Maine is in a bind over how to control floating “campgrounds” that block homeowners’ coastal views and clog the state’s many lakes, ponds and rivers.
Many of the structures, which are appearing more and more, are not houseboats because they do not have motors. Instead, they are anchored to the lakebed or moored to the shore. They are often equipped with terraces, planters and even second floors. Bangor Daily News reported.
State officials say the camps pose contamination risks, with Some speculating Residents dump sewage into the water, creating congestion at public docks and boat ramps. Some camps are even used as rental properties.
Because they are not on land, the camps are exempt from private property laws and coastal regulations governing pollution. Additionally, Maine has no clear definition of what is and is not a boat, meaning floating camps fall into a regulatory gray area and cannot be unilaterally eliminated.
Several state regulators acknowledged the problem more than two years ago, but are unable to act without concrete legislative action.
A floating camp is shown on the Androscoggin River, which flows through New Hampshire and Maine.
More millionaires than ever are buying and building luxury lakefront homes in the northeastern state
More millionaires than ever are buying and building luxury lakefront homes in the northeastern state.
Now it appears Maine lawmakers are set to address the floating camps issue in the upcoming legislative session.
They will be inspired by how to end “floating structures that do not depend on water” a 2023 report Written by a group of state agencies.
The descriptor means that campsites can exist and be functional off the water, something that true houseboats are not capable of doing.
“The group identified the need to define and regulate these non-water-dependent floating structures to protect Maine waters, and this will require a collaborative approach involving the public, the Legislature and several state agencies,” DIF&W Deputy Commissioner Tim Peabody told the Bangor Daily News.
The report says the patchwork of state and local agencies currently regulating Maine’s waters and vessels is inadequate and has allowed people to find loopholes.
The floating camps were described as “floating structures that do not rely on water” in a report by a group of state agencies.
A floating camp that is very close to the shore and serves as a rental site.
This campground is located on the popular Moosehead Lake and rents year round.
“Currently, there is no single agency with clear regulatory authority to prevent the use of these structures; and… there is no statute or rule that covers all scenarios,” the report said.
The first suggestion the report recommends is to clearly stipulate that camps cannot legally qualify as houseboats because they cannot navigate freely on the water.
This would allow actual houseboats, which have been allowed in Maine for decades, to remain legally protected.
He goes on to say that lawmakers should ban floating camps under the new definition, as well as prohibit them from being registered as motorized vessels.
Finally, the report calls on lawmakers to give police the authority to carry out inspections at suspected floating camps, so that if new ones continue to appear after the law change, they can be removed.
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