DOW maps special waters, including candidates, on the Special Waters Viewer in the Kentucky Water Maps Portal. The portal says its maps are not official documents and DOW cannot ensure they are accurate, current or complete. The Special Waters web page lists a staff contact at the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet, 300 Sower Blvd, Frankfort, KY 40601. [46][53]

Fish stocking, invasive species and wildlife

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) gives technical guidance on fish stocking and habitat. For pond permits, it refers owners to the Department for Environmental Protection (DEP) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its Information Center is 800-858-1549. [16][54]

Under KRS Chapter 150 (Kentucky Revised Statutes), public waters flow in a natural stream channel or are impounded on a natural stream. For the landowner stocking exemptions in KRS 150.170, a "private lake or pond" must have no surface-water connection to public waters, no fish access from other public bodies of water, and lie outside the 100-year floodplain. [55][56]

Stocking any fish into public waters needs a KDFWR commissioner's permit first. Stocking or releasing F1 largemouth or Florida bass there is banned, except that KDFWR may stock them in department-owned lakes by regulation. Except for invasive-fish limits, a bona fide landowner faces no state stocking rules, F1 and Florida bass included, in a "private lake or pond" as defined above. [56][57]

Under 301 KAR 1:122 (KAR is a Kentucky Administrative Regulation), no one may buy, sell, possess, import or release an aquatic species not native or established in Kentucky waters, except as the regulation allows. Sterile triploid grass carp are one exception, under 301 KAR 1:171. [58]

Except for KDFWR employees or agents acting officially, no one may put any substance in public waters that might injure, interfere with, or make them unfit to support wildlife. Penalties are $100 to $500, up to six months in jail, or both, plus up to the replacement value of fish and wildlife killed. Rotenone is restricted-use: only current Kentucky Pesticide Applicator's License holders may buy and use it, and it may not enter public waters. [59][60][61]

Wells, boreholes and groundwater protection plans

Does a pond need a groundwater protection plan (GPP)? Under 401 KAR 5:037, a Kentucky Administrative Regulation (KAR), anyone conducting a listed activity must prepare and implement a GPP unless excluded. Storing water in ponds, lakes or reservoirs is excluded. Installing, constructing, operating or abandoning wells, bore holes or core holes is listed. [62]

The Division of Water (DOW) says anyone who needs a GPP may write it; no professional certification is required. Sources differ on filing: the regulation requires a copy within 30 days of the cabinet's written request; the Energy and Environment Cabinet's permitting overview says to submit a GPP to DOW's GPP Program Coordinator. [11][62][63]

"Well" here follows KRS 223.400(7), a Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS): an excavation constructed to remove water for any purpose, except wells for watering stock or general farmstead use that do not provide water for human consumption. KRS 223.405 makes it unlawful to construct, alter or repair a water well without a water well driller or driller's assistant certificate. DOW says the property owner needs no permit application or fee to have a water well constructed or abandoned. [64][65][66][67]

Under 401 KAR 6:310, a water supply well must be at least 25 feet from a surface water body and 50 feet from a septic tank or sewer line. Both double where unconsolidated material is less than 20 feet thick and predominantly sand or gravel. DOW says the driller files well records and copies the owner within sixty days; KRS 223.440 sets 30 days. [67][68][69]

For GPP questions, DOW lists its Groundwater Section Supervisor at 502-782-6453. For wells, it lists its Drillers Program Coordinator at 502-782-4206. [63][70]

Treating a pond: pesticides and applicator licenses

The Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) says no license is needed to apply aquatic herbicides on your own property, and refers questions to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) or the county extension office. But the state's pesticide general permit fact sheet says applications must be made by individuals certified in a pesticide use category consistent with the type of application. The two sources point in different directions. [71][72]

Under Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 217B.190, no one, landowners included, may use a registered pesticide in a manner not in accordance with its label. No one may buy, use or supervise the use of a restricted use pesticide without certification in a classification that permits it. KDFWR says rotenone, a fish toxicant, is restricted-use. [61][73]

The Division of Water (DOW) issues pesticide general permit KYG990000, effective April 1, 2024 until midnight March 31, 2029. It covers applying liquid pesticides directly to surface water, and non-agricultural land applications where contact with surface water is intentional or unavoidable. Coverage of eligible discharges is automatic; DOW did not require a Notice of Intent for this reissuance. The fact sheet says dry pesticides need no coverage unless mixed with a liquid before application. [72]

Discharges directly into waters designated Cold Water Aquatic Habitat or Outstanding State Resource Water, categorized as Outstanding National Resource or Exceptional Water, or listed as impaired for the pesticide or its constituents need an individual permit. Permittees must report in writing any water quality related adverse incident caused by a liquid pesticide discharge to DOW's Regional Office within 30 days. [72]

Repairing, draining or rebuilding an existing pond

The Kentucky Division of Water (DOW), in the Energy and Environment Cabinet, says building or modifying a dam needs a permit from its Dam Safety Program. Unpermitted work risks civil penalties and partial or complete removal. [5]

The dam design regulation, 401 Kentucky Administrative Regulation (KAR) 4:030, covers statutory dams and other impounding obstructions that might create a hazard to life or property. Repaired or reconstructed structures must meet its criteria. In inspection guidelines for earth embankment dams, Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 151.293(7)(h) bars a repeat upgrade only because the same standard changed. The Cabinet may require full compliance with current standards if the owner proposes substantial construction, or distress or partial failure forces a repair. [15][24]

After permitted reconstruction, no approval to impound water exists until the as-built plans are approved, an on-site inspection is made and the Cabinet issues written approval. [15]

DOW's 1985 dam guidelines say a drawdown should be controlled to minimize erosion; one that is too rapid can cause slides on the dam and around the pool in saturated material. Discharging pollutants from a point source into waters of the Commonwealth requires a Kentucky Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (KPDES) permit, with listed exclusions. DOW's KPDES general permit list (Sept. 29, 2026) has none for draining or dewatering a pond; the only construction-dewatering authorization found is inside KYR10. [74][75][76]

The NRCS pond standard (CPS 378)

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Kentucky pond standard, Conservation Practice Standard (CPS) 378 (November 2023), covers all excavated ponds. It covers an embankment pond only if the pond meets all low-hazard-potential criteria, including that dam failure will not result in loss of life; damage to homes, commercial or industrial buildings, main highways, or railroads; or interruption of public utility use or service. [77]

Ponds built by both digging and embankment count as embankment ponds when water against the embankment at the auxiliary spillway elevation is 3 feet or more above the lowest original ground on its centerline. To fall under CPS 378, an embankment pond's storage in acre-feet times its dam's effective height in feet must be less than 3,000 acre-feet squared, and effective height must be 35 feet or less. [77]

Under CPS 378, each embankment dam side slope must be 2 horizontal to 1 vertical or flatter, and both together 5 to 1 or flatter. Freeboard must be at least 1 foot from the design high-water flow elevation in the auxiliary spillway to the settled top, and at least 2 feet from the auxiliary spillway crest when the dam drains more than 20 acres or has more than 20 feet of effective height. [77]

NRCS Kentucky's Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) page says NRCS offers technical assistance at no cost; the first step is contacting the local NRCS office. Applications are accepted continuously, but NRCS says to apply by the state ranking date for the current funding cycle. Kentucky's fiscal year 2027 EQIP ranking date was Friday, September 25, 2026. [78][79]

Call 811, local rules and who to call

Kentucky's call-before-you-dig law, Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS) 367.4901 to 367.4917, covers nonemergency excavation, which it defines to include digging, grading, scraping and backfilling. A permit issued under any law authorizing excavation does not relieve anyone of this duty. [12][80][81][82]

The law exempts agricultural tilling, and nonmechanized digging on private property that does not encroach on any operator's right-of-way or easement. The Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC) says homeowner exemptions are limited and do not always apply. Anyone exempt who damages a gas, petroleum, petroleum product or hazardous liquid line must still stop and immediately notify all affected operators. [13][17][83]

The PSC says to call the One-Call Center first: 811, or 800-752-6007 from outside Kentucky. It serves many but not all operators. The excavator must notify not less than 2 and not more than 10 full working days before starting, unless a future start date is agreed under KRS 367.4917(7). A locate request is valid for 21 calendar days. [13][83]

Cities and counties may zone excavation, filling and the use of bodies of water. On agricultural land, zoning is limited to a few listed rules, such as full regulation of buildings or structures in a designated floodway or floodplain. The statute does not mention ponds; whether a pond qualifies for that exemption is for the local zoning administrator. [18]

The Division of Water (DOW) says communities in the National Flood Insurance Program must issue local floodplain permits in addition to the state floodplain development permits. DOW lists local floodplain coordinators online. To learn which Department for Environmental Protection permits apply, ask its compliance team: envhelp@ky.gov or (502) 782-6189. [9][11][84]

Recent and pending rule changes

Senate Bill 89, effective March 27, 2025, narrowed 'waters of the Commonwealth' in KRS 224.1-010 (a Kentucky Revised Statute). It deleted old wording that listed 'lakes, ponds, impounding reservoirs'. [36]

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' 2026 Nationwide Permits (NWPs) took effect March 15, 2026 and expire March 15, 2031. The Division of Water issued water quality certifications for them on December 18, 2025, but denied certification for NWPs 16, 17, 32, 38, 43, 44, 52 and 53. Projects under those need an individual certification. [85][86]

Letters filed July 22, 2025 say three rules are 'to be amended', with a filing deadline of January 22, 2027: 401 KAR (Kentucky Administrative Regulation) 4:030 (dam design criteria), 4:050 (construction exemptions) and 4:060 (stream construction criteria). Each expires then if no amendment is filed. No such amendment appeared on the Legislative Research Commission's proposed-regulations list retrieved October 11, 2026. [87][88][89]

Senate Bill 39, signed April 10, 2026, amended KRS 150.170. Its private-pond stocking exemptions are described in the fish stocking section. [90]

Two Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR) rules expire November 8, 2026, unless KDFWR files a certification letter or an amendment first: 301 KAR 1:171 (grass carp suppliers) and 1:180 (private-lake Fisheries Management Permit). [89][91][92]

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