An ordinance that would require all retail food establishments and multi-use property owners, like office parks and shopping centers, to establish a grease control plan will be up for introduction at the West Windsor Council’s meeting on Monday, September 15.##M:[more]##
The ordinance would require all existing establishments to create grease control plans within 180 days of the ordinance’s adoption, while new establishments constructed after the ordinance is adopted will be required to have the plan and install external grease interceptors. The goal is to prevent grease from food from getting into drains and sanitary sewers and to prevent blockages in the lines, which creates headaches for township and Stonybrook Regional Sewage Authority employees, explained Jill Swanson, the township’s environmental health specialist, during the council’s meeting on September 2.
The ordinance creates a discharge limitation of 100 parts per million for fats, oils, and greases, she explained. In order for existing establishments to do that, monitoring devices need to be installed.
The current ordinance does not require a grease control plan. The ordinance will give direction to the establishments and property owners as to what township officials expect when they come out for inspection. “We don’t want to give them a violation,” Swanson said. “We want them to know up front that this is what the township expects. Develop a plan so that you can protect yourself from discharging grease that we don’t want you to discharge.”
Councilwoman Linda Geevers asked whether 180 days, or six months, was necessary, and whether the time limit could be reduced to 90 days. Swanson explained that a lot of the newer establishments are going to have a grease plan diagram already, but some older establishments may not. “Ninety days might be tough,” she said.
Councilwoman Heidi Kleinman, on the other hand, said she thought 180 days might not be enough in all cases. “Are you also going to be providing samples of what plans could be for existing establishments?” she asked. “Otherwise, it’s very anti-business to make life so difficult and put the burden on them to figure out what we’re looking for.”
Swanson said the ordinance does so by listing everything the establishment needs to put into its plan, including where the underground lines are, what information is needed in terms of schematics, maintenance schedules, and how much retention each grease interceptor has. “That’s very important for my department when we go out and try to troubleshoot a problem,” she said.
“It does seem like this is going to be time-consuming to get people to understand,” Kleinman said. “This is going to be a change, and 180 days might not be enough.”
Responded Swanson: “I agree. It may not be long enough, and the way this ordinance is written, it does give us some latitude to work with the establishment.”
Under the ordinance, the penalties for the first offense include monetary fines of up to $1,”000, or design changes, Swanson explained. If there is a problem, and township officials go out to check the establishment’s grease traps and find nothing wrong, and there is still a problem within the line, then “obviously a design change needs to happen in that existing establishment,” Swanson explained.
“Is it going to cost money? Yeah. Are they going to have to hire an engineer? Definitely. Is it going to impact their business? Yes, it is,” she added, but something has to be done to regulate the grease.
