More than 350 families received an early Christmas present last week when President Obama signed a bill into law that will allow them to keep their floating homes on Fontana Lake.

Houseboat owners on Fontana Lake may get to keep their floating homes after all if legislation passes to exempt Fontana from the Tennessee Valley Authority’s decision to remove 1,800 structures from its lakes. 

U.S. Rep. Mark Meadows, R-Cashiers, introduced a bill last week to halt the Tennessee Valley Authority’s plan to ban floating homes on all of its 49 lakes.

While the Tennessee Valley Authority seems unwilling to reconsider its decision to sunset all lake houseboats within 30 years, houseboat owners on TVA’s reservoirs aren’t giving up yet.

Following a May 5 decision by the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors to ban all houseboats on Fontana Lake after 30 years, TVA promised to spend the next six months talking to stakeholders in an effort to mitigate the negative economic impact.

Members of the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors recently requested a meeting with Swain and Graham County officials to discuss the TVA’s recent decision to remove all 1,800 houseboats from its 49 lakes within the next 30 years.

Houseboat owners on Fontana Lake aren’t quite ready to give up their investments without a fight even after the Tennessee Valley Authority made the decision last month to ban all floating houses in 30 years.

Opposition from local, state and federal politicians, a petition with 3,500 signatures and more than three hours’ worth of poignant testimony from the public wasn’t enough to sway the Tennessee Valley Authority board of directors from imposing a 30-year sunset on all houseboats moored on TVA lakes.

Swain County commissioners unanimously passed a resolution last week opposing the Tennessee Valley Authority’s proposal to remove all boathouses from its reservoirs within 20 years. 

Scott Collins’ family has owned a houseboat on Fontana Lake since 1965 — that’s five generations that have made lasting family memories while enjoying a little rest and relaxation in the Great Smoky Mountains.