Getting The Grease Out The City of Rogers Approach Bob Winnes Environmental Compliance Specialist

What is FOG? Where does it come from? Why should we be concerned?

What is a food service? –Restaurant –Hospital –School –Nursing care facility –Bakery –Delicatessen –Market –Caterer

Types of grease from food services –Yellow grease –Brown grease

What is a grease interceptor?

What should be plumbed to the grease interceptor? –2 compartment sinks –3 compartment sinks –Prep sinks –Mop sinks –Hand wash sinks –Dishwashers –Floor sinks and drains –Trench drains

Kitchen sinks and floor drains –Screened Floor drains –Minimal use Garbage disposals or food grinders –Prefer they not be used –Required to be plumbed to a solids interceptor prior to connecting to the grease interceptor

What is an oil/grease dumpster?

Reasons for Grease Abatement Program Increase in the number of food services in Rogers Burden upon the existing sanitary sewer system Associated maintenance time and costs

Main goal KEEPING OIL AND GREASE OUT OF THE CITY’S SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM THUS PREVENTING A BUILD UP OF GREASE WITHIN THE SYSTEM AND THE ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS – BLOCKAGES, BACKUPS AND OVERFLOWS!

City of Rogers Approach Education Pre-approval of grease interceptor sizing –New food services –Renovated food services Grease Abatement Inspections

Requiring food service to Operate with proper grease interceptor sizing Improve and/or maintain grease interceptor maintenance Utilize Clean Kitchen Practices to minimize grease loading

Clean Kitchen Practices Never pour oil and/or grease down any drain or into any toilet Use less oil and liquid oil instead of solid grease or lard Scrape food scraps into designated trash receptacle Dry wipe, with a paper towel, all oily/greasy dishes, pots, pans, containers and utensils prior to putting them into hot water or placing them into the dishwasher

Collect, recycle or dispose of used oil/grease through an approved grease hauler – Liquid Waste Transporter (LWT) Use baskets and/or screens in all kitchen sinks to help prevent food debris from entering the drains Make sure all floor drains are properly screened Capture the oil and grease accumulated in ventilation and exhaust hoods through routine cleaning and filter changes

Clean (pump) grease interceptors on a regular basis Keep grease interceptors well maintained and properly working Make sure the used oil/grease intended for the oil/grease dumpster ends up inside the dumpster instead of spilled on the surrounding area Keep the oil/grease dumpster lid closed when not in use to prevent rainwater from causing messy overflows

The City’s Grease Abatement Program also targets homeowners Education –Bilingual door hangers –Information posted on the RWU website

Process for new food services Pre-approval of grease interceptor sizing –Inquiry form –Inspection for conformance Grease Abatement Inspection

Inquiry form Name of proposed business Address / location Date / Time / Contact / Contact’s Company Name / Phone Number / Discussions / Recommended grease interceptor size Dated, signed & sent to RWU’s Engineering

To determine grease interceptor sizing –Formula –Questionnaire Formula –Assigns specific numerical values Seating capacity With a dishwasher Without a dishwasher Commercial kitchen

Single service kitchen Hours of operation Questions –How often will the kitchen be used? (hours of operation for a restaurant) –How many people will be served at each of these uses? (seating capacity for a restaurant)

–Number of kitchen sinks? 2-compartment sinks 3-compartment sinks Mop sinks Prep sinks Hand wash sinks –Number of floor drains, floor sinks or trench drains? –Any dishwasher? commercial or residential type?

–Any garbage disposal? if so, must be plumbed to a solids interceptor prior to being connected to the grease interceptor –Any stoves? commercial or residential type? –Any ovens? commercial or residential type? –Any fryers? if so, how many? –Types of food served (obtain menu if possible)

We also request Site plan indicating the proposed location of the grease interceptor Waste and vent plumbing plan Waste and vent riser plan

Process for existing food services Developed –List of all food services –Documents Grease Abatement Inspection form for each food service category Bilingual educational material – grease abatement & FOG Clean Kitchen Practices Grease Interceptor Cleaning Record log List of approved liquid waste transporter services –Grease interceptors –Oil/grease dumpsters

Conduct Grease Abatement Inspection –Complete inspection form –Interviews & discussions –Physical inspection Kitchen Grease interceptor Oil/grease dumpster area, if applicable –Distribute Clean Kitchen Practices Educational material – grease abatement & FOG List of approved Liquid Waste Transporter services Grease Interceptor Cleaning Record log

–Follow-up letters –Necessary re-visits

Developed a food service database –Name of food service, address, phone number and contact name –Date last inspected –Grease interceptor? Size? Frequency pumped and by whom? –Oil/grease dumpster? LWT company –GPS coordinates – latitude, longitude & elevation –Associated manhole number

–RWU account number –Monthly water usage

Additional Assistance Dedicated RWU Field Operations Team –Inspect sanitary sewer lines, including the use of a camera –Notify of grease blockages found –Flush and vacuum sanitary sewer line blockages –Distribute door hangers in residential areas with grease problems –Maintain a grease blockage log

Without this teams efforts and assistance, my job would be a whole lot more difficult!

Questions