La Mesa Municipal Code Ch. 17.24 Fats, Oils and Grease Control

This chapter shall be known as "City of La Mesa Fats, Oils and Grease Control" and shall become effective as of July 1, 2009.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

The purpose of this chapter is to:

(a) prevent blockages and sanitary sewer overflows of sewer lines caused by the discharge of fats, oils and grease;

(b) reduce the adverse affects on sewage treatment operations resulting from discharges of fats, oils and grease into the system;

(c) specify appropriate fats, oils and grease discharge requirements for grease producing facilities discharging into the city's wastewater collection system; and

(d) protect public health and the environment by minimizing public exposure to unsanitary conditions.

The intent of this chapter is to use the police power of the city to regulate the direct and indirect discharge of waste containing fats, oils and grease into the city's wastewater collection system in a manner that complies with all applicable laws, including the federal Clean Water Act, California Water Code and applicable waste discharge requirements.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

For the purposes of this chapter certain terms are defined as follows:

(a) CITY ENGINEER means and refers to the director of public works/city engineer or his/her designee.

(b) COMPLIANCE SCHEDULE AGREEMENT means and refers to an agreement executed between the city engineer and a FSE found to be in violation with the requirements of this chapter. The agreement shall specify requirements for the FSE to attain compliance.

(c) FATS OILS AND GREASE (FOG) means any vegetable or animal product that is used in or is a by product of the cooking or food preparation process, and that turns or may turn viscous or solidifies with a change in temperature or other conditions.

(d) FATS, OILS AND GREASE CONTROL PROGRAM refers to a document adopted by a resolution of the city council providing procedural guidelines to implement the purpose and intent of this chapter.

(e) FOOD SERVICE ESTABLISHMENT (FSE) means a place where food is prepared and served and/or sold for consumption by the public and includes commercial and non-commercial establishments.

(f) GREASE PRETREATMENT DEVICE means any device that reduces excessive amounts of fats, oils and grease prior to discharge into the wastewater collection system.

(g) NOTICE OF VIOLATION (NOV) means and refers to a notice to the FSE owner or operator, provided by the city engineer, that identifies a violation of the requirements of this chapter, a request to schedule an additional inspection or a request to provide information.

(h) SEWAGE means any liquid waste and water borne solid waste resulting from residential, commercial, industrial or institutional activities or uses.

(i) HARDSHIP WAIVER refers to waiving of certain conditions imposed pursuant to the issuance of a FOG permit which are deemed impractical by the city manager.

(j) WASTEWATER means any volume of untreated or partially treated sewage ultimately discharged into the public sewer.

(k) WASTEWATER COLLECTION SYSTEM means any system of pipes, pump stations, sewer lines or similar devices on appurtenances used to collect and convey sewage to a treatment plant.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

The city council may periodically adopt or amend by resolution the City of La Mesa FOG Control Program for regulating the discharges of fats, oils, and grease into the wastewater collection system within the city. Said document shall be available in the office of the city clerk for examination and use by the public.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

Any FSE desiring to discharge wastewater into a public sewer shall obtain a permit from the city engineer which shall be referred to as a FOG discharge permit. The FOG discharge permit may require pretreatment of wastewater prior to discharge, restriction of peak flow discharges, discharge of certain wastewater only to specified sewers of the city, relocation of point of discharge, prohibition of discharge to certain wastewater components, restrictions of discharge to certain hours of the day, payment of additional charges to defray increase costs of the city created by the wastewater discharge, and other conditions as may be required to effectuate the purpose and intent of this chapter. No person shall discharge wastewater in excess of the quantity or quality limitations set by any FOG discharge permit and any other applicable requirements pursuant to federal, state or local law.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

(a) Persons seeking a FOG discharge permit shall complete and file with the city engineer an application in the form prescribed by the city engineer and accompanied by the applicable fees. The applicant shall be required to submit the following information:

(1) name and address of applicant;

(2) volume of wastewater to be discharged;

(3) time of daily food preparation operations;

(4) description of food preparation, type, number of meals served, cleanup procedures, dining room capacity, number of employees and size of kitchen; and

(5) any other information as may be deemed necessary by the city engineer to evaluate the permit application.

(b) The city engineer shall review the application within ten calendar days and may require additional information and an on-site inspection of the waste discharge system, treatment systems or other system relating to the waste discharge. Within thirty days of the submission of an application deemed complete by the city engineer, the city shall either issue subject to certain terms and conditions or deny a FOG discharge permit. A denial of any FOG discharge permit shall be without prejudice.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

A FOG discharge permit shall be issued for a specified time period not to exceed five years. The terms and conditions of the permit may be subject to modification by the city during the term of the permit as deemed necessary by the city engineer. The FSE shall be informed of any proposed changes in the permit at least thirty days prior to the effective date of change. Any changes or new conditions in the permit shall include a reasonable time schedule for compliance.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

FOG discharge permits shall be issued only for specific use for a specific operation. Any sale, lease, transfer or assignment of the use or operation for which the permit issued shall require a new permit. Any new or changed conditions of use or operation may l also require a new permit.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

The city engineer may revoke the FOG discharge permit issued to any FSE found to be in violation of the requirements of this chapter or if the same does any of the following:

(a) fails to comply with the conditions of the FOG discharge permit;

(b) fails to install required grease pretreatment devices as required by the FOG discharge permit;

(c) fails to comply with the reporting and/or pretreatment requirements or pretreatment device maintenance as required by the FOG discharge permit;

(d) fails to comply with a NOV or a compliance schedule agreement or any other provision of this Code;

(e) knowingly provides a false FOG discharge permit application or makes false representations or submits false documents, reports or logs to the city engineer;

(f) refuses to allow inspections during normal business hours or after hours if emergency conditions exist such as an overflow or suspected overflow;

(g) interferes with an FSE inspection or the sampling of an FSE discharge; or

(h) causes or contributes to sewer blockages or sewer overflows within the public sewer or fails to address the conditions leading to more than one overflow event from a private system within a twelve-month period.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

(a) General. Fees identified in this chapter shall be established from time to time by resolution of the city council.

(b) FOG discharge permit fee. FOG discharge permit fees shall be collected in conjunction with the issuance of the permit.

(c) Inspection fee. A fee based on the specified frequency of inspection as outlined in the FOG control program shall be collected at the time of FOG discharge permit issuance.

(d) Re-Inspection fee. A re-inspection fee may be collected for additional inspections required to determine whether specified corrective actions for noted violations of this chapter have been implemented and if additional improvements are required.

(e) NOV fee. A NOV fee may be collected from parties receiving a NOV of the FOG discharge permit.

(f) Grease disposal mitigation fee. A grease disposal mitigation fee shall be collected from parties who obtain a hardship waiver according to the requirements of this chapter.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

The city engineer shall require the FSE to maintain records of grease pretreatment device cleaning, maintenance and grease removal and to report on such maintenance to the city as requested. The city engineer may require the FSE to provide results of periodic measurements of its discharge which may include chemical analysis of oil and grease content. The FSE shall allow the city engineer ready access at all reasonable times to all areas of the use or operation for purposes of sampling and inspections.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

The city manager may waive certain conditions imposed pursuant to the issuance of a FOG discharge permit upon making a determination that said conditions are impractical. If the city manager makes the determination that a hardship exists then the applicant will be subject to a grease disposal mitigation fee as defined in Section 17.24.110(f). In considering the application of the said waiver, the following factors shall be considered:

(a) installation of a grease pretreatment device would conflict with other applicable laws or standards.

(b) installation of a grease pretreatment device is impractical due to existing conditions.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

(a) Wastewater discharge violation. Whenever a discharge of wastewater in any manner is in violation of this Code or of any order issued by the city engineer pursuant to this Code and declared a public nuisance, the discharge shall be corrected or abated as directed by the city engineer. Any person responsible for such a public nuisance shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(b) Falsifying of information. Any person who knowingly makes any false statement, representation, record, report, plan or other document filed with the city engineer or who falsifies, tampers with or knowingly renders inaccurate any monitoring device or method required pursuant to this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

(c) NOV. The city engineer may issue an NOV to a FSE for any violation of this chapter. The NOV may require that corrective action be taken by a specified date. Failure to comply with a NOV may result in the issuance of a compliance schedule agreement. Failure by the FSE to implement any element of a compliance schedule agreement shall be a violation of this chapter.

(d) Termination of service. The city engineer may revoke any FOG discharge permit issued or terminate any wastewater service to any use or operation if a violation of any provision of this chapter exists or if a discharge of wastewater causes or threatens to cause a condition of contamination, pollution or nuisance. If such conditions exist, the city engineer may act immediately to suspend the use or operation of the FSE.

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)

(a) Any notice issuance pursuant to this chapter shall be in writing and served in person or by mail. If served by mail, the notice shall be sent to the last address known to the city engineer. Where the address is unknown, service may be made upon the owner of the use or operation involved.

(b) Violations and enforcement actions may be appealed to the city manager. Appeals shall be made in writing setting forth the following information:

1. the name and mailing address of the person making the request or appeal;

2. the determination involved; and

3. the error claimed to have been made and all reasons in support of the request.

Appeals from the determination of the city engineer shall be filed with the city manager's office. Appeals from decisions of the city manager may be appealed to the city council and shall be filed with the city clerk. The required fee shall be paid with the filing. All requests shall be filed within ten days following the date of the final determination to be appealed."

(Ord. No. 2009-2794, § 1; April 14, 2009)