JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – Several local and state officials and houseboat owners are opposed to the Tennessee Valley Authority’s move to remove floating houses from its reservoirs in Tennessee and other states after a study showed a large number of the homes have been built and docked over the past 10 years.
Washington County commissioners voted on Monday to support a state Senate resolution urging the TVA to reject a provision that would require all houseboats to be removed within the next 20 years, the Johnson City Press reported.
According to the TVA study, the recent growth of unpermitted floating houses has raised concerns about potential environmental and safety impacts.
TVA amended its regulations in 1977 to prohibit non-navigable houseboats except for those existing before 1978.
“The Senate wants all boat houses to be grandfathered in,” Karen Jenkins, who owns a floating house docked on Boone Lake, told county commissioners Monday.