Utah developers sue Army Corps over halted 265-home project tied to a ditch

Developers Lew Swain and Brent Bailey assembled 142 acres outside Willard, Utah, intending to build a 265-home subdivision that the city supported after the pair invested $650,000 in water infrastructure and spent half a million on engineering studies. The Army Corps of Engineers later revoked their Clean Water Act permit, asserting that a minor irrigation ditch on the property ultimately feeds the Great Salt Lake, thereby subjecting the project to federal regulation.

The Corps produced a map showing a complex water path spanning roughly 46,909 feet to Willard Bay, a navigable portion of the lake, and deemed nearby wetlands indistinguishable from protected waters. Swain and Bailey, concerned about potential penalties, sought clarification from the Corps before proceeding, only to receive the restrictive ruling. Represented by the Pacific Legal Foundation, they have now sued the Corps, arguing that the agency is ignoring the Supreme Court’s 2023 Sackett ruling that limits the scope of “navigable waters.” The case underscores a broader national debate over the reach of the Clean Water Act and federal agency authority.