[HISTORY: Adopted by the Board of Supervisors of the Township
of Upper Providence 2-1-2016 by Ord. No. 550. Amendments noted where applicable.]
The purpose of this chapter is to provide for the regulation,
inspection and maintenance of oil and grease interceptor systems;
to allow Township intervention in situations which may constitute
a nuisance or hazard to the public health, safety and welfare; to
allow Township inspection of records and devices for the removal of
FOGs from the public sewer collection system and POTW; and to establish
penalties and appeal procedures necessary for the proper enforcement
of this program.
For the purpose of this chapter, certain words shall have the
meanings assigned to them, as follows:
An employee of Upper Providence Township or consultant who
is authorized to function as an agent of the Board of Supervisors
to administer or enforce the provisions of this chapter.
The Board of Supervisors, Upper Providence Township, Montgomery
County, Pennsylvania.
Organic compounds derived from animal and/or vegetable sources
that contain multiple carbon chain triglyceride molecules. These substances
are detectable and measurable using analytical test procedures established
in 40 CFR 136, as may be amended from time to time. All are sometimes
referred to herein as "grease" or "greases."
The Montgomery County Health Department.
A system of piping, tanks or other facilities serving a single
property and intended for the collecting and holding of waste oil
and grease to include gravity and hydromechanical grease interceptors
and any other devices approved by the authorized agent for the removal
of FOGs from the collection system and POTW.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Any individual, partnership, corporation, limited liability
company or any other legal entity.
Publically owned treatment works.
Upper Providence Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
A.
The provisions of this chapter shall apply to all commercial, industrial
and institutional establishments located within the Township.
B.
Oil and grease interceptors shall be provided when required by the
Township Plumbing Code or by an authorized agent of the Township.
C.
Oil and grease interceptors shall not be required for residential
users.
D.
This chapter shall apply to both new and existing facilities generating
fats, oil or greases as a result of manufacturing, processing or preparing
food. These facilities include, but are not limited to restaurants,
food manufacturers, food processors, hospitals, hotels and motels,
prisons, nursing homes, groceries, convenience stores, any other facility
preparing, serving or otherwise making any food available for consumption
or any industrial process disposing of FOGs into the public sewer
collection system.
E.
No person may intentionally or unintentionally allow the direct or
indirect discharge of any fats, oils or greases into the public sewer
system in such amounts as to cause interference with the collection,
conveyance and treatment system, or as to cause pollutants to pass
through the POTW into the environment.
A.
No person shall install, construct or alter an oil and grease interceptor
system, or occupy any building or structure for which an oil and grease
interceptor is required without first receiving a permit from the
Township. Said permit shall identify the site and indicate that the
plans and specifications for the system are in compliance with the
provisions of this chapter.
B.
After receipt of all required approvals, any person desiring to construct
permitted oil and grease interceptor system shall notify and schedule
an inspection with the Code Enforcement Officer of the Township. A
minimum of 24 hours' advance notice must be given.
C.
No building or occupancy permits shall be issued for a new building
that will generate sewage containing FOGs until all devices installed
for the removal of FOGs have been inspected and approved as required
in the Pennsylvania Construction Code Act[1] by a certified authorized agent of the Township.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 7210.101 et seq.
D.
No building or occupancy permits shall be issued, and no work shall
begin on any alteration or conversion of any existing structure, if
said alteration or conversion will result in the increase or potential
increase of sewage containing FOGs from the structure, until the owner
receives a permit for alteration or replacement of the existing oil
and grease separator from the Township.
A.
All persons responsible for the operation of oil and grease interceptors
shall conduct weekly self inspections of the facility's condition
and operation and keep written document of the same.
B.
Any oil and grease interceptor and any required manifest or record
may be inspected by an authorized agent of the Township without advance
notice to the person owning or operating said oil and grease interceptor.
Inspections may take place at any reasonable time.
C.
An inspection may include, but not be limited to, a physical inspection
of the premises including food preparation areas, internal inspection
of the oil and grease interceptor, review of operational records and
manifests of grease removal, and verifying the sources of flow into
the oil and grease interceptor by introducing a traceable substance
into the facility plumbing.
D.
Operation of new oil and grease interceptors may not commence until
the facility has been inspected by an authorized representative of
the Township and an operating permit issued. Following startup, a
written schedule of routine inspections shall be established based
on the nature of the grease producing operation.
E.
All oil and grease interceptors in operation at the time of adoption
of this ordinance shall be inspected by an authorized agent of the
Township within six months of the date of adoption. A written schedule
of routine inspections shall be established based on the nature of
the grease-producing operation.
F.
Inspection of an oil and grease interceptor known or alleged to be
malfunctioning may occur at any time. Should the inspection verify
the existence of a malfunction, the person owning or operating said
oil and grease interceptor shall be ordered to take corrective actions
in accordance with this chapter and the rules and regulations of the
Township, MCHD and PADEP.
A.
Persons owning and/or operating oil and grease interceptors shall
limit discharges to those facilities to oil- and grease-bearing wastewater
from kitchens and food processing operations.
(2)
No surfactants, solvents, emulsifiers or other chemicals designed
to dissolve or allow grease to pass through the interceptor shall
be introduced into the interceptor or any of its associated piping.
(3)
Sewage generated by bathrooms, toilets and other non-food related
activities located on the same premises shall not be discharged to
oil and grease interceptors but rather, piped around the interceptor
and thence to the public sewer.
B.
Every person owning a facility served by an oil and grease interceptor
shall have the oil and grease interceptor pumped by a qualified pumper/hauler
within 60 days the effective date of this chapter. Thereafter, the
oil and grease interceptor shall be pumped and cleaned no less frequently
than once every 30 days or whenever an inspection reveals that the
oil and grease interceptor is filled with grease on the surface or
with solids at the bottom in excess of one-third of the liquid depth
of the tank.
(1)
Any person who owns or operates a grease interceptor may submit to
the Township a request in writing for an exception to the thirty-day
cleaning frequency of their grease interceptor. Then Township may
grant an extension for the cleaning frequency on a case-by-case basis
when:
(a)
The grease interceptor owner/operator has demonstrated the specific interceptor will produce effluent, based on defensible analytical results, in consistent compliance with established local discharge limits such as BOD, TSS, PH, FOG or other parameters as determined by Chapter 143 of the Code of the Township of Upper Providence.
(b)
Less than 25% of the wetted height of the grease interceptor,
as measured from the bottom of the device to the invert of the outlet
pipe, contains floating materials, sediment, oils or greases.
(2)
In any event, a grease interceptor shall be fully cleaned, evacuated,
and inspected at least once every 90 days.
C.
Manifest receipts from the pumper/hauler shall be retained by the
person responsible for the oil and grease interceptor and a copy shall
be submitted annually to the Township Code Enforcement Officer or
Sewer Department electronically. Each pump-out manifest shall include
a written statement from the pumper/hauler that the piping and baffles
in the oil and grease interceptor have been inspected and an assessment
of their condition.
D.
The Township can order an increase in the pumping frequency if it
is determined that the oil and grease interceptor is undersized, if
solids build up more rapid than the interceptor can easily accommodate,
if the hydraulic or grease loading to the system increases suddenly
or if malfunctions or other system deficiencies, in the opinion of
an authorized agent of the Township, demand more frequent pumping.
E.
Maintenance and repairs to the physical facilities associated with
the oil and grease interceptor system shall be conducted in accordance
with the recommendations of the system manufacturer, a qualified pumper/hauler
or the authorized representative of the Township. Repairs may only
be conducted following receipt of approval from the Township Code
Enforcement Officer. Following Township approval, repairs shall be
completed within 30 days.
F.
Additional maintenance such as pipe cleaning, unclogging of piping,
removal of surface and underground obstructions, and general service
of the facility shall be performed by the person responsible on an
as-needed basis.
G.
Oil and grease interceptors shall limit the concentration of grease discharge into the public collection system to a level not to exceed 100 milligrams per liter. The discharges from oil and grease interceptors shall also comply with prohibited discharge standards. An authorized representative of the Township shall have the right to sample the discharge from an oil and grease interceptor at any reasonable time without advance notice to the person responsible for said oil and grease interceptor. If the concentration of pollutants in the discharge from the oil and grease interceptor is found to be in violation of standards contained in the Township Code (specifically Chapter 143, Article VI, § 143-56), a written notice of violation shall be issued to the person responsible for said interceptor describing the nature of the violation and requiring that the cause of the violation be identified and remedied within 60 days of said notice.
H.
The authorized agent of the Township shall have the authority to
require the repair or replacement of a malfunctioning oil and grease
interceptor. If the person responsible for the malfunctioning oil
and grease interceptor fails to repair or replace the system as required
under the terms of this chapter, the Township shall have the authority
to perform, or contract to perform, the work required. The person
responsible for the malfunctioning oil and grease interceptor shall
be invoiced for the work performed and, if necessary, a lien shall
be entered against the property in accordance with law.
A.
Any persons responsible for an oil and grease interceptor system
shall keep records with regard to the pump out, repair and other maintenance
associated with said system. Manifests for grease removal shall be
kept for a period of two years. Permits and records of system repairs
shall be kept indefinitely.
B.
Each pump out of an oil and grease interceptor shall be documented
by a manifest filled out by the pumper/hauler and acknowledged by
the person responsible for the facility. The manifest shall include,
at minimum, the following information:
C.
Copies of manifests shall be provided to the person responsible for
the interceptor, the pumper/hauler and the Township. The Township's
manifest copy shall submitted annually to the Township Code Enforcement
Officer/or Sewer Department electronically.
Grease removed from oil and grease interceptors located in the
Township shall be disposed of in accordance with the requirements
of the Solid Waste Management Act[1] and all applicable rules and regulations, and shall be
disposed of only at sites or facilities approved by PADEP. It shall
be the responsibility of the person responsible for the oil and grease
interceptor to verify that the pumper/hauler is disposing of grease
in the appropriate manner.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 35 P.S. § 6018.101 et seq.
A.
The Board of Supervisors of the Township shall establish administrative
procedures necessary to carry out the provisions of the chapter. By
resolution, the Board of Supervisors may establish a fee schedule,
and authorize the collection of fees, to cover the cost to the Township
of administering this program.
B.
The Township shall also fully utilize those powers that it possesses
through other enabling statutes and ordinances to affect the purposes
of this chapter.
C.
All permits, records, manifests, and other written material related
to the installation, operation, maintenance and repair of oil and
grease interceptor systems in the Township shall become the property
of the Township.
A.
Anyone aggrieved by a decision of the authorized agent of the Township
may appeal said decision by submitting an appeal in writing to the
Board of Appeals within 10 days from the date of written notification
of the decision in question.
B.
The aggrieved individual shall be entitled to a hearing before the
Board of Appeals, or its designee, within 45 days of the written appeal.
Either party, by good cause shown, may extend the time for the hearing,
but the final decision shall be left to the discretion of the Board
of Appeals or its designee. Additional items may be introduced at
the hearing by the aggrieved individual, provided that it is submitted
with the written notice of appeal.
C.
A written decision shall be rendered within 45 days of the conclusion
of the hearing and all related proceedings.
Any violation of any provision of this chapter shall be deemed
a summary criminal offense and shall be subject to a fine of not more
than $1,000 plus court cost for each day that the offense continues.
Each day of noncompliance shall constitute a separate offense.