In accordance with 40 Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) Part 403; Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 111, § 31;
and, Title 5 of the State Environmental Code (310 CMR 15.), the Lexington
Board of Health adopts the following regulation.
The purpose of this regulation is to protect
residents, businesses, and the environment within the Town of Lexington
from blockages of the Town's sanitary sewer system caused by grease,
kitchen oils, and other substances discharged from food service facilities.
The effective date is the date this regulation
was enacted by the Lexington Board of Health.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
AGENT
Any duly authorized agent of the Lexington Board of Health
as specified under Massachusetts General Laws, c. 111, § 30,
including the Director of the Lexington Health Department.
BOARD
The Lexington Board of Health.
BUILDING SEWER
A pipe or pipes maintained and controlled by private persons
for the purpose of conveying wastewater from the waste producing location
to the sanitary sewer collection system.
COMMON GREASE INTERCEPTOR
An interceptor to which grease and other wastes are directed
from greater than one facility having different users or types of
operations, such as in a food court.
DIRECTOR
The Director of the Lexington Health Department.
FOOD SERVICE FACILITY
Any facility which prepares, serves, cuts, cooks, or bakes
food, or which disposes of food-related wastes, including mobile food
units, catering kitchens, residential kitchens that operate a food
service business, food service facilities where the consumption of
food prepared therein is intended to occur off-premises, and any establishment
issued a permit to operate a food service by the Board under 105 CMR
590.000.
GARBAGE GRINDER
A device which shreds or grinds up solid or semisolid waste
materials into small particles for discharge into the sanitary sewer
collection system.
GENERATOR
A user of any food service facility who produces wastes from
the user's process operations.
GREASE
A material composed of fatty matter from animal or vegetable
sources or hydrocarbons of petroleum origins. The terms "oil and grease"
or "oil and grease substances" shall be deemed grease by definition.
GREASE INTERCEPTOR
A water-tight device constructed to separate and trap or
hold oil and grease substances from the wastewater discharged from
a facility in order to prevent oil and grease substances from entering
the sanitary sewer system, also referred to as a "grease trap" or
"grease recovery device." The grease interceptor may be an internal
grease interceptor located within the facility, an external grease
interceptor located outside the facility, or both, depending on sizing
requirements of the food service facility.
SEWAGE
Liquids and solids discharged from toilets, urinals, and
other plumbing fixtures that are not intended for the disposal of
grease and oil.
SOLIDS INTERCEPTOR
A water-tight device constructed to collect and hold solid
substances, such as waste from a garbage grinder, apart from the wastewater
discharged from a food service facility in order to prevent solids
from entering the grease interceptor and from entering the sanitary
sewer system, also referred to as a "solids trap." The solids interceptor
may be located internally or externally to the facility, or both depending
on the sizing required to capture solid discharging fixtures from
the food service facility. The solids interceptor is installed in
the wastewater flow preceding the grease interceptor.
USER
The owner or operator of a food service facility.
WAREWASH SINK
Any sink, compartment sinks, containers, buckets, or other
device or vessel in a food services facility where utensils, dishware
equipment and other items coming into contact with food are cleaned.
WASTE HAULER
Any hauler that has been issued a permit from the Board to
transport waste or offal within the Town.
WASTEWATER
The liquid and water carrying domestic or industrial wastes
from dwellings, commercial establishments, industrial facilities,
institutions, restaurants, or any other facility which is deemed to
produce liquid and water waste. Wastes may include, but are not limited
to, discharges from scullery sinks, pot and pan sinks, warewash sinks,
compartment sinks, food prep sinks, cooking apparatus, dishwashing
machines, soup kettles, floor drains located in areas where grease-containing
materials may exist. By definition, the terms "sewage" and "wastewater"
refer to different discharges.
The location where grease interceptor(s) shall
be installed, including whether it shall be installed external to
the food service facility, will depend upon building, site, environmental
and interceptor sizing parameters. Each grease interceptor shall be
installed and connected in a manner that makes it easily accessible
for purposes of inspection, removal of the intercepted grease, cleaning
and maintenance. Grease interceptor(s) shall be installed as far as
possible from any part of the building where food is handled, prepared,
and/or stored. Location of the grease interceptor(s) shall be approved
by the Director and the Town of Lexington Plumbing Inspector, and
if external to the facility, the Town of Lexington Engineering Department.
All grease interceptors shall be maintained
by the user at the user's expense. The user shall conduct initial
monitoring sufficient to identify the interceptor maintenance and
cleaning requirements and to develop a written cleaning and maintenance
plan that the user, his agents and employees shall thereafter comply
with. At a minimum, the user or his/her designee shall inspect the
grease interceptor(s) monthly; and, shall have all interceptors cleaned
before the amount of grease exceeds 25% of the grease capacity of
the interceptor or once every month for internal grease traps and
once every six months for external grease traps, whichever comes first.
Written logs of inspections, cleaning and pumping shall document data
with respect to each internal and external grease interceptor, including
the date of grease interceptor opening, an estimate of the amount
of grease removed, the name of the person who inspected the interceptor
or removed grease, and such person's signed initials or signature.
All waste grease and oil and other related wastes
requiring storage at the food service facility as a result of removal
from grease interceptors or otherwise shall be collected and stored
in appropriate container(s) in an approved location at the food service
facility. Container(s) shall be stored on an impervious surface such
as concrete or pavement. Containers shall be either sealed or stored
in a sheltered area, and maintained to prevent entry of precipitation
and of animals. All waste grease and oil and related wastes shall
be removed from the food service facility only by a permitted waste
hauler licensed by the Lexington Board of Health. All grease containers
and surrounding areas must be kept in a sanitary condition at all
times.
All waste grease, oil, and related wastes shall
be removed from the facility only by a permitted waste hauler licensed
by the Lexington Board of Health. All material removed from grease
interceptors, and hauling and disposal of grease and other related
waste, shall be documented in a written manifest, which includes the
identities and contact information of the generator, transporter and
disposal facility. The generator is responsible for assuring that
all waste grease and related wastes are disposed of in accordance
with all federal, state, and local disposal regulations.
Authorized agents and employees of the Health
Department, Plumbing Department, and/or Public Works Department shall
have the right to inspect, observe, measure, sample, test, photograph,
and/or review documents with respect to the grease interceptor(s)
and solids interceptor(s) within a food service facility, at any reasonable
time and without prior notification.
Any user or other person who has received an
order or notice issued pursuant to this regulation may request a hearing
before the Board. Such request shall be in writing and shall be submitted
to the office of the Board within 10 days after receipt of the order
or notice.
Each provision of this regulation shall be construed
as separate to the end that if any part of it shall be held invalid
for any reason, the remainder shall continue in full force and effect.