One example:
A CO mountain subdivision platted in the 70s was to include a dam & lake on an old gravel pit for recreation and for storage to meet senior water rights. When the HOA went to complete that project in 00s, the EPA blocked them because an adjacent 10 acre wetlands would be flooded. (Why wouldn't the new lake create more wetlands on it's banks? IDK?) The EPA offered to sell credits from a NJ saw grass field to offset the lost wetlands; price tag $1M+. Instead the HOA, after 12 years of legal fees wrestling with the problem,  spent their money raising a downstream dam by 15', gaining about 100 of the 120 acre-ft needed for storage. The HOA was also required to seed & reclaim the abandoned gravel pit.