(A) Requirements. Food establishments shall provide means of preventing oil and grease discharges to the sewage collection system above the limits of this section. Where an oil and grease interceptor currently exists or is required by the county and this section, the owner, leaseholder or operator at his or her expense shall maintain it for continuous, satisfactory and effective operation.
(B) Grease interceptors maintenance, record keeping, and grease removal.
(1) Grease interceptors shall be installed by users as required by the public works manager or his or her designee. Grease interceptors shall be installed at the user's expense, when such user operates a cooking establishment. Grease interceptors may also be required in non-cooking or cold dairy and frozen foodstuffs establishments and other establishments when deemed necessary by the public works manager for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease. No user shall allow wastewater discharge concentration from subject grease interceptor to exceed 325 milligrams per liter, as identified by EPA method 1664 or 275 milligrams per liter, as identified by EPA method 413. All grease interceptors shall be of type, design and capacity approved by the public works manager or his or her designee and shall be readily and easily accessible for user cleaning and District inspection. All such grease traps shall be serviced and emptied of accumulated waste content as required in order to maintain minimum design capability or effective volume of the grease interceptor, but not less often than every 90 days. Users who are required to pass water through a grease interceptor shall:
(a) Provide for a minimum hydraulic retention time of 24 minutes at actual peak flow or 12 minutes at the calculated theoretical peak flow rate as predicted by the Uniform Plumbing Code fixture criteria, between the influent and effluent baffles with 20% of the total volume of the grease interceptor being allowed for sludge to settle and accumulate, identified hereafter as a “sludge pocket.”
(b) Remove any accumulated grease cap and sludge pocket as required, but at intervals of not longer than 90 days at the user's expense. Grease interceptors shall be kept free of inorganic solid materials such as grit, rocks, gravel, sand, eating utensils, cigarettes, shells, towels, rags, etc., which could settle into this pocket and thereby reduce the effective volume of the grease interceptor.
(c) All facilities with grease interceptors shall annually send a sample of the effluent off to be tested to meet the requirements set forth in division (B)(1) of this section. The list of acceptable testing facilities will be maintained by the Public Works Manager and be provided to each facility covered under this section.
(d) Accept the following conditions: if any skimmed or pumped wastes or other materials removed from a grease interceptor are treated in any fashion on-site and reintroduced back into the grease interceptor as an activity of and after said onsite treatment, the user shall be responsible for the attainment of established grease numerical limit consistent with and contained in division (B)(1) of this section, on all discharges of wastewater from said grease interceptor into the District’s sanitary sewer collection and treatment system.
(e) Understand and agree that: the use of biological additives such as a grease degradation agent is conditionally permissible, upon prior written approval by the Public Works Manager. Any establishment using this method of grease abatement shall maintain the trap or interceptor in such a manner that attainment of the grease wastewater discharge limit, as measured from the trap's outlet, is consistently achieved.
(f) Understand and agree that: the Public Works Manager reserves the right to make determinations of Grease Interceptor adequacy and need, based on review of all relevant information regarding Grease Interceptor performance, facility site and building plan review and to require repairs to, or modification or replacement of such traps.
(2) The user shall maintain a written record of trap maintenance and annual effluent tests for three years. All such records will be available for inspection by the District during normal business hours.
(3) No non-grease-laden sources are allowed to be connected to sewer lines intended for grease interceptor service.
(4) Except as provided herein, for a period of one year following adoption of this section, although installation of grease interceptors will be required to be installed, no enforcement actions will be taken under this section for failure to achieve limits on grease discharges from grease interceptors. If during this one-year period an obstruction of the District’s sewer main(s) occurs that causes a sewer overflow to the extent that an impact on the environment is realized and that said overflow or failure of the sanitary sewer collection system to convey sewage can he attributed in part or in whole to an accumulation of grease in the District’s sewer main(s), the District will take appropriate enforcement actions.
(5) Access manholes, with a minimum diameter of 24 inches, shall be provided over each chamber and sanitary tee. The access manholes shall extend at least to finished grade and be designed and maintained to prevent water inflow or infiltration. The manholes shall also have readily removable covers to facilitate inspection, grease removal, and wastewater sampling activities.
(6) Enforcement guidelines.
(a) If any residence or food handling facility is determined to be the source, in whole or in part, of a sanitary sewer blockage and/or overflow, the residence or facility will be assessed a fine of not less than $500 and not more than $10,000, plus remediation costs for clean up, in addition to any fines dispensed from the state. The fines contained herein are not exclusive and the Director may use other methods to remedy the situation, such as the termination of water, wastewater service and/or legal action.
(b) Only the facilities connected to the county wastewater treatment system are required to meet the conditions of this section.
(c) The chart for various annual (runs January through December) infractions and fines can be found in South Camden Water & Sewer District rate schedule.
(Ord. 2010-07-01, passed 7-19-10)