The intent of this policy is to provide guidelines and procedures to ensure compliance with OWASA's Sewer Use Ordinance. This policy is designed to aid in the prevention of sanitary sewer blockages and obstructions from contributions and accumulation of fats, oils, and greases discharged to the sanitary sewer system from industrial or commercial establishments, particularly food preparation and serving facilities.

SECTION 2 - POLICY

Grease, oil and sand interceptors shall be provided when, in the opinion of OWASA, they are necessary for the proper handling of wastewater containing excessive amounts of grease and oil, or sand; except that such interceptors shall not normally be required for residential users. All interception units shall be of type and capacity which is certified by a qualified professional, such as an engineer, as meeting OWASA's requirements and shall be easily accessible for cleaning, testing and inspection.

Food Preparation or Serving Facility: Any commercial or industrial facility that prepares or serves food, including but not limited to a restaurant, café, cafeteria, snack bar, grill, deli, catering service, bakery, grocery store, butcher shop, or similar establishment that discharges wastewater to the OWASA system.

Cooking Establishments: Those establishments primarily engaged in activities of preparing, serving, or otherwise making available food for consumption and that use one or more of the following preparation activities: cooking by frying (all methods), baking (all methods), grilling, sautéing, rotisserie cooking, broiling (all methods), boiling, blanching, roasting, toasting, or poaching and which discharge wastewater to the OWASA system. Also included are infrared heating, searing, barbecuing, and any other food preparation activity that produces a hot, non-drinkable food product in or on a receptacle that requires washing.

Grease Trap or Interceptor: A device for separating and retaining waterborne Greases and Grease complexes prior to the wastewater exiting the trap and entering the OWASA sanitary sewer collection and treatment system. These devices also serve to collect settable solids, generated by and from food preparation activities, prior to the water exiting the trap and entering the sanitary sewer collection and treatment system. Grease Traps and Interceptors are sometimes referred to herein as "Grease Interceptors".

Non-Cooking Establishments: Those establishments primarily engaged in the preparation of precooked foodstuffs that do not include any form of cooking. These include cold dairy and frozen foodstuffs preparation and serving establishments.

Vehicle Maintenance Facility: Any commercial or industrial facility where automobiles, trucks or equipment are serviced or maintained, including garages, service stations, repair shops, oil and lubrication shops, or similar establishments.

The following types of facilities will be required to have grease interceptors: restaurants, schools, hospitals, service stations, car washes, vehicle repair and lubrication facilities, nursing homes, and any other facility that handles grease and which discharges wastewater containing grease into the OWASA sewer collection system. All such establishments are required to have a properly sized and functioning grease interceptor which a qualified professional certifies, to OWASA, is designed to meet OWASA's sewer use and grease control requirements.

The following documents shall be submitted to OWASA for review and approval prior to issuance of a permit for installation of an interceptor. Any changes to the approved plan shall be approved by OWASA, prior to implementation.

• A site plan showing the location of the interceptor, lines and cleanout or manhole;
• Details of the interceptor, lines and cleanout or manhole;
• Formula and calculations used to determine the interceptor capacity.

Grease interceptors shall be installed by users as required by OWASA. Grease interceptors shall be installed at the user's expense. All grease interceptors shall be of a type, design, and capacity approved by OWASA and shall be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection. All such grease interceptors shall be serviced and emptied of accumulated was contents as required in order to maintain minimum design capabilities or effective volume of the grease interceptor, but not less than once every 60 days.

Businesses and other locations subject to this regulation which were in operation before the effective date of this regulation ("Existing businesses") and do not have grease interception systems are generally required to install such a system within one year of the effective date of this regulation. Such businesses may receive approval from the Executive Director of his/her designee, to install a system under alternate standards taking into account the circumstances of the business's operation, production of waste grease and the practicality of installation under normal requirements.

Existing businesses with an existing grease interception system that does not meet OWASA's standards may be required to upgrade the system or may be allowed to continue use of the present system subject to requirements such as a clean-out frequency less than 60 days.

Servicing and maintenance is essential for the efficient operation of grease traps and interceptors. All grease interceptors 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. Servicing frequency is site-specific and is dependent on the amount of oil and grease and suspended solids generated at each operation and the size of the grease trap or interceptor. In no case shall the frequency of cleaning be less than once every 60 days, or as otherwise specified in OWASA's permit for the interceptor system The volumes of greases and solids in grease traps and interceptors must not exceed the designed grease and solids storage capacity of the unit.

All users, including food preparation or serving facilities and vehicle maintenance facilities shall maintain a written record of maintenance performed on the interceptor for a minimum of three years. All such records will be available for inspection by OWASA upon request.

Under certain circumstances, the interceptor size and location may need special exceptions to this policy. If an exception to this policy is requested, the user must demonstrate that the size and location will not cause the facility any problems in meeting the discharge requirements of OWASA.

The Executive Director or his/her designee, 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.

If, an obstruction of an OWASA sewer main(s) occurs that causes a sewer overflow and such overflow can be attributed in part or in whole to an accumulation of grease in OWASA's sewer main(s), OWASA will take appropriate enforcement actions, as stipulated in OWASA's Sewer Use Ordinance, against the generator or contributor of such grease. These actions may include fines, civil penalties or a dicontinuance of sewer service.