SANDPOINT - Bonner County is drifting closer to adopting rules to regulate a new breed of float home being sold in the Inland Northwest.

The county's Waterways Advisory Committee advanced proposed legislation which would regulate so-called "water lodges," which are basically float homes, but regarded as vessels by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Some argue the water lodges were designed to bypass a long-standing moratorium on new float homes on Panhandle lakes. The lodges have the attributes of a boat - a wave-breaking hull and optional, small-horsepower motors - but don't need to permanently tie into terrestrial septic systems.

"If they hook up, it's a float home. They're not allowed to have a permanent hookup," said Cary Kelly, a member of the waterways committee who supervises the sheriff's marine patrol.

The lodges are equipped with 280-gallon septic storage tanks, which has raised fears that sewage could be discharged directly into a body of water. The craft's durability and maneuverability on Lake Pend Oreille, which is known for extreme weather conditions, has also been called into question.

The proposed ordinance would require water lodge owners to obtain a permit and renew it annually. Permit requirements would include approved permanent or seasonal moorage and the lodges' septic system would be inspected for conformance with Idaho's Marine Sewage Disposal Act.

Lodge owners would be required to develop a sanitation plan and obtain a written commitment from a licensed septic tank pumper or marina that they will service the vessel. Lodge owners would also have to notify the county if they intend to move the dwelling to another location on the lake.

The county would have the authority to revoke a permit and force a lodge's removal if the permit conditions aren't being followed, according to the draft legislation.

County commissioners agreed Tuesday to channel the proposed regulations through their civil counsel.

"I'm supportive of it if we have all the t's crossed and the i's dotted," Commissioner Todd Crossett said.