Amended floating camps bill voted ought to pass

By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff

A bill that will prohibit floating camps from Maine’s lakes and ponds got the nod May 28 by the Legislature’s Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The committee voted ought-to-pass unanimously of those present for LD 1763, An Act to regulate Nonwater-Dependent Floating Structures on Maine’s Waters, with an amendment to add a grandfather clause to protect established businesses like DiMillo’s Marina in Portland. Two committee members were absent.

Floating camps are similar to traditional structures found on the shores of lakes, ponds and rivers, but they are on floats in a body of water. They fall between the cracks of regulation, can block the view of tax-paying land campowners and have been increasing in number in the last few years.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, the Maine Department of Marine Resources and the Maine Department of Environmental Protection have been working for about four years to draft a bill.

The bill carries a criminal penalty and outlines enforcement stipulations.

The amendment grandfathers floating buildings that have been in place as of Jan. 1, 2025, and provides a procedure for business owners to renew leases to continue to operate.

There is a stipulation that the committee will receive a report back in February 2026.

The committee held four work sessions on the bill after the public hearing. The bill was recommended as an emergency and will be effective immediately with the Legislature’s approval.