[Adopted 2-23-2005[1] ]
[1]
Editor's Note: Editor's Note: This regulation
also contained the following list of technical references:
Standard PDI-G101: Plumbing and Drainage Institute,
Testing and Rating Procedure for Grease Interceptors with Appendix
of Sizing and Installation Data. October 1996. www.pdionline.org/
Guide to Grease Interceptors: Plumbing and
Drainage Institute, April 1998. www.pdionline.org/.
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:
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.
The Lexington Board of Health.
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.
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.
The Director of the Lexington Health Department.
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.
A device which shreds or grinds up solid or semisolid waste
materials into small particles for discharge into the sanitary sewer
collection system.
A user of any food service facility who produces wastes from
the user's process operations.
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.
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.
Liquids and solids discharged from toilets, urinals, and
other plumbing fixtures that are not intended for the disposal of
grease and oil.
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.
The owner or operator of a food service facility.
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.
Any hauler that has been issued a permit from the Board to
transport waste or offal within the Town.
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.
A.
Waste which contains grease may be discharged from
food service facilities only subject to the provisions and requirements
of this article. The Board at any time may require a user to install,
upgrade and/or relocate an internal or external grease interceptor,
as it may deem necessary, to maintain any particular building sewer,
any lateral sewer pipe, or sewer main pipe free from obstructions
caused by grease or oil discharged from a food service facility.
B.
When grease containing materials are processed through
garbage grinders, the waste shall be directed first to a solids interceptor
and then to a grease interceptor before any discharge to the wastewater
drainage system. Wok lines, fryerlators, and other cooking equipment
that use and discharge grease and/or oil shall have all drain lines,
collection pans, and other grease- and oil-conveying systems directed
through a grease interceptor before entering the wastewater drainage
system, unless all grease and/or oil substances are fully contained
and not connected to or conveyed to the drainage system. All waste
shall enter the grease interceptor through the inlet pipe only. Toilets,
urinals, and other plumbing fixtures shall not discharge sewage through
the grease interceptor unless approval is granted in writing by the
Board or its agent.
A.
New facilities. Users of all new proposed or constructed
food service facilities, and existing food service facilities where
expansion of service capacity or renovation is proposed, shall install
one or more grease interceptors conforming to applicable building,
plumbing and health codes.
B.
Existing facilities. All existing food service facilities
shall be required to install, modify or upgrade, as directed by the
appropriate Town official, an approved grease interceptor when any
of the following occur:
(1)
When the Board or its agent, the Town of Lexington
Public Works Department or the Town of Lexington Engineering Department
determines that a facility is discharging grease in quantities sufficient
to cause sanitary sewer line blockages or to cause increased levels
of maintenance of sanitary sewer lines required to reduce or prevent
main line blockages; or
(2)
When the Board or its agent, the Town of Lexington
Public Works Department, the Town of Lexington Engineering Department,
or a Town of Lexington Plumbing Inspector determines that the existing
grease trap is undersized, nonfunctional, or not properly plumbed
to all internal fixtures that generate grease or oil; or
(3)
When food preparation or wastewater plumbing
is repaired, replaced or redesigned, requiring a permit from the Office
of Community Development.
A.
The Health Department recommends that food service
facilities install PDI-certified automatic grease and oil removal
units or grease recovery units.
B.
Newly installed, upgraded, modified or repaired grease
interceptors shall conform to the specifications, design and sizing
approved by the Director and the Town of Lexington Plumbing Inspector.
In addition, if a grease interceptor is required to be installed external
to the facility, approval of specifications, design and sizing by
the Lexington Engineering Department is required. Sizing of the grease
interceptor shall conform to the Plumbing and Drainage Institute Standard,
PDI-G101, with sizing requirements based on wastewater flow rates
from the facility.
C.
External grease interceptor(s) shall be designed and
properly located on the facility(s) property by a registered Massachusetts
professional engineer, and a certified as-built drawing shall be submitted
to the Health Department and, if applicable, to the Engineering Department
if a new connection to the sewer system has occurred.
D.
Common grease interceptors, internal or external,
shall be sized to accommodate all the wastewater flows of the facility
that are directed to the interceptor(s).
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.
A.
Food service facilities shall integrate best management
practices to reduce grease discharged to the sewer system supplementary
to grease trap(s) installation and maintenance.
B.
Best management practices include, but are not limited
to:
(1)
Using less oil and liquid oil instead of solid
grease or lard;
(2)
Dry wiping pots, pans, and dishes before putting
them in the dishwasher or warewash sink;
(3)
Collecting and disposing of used grease and
oil through a licensed grease hauler instead of pouring it down the
drain;
(4)
Capturing the grease and oil in ventilation
and exhaust hoods.
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.
A.
All records pertaining to grease interceptor inspection,
maintenance, cleaning, removing, transporting and disposing of waste
grease and related wastes shall be retained by the food service facility
user on the site for no less than two years, and shall be available
upon request for review by the Board or its agent, the Town of Lexington
Public Works Department, the Town of Lexington Engineering Department
or a Town of Lexington Plumbing Inspector.
B.
Upon request by an agent of the Board, a food service
facility owner or operator shall furnish all information required
to enforce and monitor compliance with this regulation.
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.
A.
The Board may grant a variance or exemption from any
provision of these regulations when, in its opinion, the applicant
for the variance has established that:
(1)
Enforcement of the provision of this regulation
from which a variance is sought would be manifestly unjust, considering
all the relevant facts and circumstances; and
(2)
A level of protection to the Town of Lexington
sanitary sewer system at least equivalent to that provided under this
regulation can be achieved without strict application of the provision
from which a variance is sought.
B.
Requests for variances from this regulation must be
submitted in writing to the Board. Applicants for variances shall
be afforded the opportunity to appear in person, including any representatives
and experts, at a duly noticed public hearing held by the Board to
consider the variance request. Information on food preparation, grease,
oil and related waste produced by or discharged from the food service
facility, size of the proposed grease interceptors, facility use,
facility layout, plumbing plans and other relevant documents must
be presented for review. Wastewater calculations, prepared by a Massachusetts
licensed plumber, architect or engineer, may be presented to establish
grounds for a variance.
A.
It shall be unlawful for any user to discharge grease,
oil, or any other substance into the sanitary sewer system in any
manner which is in violation of this regulation or any order or notice
issued with respect thereto. Any user who violates any provision of
this regulation may be fined not more than $50 for each violation
under Chapter 40, § 21D, of the Massachusetts General Laws
and/or may be subject to injunction or other judicial order. Each
provision of this regulation that is violated, if more than one, shall
constitute a separate offense, and each day that the violation continues
shall constitute a separate offense. The Director may serve upon any
user a written notice stating the substance of the violation. Within
30 days of the date of such notice, a plan for correction of the violation
shall be submitted to the Director by the user. The plan shall include
a proposed date, subject to the approval of the Director, by which
time the user shall achieve compliance with the regulation. In the
event that compliance is not achieved within such proposed and approved
time, a monetary fine, as described herein, may be imposed or reinstated.
Users required to install, upgrade, repair or relocate grease interceptors
at food service facilities shall complete all work within 90 consecutive
calendars days from the date of an order, or as otherwise directed
by the Director.
B.
The Board of Health may, after providing opportunity
for a hearing, order the termination of one or more particular operations
at a food service facility for:
(1)
Serious or repeated violations of the regulation;
(2)
Substantial interference with the Board or other
Town of Lexington officials in the performance of their duties;
(3)
Knowingly keeping or submitting to Town of Lexington
officials any false records or documents required to be maintained
accurately by this regulation.
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.
