Maine has found itself in a bind over how to reign in floating ‘camps’ that are blocking homeowners’ waterfront views and clogging the state’s many lakes, ponds and rivers.
Many of the structures, which are increasingly popping up, aren’t houseboats because they don’t have motors. Instead, they are anchored to lakebeds or tied to the shore. They’re often fitted with decks, planter boxes and even second stories, the Bangor Daily News reported.
State officials say the camps pose pollution risks – with some speculating that their inhabitants are dumping sewage into the water – while also creating congestion at public docks and boat ramps. Some camps are even being used as rental properties.
Because they’re not on land, the camps are exempt from typical private property laws and shore regulations that govern pollution. Maine also doesn’t have a clear definition of what is and what is not a boat, meaning floating camps are in a regulatory gray area and cannot be removed.
Multiple state regulators recognized the problem more than two years ago, but can’t act without concrete legislative action.
This floating camp sits on the popular Moosehead Lake and is a year-round rental
A floating camp is pictured on the Androscoggin River, which flows through New Hampshire and Maine
More millionaires than ever are buying and building lavish lakefront homes in the Northeast state
More millionaires than ever are buying and building lavish lakefront homes in the Northeast state.
Now it appears Maine lawmakers are set to tackle the floating camps in the next legislative session.
They’ll take inspiration on how to crack down on the ‘non-water-dependent floating structures’ from a 2023 report penned by a group of state agencies.
The descriptor means the camps can exist and be functional outside the water, something true houseboats aren’t capable of.
‘The group identified a need to define and regulate these non-water-dependent floating structures in order to protect Maine’s waters, and this will take a collaborative approach involving the public, the Legislature and various state agencies,’ DIF&W Deputy Commissioner Tim Peabody told the Bangor Daily News.
The report points out that the mishmash of state and local agencies currently regulating Maine’s waters and boats is insufficient and has allowed for people to carve out a loophole.
The floating camps were described as ‘non-water-dependent floating structures’ in a report penned by a group of state agencies.
Another floating camp on Hadley Lake in East Machias, Maine
A floating camp that is extremely close to shore and serves as a rental
DIF&W Deputy Commissioner Tim Peabody, pictured, said state agencies worked together to find a way to better regulate floating camps. Now it’s up to the legislature to implement their suggestions or not
‘Currently, there is no singular agency with clear regulatory authority to prevent the use of these structures; and…There isn’t one statute or rule that covers all the scenarios,’ according to the report.
The first suggestion the report recommends is to clearly stipulate that the camps cannot legally qualify as houseboats because they can’t freely navigate through the water.
This would allow actual houseboats, which have been permitted in Maine for decades, to remain legally protected.
Next, it says lawmakers should ban floating camps under the new definition, while also prohibiting them from being registered as motorboats.
Finally, the report asks for lawmakers to give police the authority to conduct inspections on alleged floating camps so if new ones continue to pop up after the law change, they can actually be removed.
