Management of Floating Cabins, 51709-51712 [2021-19999]

Agencies

• Tennessee Valley Authority

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 177 (Thursday, September 16, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51709-51712]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-19999]


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TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY


Management of Floating Cabins

AGENCY: Tennessee Valley Authority.

ACTION: Issuance of record of decision.

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SUMMARY: The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has adopted a policy to 
prohibit the mooring of new floating cabins on its reservoirs and allow 
floating cabins that meet minimum standards, consistent with Section 9b 
of the TVA Act and Alternative B1 in the Floating Houses Policy Review 
Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) issued in February 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David B. Harrell, Tennessee Valley 
Authority, 400 W Summit Hill Drive WT 11D-K, Knoxville, Tennessee 
37902. Telephone: 865-632-1327. Email: [email protected] or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This notice is provided in accordance with 
the Council on Environmental Quality's regulations (40 CFR 1505.2) and 
TVA procedures for implementing the National Environmental Policy Act 
(NEPA).
    TVA is a multi-purpose federal agency that has been charged by 
Congress with promoting the wise use and conservation of the resources 
of the Tennessee Valley region, including the Tennessee River System. 
In carrying out this mission, TVA operates a system of dams and 
reservoirs on the Tennessee River and its tributaries for the purposes 
of navigation, flood control, and power production. Consistent with its 
mission, TVA also uses the system to improve water quality and water 
supply and to provide a wide range of public benefits, including 
recreation and natural resource stewardship.
    To promote the unified development and regulation of the Tennessee 
River System, Congress directed TVA to approve obstructions across, 
along, or in the river system under Section 26a of the TVA Act. 
``Obstruction'' is a broad term that includes, by way of example, boat 
docks, piers, boathouses, buoys, floats, boat launching ramps, fills, 
water intakes, devices for discharging effluents, bridges, aerial 
cables, culverts, pipelines, fish attractors, shoreline stabilization 
projects, channel excavations, and floating cabins. TVA also owns, as 
agent for the United States, much of the shoreland and inundated land 
along and under its reservoir system. In addition to TVA's Section 26a 
jurisdiction and the permit conditions issued pursuant to such 
jurisdiction, TVA has conditions and covenants in approved land use 
agreements with commercial marina operators and land and shoreline 
management policies that stipulate or restrict how TVA property and 
shoreline areas can be used.
    In 1971, TVA amended its Section 26a regulations at 18 CFR part 
1304 to prohibit all new nonnavigable houseboats. Since 1971, TVA has 
made minor changes to its regulations affecting nonnavigable 
houseboats, most notably in 1978, when TVA reiterated the prohibition 
of nonnavigable houseboats except for those in existence on or before 
February 15, 1978. TVA developed the following criteria in its 
regulations to distinguish between navigable vessels and prohibited, 
nonnavigable houseboats:
    1. Built on a boat hull or on two or more pontoons;
    2. Equipped with a motor and rudder controls located at a point on 
the houseboat from which there is forward visibility over a 180-degree 
range;
    3. Compliant with all applicable State and Federal requirements 
relating to vessels;
    4. Registered as a vessel in the State of principal use; and
    5. State registration numbers clearly displayed on the vessel.
    In recent years, numerous TVA reservoirs have experienced an

[[Page 51710]]

accelerated growth in the number of a new, unpermitted type of 
obstruction, referred to as floating houses or cabins, which are 
designed and used primarily for human habitation or occupation and not 
designed and used primarily for navigation and transportation on the 
water. (Although TVA has used the term floating houses in the past, 
including in the EIS, TVA now refers to these structures as floating 
cabins.) While floating cabins may have some attributes of real 
watercraft, the structures neither resemble nor have the performance 
characteristics of navigable boats and are in fact a modern version of 
the older nonnavigable houseboats that TVA prohibited. While this 
growth has generated additional sources of revenue for commercial 
marina operators, the proliferation of these structures has resulted in 
unanticipated uses of the reservoir system and has raised concerns 
about impacts to public health and safety, public recreation, 
navigation, and the environment.

Alternatives Considered

    TVA considered six management alternatives in the Draft EIS and the 
Final EIS. The management alternatives range from an alternative that 
would require all nonnavigable houseboats and floating cabins to be 
removed from TVA reservoirs to an alternative which allows existing 
nonnavigable houseboats and floating cabins to remain on TVA reservoirs 
in perpetuity and allows for new floating cabins on all TVA reservoirs. 
The alternatives considered by TVA were:
    The No Action Alternative--TVA would use discretion in enforcing 
its Section 26a regulations and would address specific problems caused 
by the mooring and use of these structures on a case-by-case basis.
    Alternative A--TVA would approve and issue permits for the mooring 
of existing and new floating cabins that meet new minimum standards 
within permitted marina harbor limits, while noncompliant floating 
cabins would be removed from the reservoir. TVA would change its 
regulations to set minimum standards for safety and wastewater issues 
and would increase enforcement of the standards. Existing permits 
issued to nonnavigable houseboats would remain valid and would not be 
subject to new standards if they comply with existing permit 
conditions.
    Alternative B1--TVA would approve and issue permits for the mooring 
of existing floating cabins that meet new minimum standards within 
permitted marina harbor limits. Permitted nonnavigable houseboats in 
compliance with their permits would continue to be allowed. TVA would 
prohibit new floating cabins and update its regulations to clarify that 
floating cabins are deemed nonnavigable. In the Draft EIS, TVA stated 
that its preference was to implement either Alternative B1 or B2 as its 
policy.
    Alternative B2--TVA would approve existing floating cabins that 
meet new minimum standards and allow mooring within permitted marina 
harbor limits for a limited time period, after which all floating 
cabins must be removed from TVA reservoirs. TVA would continue to allow 
existing permitted nonnavigable houseboats that are compliant with 
their permit conditions but would require that they also be removed 
from TVA reservoirs within the time period. TVA would prohibit new 
floating cabins. In the Draft EIS, Alternative B2 included a 30-year 
sunset period by which time these structures would be removed. In the 
Final EIS, TVA identified Alternative B2 as its preferred policy and 
proposed a 20-year sunset period.
    Alternative C--TVA would continue to allow permitted nonnavigable 
houseboats that comply with their current permit conditions. TVA would 
prohibit new and existing floating cabins. TVA would require removal of 
all unpermitted floating cabins and permitted nonnavigable houseboats 
that are noncompliant with their permit conditions in accordance with 
18 CFR 1304.406. TVA would amend its regulations to clarify its 
navigability criteria but would not issue new standards.
    Alternative D--TVA would use its existing Section 26a regulations 
and property rights to remove existing floating cabins and noncompliant 
nonnavigable houseboats and to stop the mooring of new floating cabins 
on its reservoirs. TVA also would use the conditions and covenants in 
its land use agreements with marina operators to implement this 
approach.

Environmentally Preferable Alternative

    Alternative B2 is the alternative most likely to result in the 
fewest environmental impacts over time because all floating cabins and 
nonnavigable houseboats would eventually be removed from TVA reservoirs 
and environmental impacts associated with the mooring and use of these 
structures would cease after that period.

Public Involvement

    TVA published a notice of intent to prepare the EIS in the Federal 
Register on April 14, 2014. TVA sought input from Federal and state 
agencies, Federally recognized Indian tribes, local organizations and 
individuals during a 90-day public scoping period. Public meetings were 
held in Jasper, Parsons, Kingsport, and Lafollette, Tennessee, and in 
Bryson City, North Carolina, with more than 200 attendees in total. The 
most common issues raised during the scoping period related to 
electrical safety, anchoring and mooring practices, water quality, the 
economic and financial importance of these structures to owners and 
marina operators, and the need for minimum standards, inspections, and 
enforcements. TVA also received recommendations for future management 
and policy alternatives. TVA prepared and published a Scoping Report 
that detailed the outreach and input during this period.
    The NOA of the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on 
June 12, 2015. TVA held public meetings on the Draft EIS in July and 
August 2016 in Lafollette, Parsons, and Johnson City, Tennessee, and in 
Bryson City, North Carolina, and accepted comments until August 25, 
2015. TVA received 151 comment submissions on the Draft EIS and 
provided responses in the Final EIS. In response to numerous 
substantive comments, TVA made revisions and corrections to the EIS. 
After considering the public's feedback on the Draft EIS and further 
internal deliberation, TVA modified Alternative B2 by applying a 
shorter period of time by which all nonnavigable houseboats and 
floating cabins must be removed from TVA reservoirs.
    The NOA of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on 
February 26, 2016. In the Final EIS, TVA identified Alternative B2 as 
its preferred floating cabins policy alternative and stated its intent 
to formally establish regulations to implement the policy. After the 
publication of the NOA and prior to the TVA Board of Directors (Board) 
meeting on May 5, 2016, TVA staff and the Board received several 
hundred comment submissions primarily from owners of nonnavigable 
houseboats and floating cabins expressing opposition to the proposal to 
remove these structures after a 20-year period. Most individuals, 
however, stated that they recognized the need for greater oversight of 
floating cabins by TVA and for new standards. Elected officials, marina 
owners and operators, and several organizations also contacted TVA to 
state their opposition to the sunset provision. A few commenters 
asserted that the EIS does not conclude that nonnavigable houseboats 
and floating cabins have an effect on the environment (in particular, 
reservoir water quality), navigation, or

[[Page 51711]]

the public's use of reservoirs. While these commenters questioned the 
conclusions of TVA's environmental and economic analyses, the 
individuals did not submit additional information or scientific data 
for TVA to consider. TVA also received a petition with over 3,600 
signatures and almost 950 comments from individuals opposing the sunset 
provision. Generally, these individuals supported Alternative B1.
    At the May 5, 2016 meeting of the Board in Buchanan, Tennessee, 47 
individuals spoke during the public listening session. Most speakers 
opposed the sunset provision of Alternative B2. Several speakers 
expressed support of the proposal.

Decision

    At the May 2016 meeting, the Board approved Alternative B2, with 
some revisions, as TVA's policy for the management of nonnavigable 
houseboats and floating cabins, but chose to apply a 30-year sunset 
period rather than the 20-year period proposed in the Final EIS. The 
Board's decision adopted a policy to prohibit new floating cabins and 
allow existing non-navigable houseboats and floating cabins to remain 
in place for the 30-year period. The Board restated its earlier 
determinations that these structures pose safety, navigation, and water 
pollution risks and primarily benefit their owners at the expense of 
the public's right to use and enjoy public waters. The Board also 
directed staff to amend TVA's Section 26a regulations to implement the 
new policy, establish environmental and safety standards, and to 
institute a registration and inspection fee system for nonnavigable 
houseboats and existing floating cabins to secure the resources needed 
to enforce new standards and permit requirements.
    On December 16, 2016, prior to TVA's issuance of a Record of 
Decision to reflect the Board's decision, the United States Congress 
enacted the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act of 
2016 (WIIN Act) including Title IV Section 5003, which amended the TVA 
Act to include Section 9b. This new section of the TVA Act provides 
that TVA may approve and allow the use of floating cabins on waters 
under the jurisdiction of TVA as of December 16, 2016, if the floating 
cabin is maintained to reasonable health, safety and environmental 
standards, as required by the Board and if the owner pays a compliance 
fee if assessed by TVA. The WIIN Act stipulates that TVA may not 
require the removal of a floating cabin that was located on the 
Tennessee River System as of December 16, 2016: (1) For a period of 15 
years if it was granted a permit by TVA before enactment, or (2) for a 
period of 5 years if it was not granted a permit by TVA before 
enactment. It further stipulates that TVA may establish regulations to 
prevent the construction of new floating cabins.
    Consistent with the provisions of the WIIN Act, TVA completed two 
rulemaking processes to establish regulations to implement these 
provisions. In August 2018, TVA completed a rulemaking process to amend 
its regulations that govern floating cabins to clarify the types of 
structures that TVA will regulate as floating cabins and to prohibit 
new floating cabins from mooring on the Tennessee River System after 
December 16, 2016 (83 FR 44467, August 31, 2018). In September 2021, 
TVA completed a second rulemaking process to address the permitting 
process for existing floating cabins and establish health, safety, and 
environmental standards (86 FR 50625, September 10, 2021). These rules 
become effective on October 12, 2021.
    During its environmental review, a primary environmental issue of 
concern was how floating cabin wastewater would be managed. Among the 
standards included in the new rules are requirements pertaining to 
water discharge, sewage, and wastewater, to ensure compliance with all 
applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. If a 
floating cabin is documented to be in violation of any federal, state, 
or local discharge or water quality regulation by the respective 
regulatory agency, TVA will have the authority to revoke the permit and 
require removal of the floating cabin from the Tennessee River System 
if the violation is not corrected as specified by the regulatory agency 
in accordance with the agency's requirements.
    Because some provisions of the Board's approved alternative 
(Alternative B2) are inconsistent with provisions of the WIIN Act, TVA 
has decided to manage floating cabins in a manner that is substantively 
similar with Alternative B1 in the EIS, to the extent consistent with 
the WIIN Act. TVA will permit the mooring of existing floating cabins 
that meet minimum standards within permitted marina harbor limits. In 
addition, permitted nonnavigable houseboats in compliance with their 
permits would continue to be allowed.
    Through the rulemaking processes, several standards established by 
TVA differ in minor ways from several of the potential standards 
included in the EIS, which served to assist TVA in analyzing the 
potential impacts associated with floating cabin management. In the 
final regulations, due to the elimination by the WIIN Act of the sunset 
period, TVA will require that owners of all pre-1978 nonnavigable 
houseboats be in compliance with the new standards established during 
the rulemaking, rather than maintain compliance with the previous 
permit conditions as contemplated in the EIS. Applying the new 
standards to older vessels has the potential to reduce environmental 
impacts because the new standards would be more stringent than the 
original permit conditions. In addition, at this time TVA will not 
apply an annual administrative fee to floating cabin owners and will 
lengthen the period of time provided to owners to make necessary 
upgrades to floating cabins to bring them into compliance with current 
standards; these provisions would result in minor reductions in the 
economic impacts to floating cabin owners that are described in the 
EIS. In the final regulations, TVA would allow exchanges or 
combinations of up to 1,000 square-foot maximum footprint of the cabin, 
as contemplated in the EIS, and up to another 400 square feet of 
attached structures (such as docks and boat slips). While the total 
spatial limit would be marginally greater than what was contemplated in 
the EIS, the intent of the exchange program has not changed, and TVA 
anticipates that the program would reduce or at least maintain the 
current total footprint of floating cabins and attached structures on 
reservoirs.
    TVA also notes that since completion of the Final EIS in 2016, TVA 
staff conducted additional surveys of floating cabins and now estimate 
that as many as 20% more floating cabins are present on TVA reservoirs 
than estimated in the EIS (1,800). The exact number of cabins is 
difficult to determine, however. A greater number of floating cabins 
would increase the impacts described in the EIS. However, because 
impacts would be proportionately greater across the alternatives, the 
increase in the estimated number of floating cabins is unlikely to 
result in a change to conclusions made by TVA in its analysis.
    TVA has considered whether this higher estimate and the minor 
differences between the established standards and the potential 
standards identified in the EIS necessitate the supplementation of the 
EIS. TVA has determined that such supplementation is not necessary 
because the changes are not substantial and the new information is not 
significant as is relevant to environmental concerns. The

[[Page 51712]]

information would not meaningfully alter TVA's analysis of impacts.

Mitigation Measures

    During the environmental review, TVA identified and considered ways 
in which the impacts associated with the mooring and use of 
nonnavigable houseboats and floating cabins could be reduced and 
mitigated and included in the alternatives a number of proposals to 
reduce or eliminate ongoing or potential future impacts. TVA would 
require that owners of these structures adhere to permit conditions and 
minimum standards, many of which are intended to mitigate potential 
impacts to the environment. These minimum standards have been 
established through formal rulemaking processes and address water 
quality, flotation materials, public safety mooring practices, size, 
and navigation.
    All floating cabins, including nonnavigable houseboats that have 
been previously permitted by TVA, must comply with the new standards by 
a specified deadline. Non-compliance with these terms could result in 
the termination or denial of the permit and removal from the reservoir, 
consistent with timeframes identified in the WIIN Act. The requirements 
and the successful implementation of an enforcement and compliance 
system will reduce environmental impacts associated with the mooring 
and use of these structures on TVA reservoirs. Because this is a 
programmatic NEPA review, measures to reduce potential environmental 
impacts of site-specific activities associated with this policy were 
not identified. Additional environmental reviews would be required if 
changes to specific marina operations are proposed affecting 
nonnavigable houseboats and floating cabins and additional mitigation 
measures may be identified.
    To address potential effects of implementing the policy on cultural 
and historic resources, TVA completed a programmatic agreement in May 
2016 with the State Historic Preservation Officers (SHPO) of Alabama, 
Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. This 
programmatic agreement was amended and executed in January 2021. Under 
the agreement, TVA will consult with the appropriate SHPO and 
consulting parties when reviewing either plans submitted to TVA by 
marina owners related to harbor limits or plans for individual floating 
cabin owners moored outside of marina harbor limits.
    Authority: 40 CFR 1505.2.

Allen A. Clare,
Vice President, River and Resources Stewardship.
[FR Doc. 2021-19999 Filed 9-15-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8120-08-P