Grease haulers pump out the contents of grease removal devices and dispose of the grease at landfills that accept grease waste, or at sewage treatment facilities. Unfortunately, many grease hauling companies have been caught illegally dumping grease from their clients' grease removal devices into sewer manholes or storm drains. Grease can suffocate fish and is harmful to the plants and animals that inhabit the creeks, streams, and bay. Food service facilities can be held responsible when grease from their facilities is improperly handled, and can face large fines as a result. To protect your business and the environment you should closely monitor the activities of the grease hauling companies they hire to be certain that they are acting responsibly. It is recommended that an employee be assigned to supervise the grease hauler. Ask questions about how the hauler handles the grease waste from your facility. Very low prices for grease pumping and hauling services may be an indication that the hauler is not properly disposing of the grease. It is also important that grease removal devices be cleaned out often. In some instances, especially for facilities using under-the-sink grease traps, the grease removal device needs to be cleaned out far more frequently than every six months to prevent FOG from passing through the device and into the sewer.
Two Unfortunate Stories…
Adobe Creek
In September 2000, two drivers working for a grease hauler dumped 8000 gallons of grease from a Los Altos restaurant into Adobe Creek. The grease fouled a one-half mile stretch of the creek and took crews two days to clean up. The two men were convicted in July 2002 of felony water pollution charges. The two employees were each sentenced to 90 days in county jail and fined $13,500 for dumping the grease. The hauler was ordered to pay approximately $35,000 in fines and restitution after being convicted.
Matadero Creek
In December 2001, the Palo Alto Hills Golf and Country Club hired a different hauling company to pump out its 3000 gallon grease interceptor. Due to previous changes in management, the Country Club had failed to have the grease interceptor pumped out for several years. When the company came on site to pump out the grease interceptor, hundreds of gallons of grease from the interceptor were released to the sanitary sewer. The grease caused several blockages in the downstream sewer line on Page Mill Road, and several thousand gallons of raw sewage and grease overflowed from the sewer into Matadero Creek. As a result of this incident, the Country Club paid a $10,000 fine and $4,000 in cleanup costs.
A-1 did not settle and we began to work with the DA. The DA's office is pursuing a criminal case. Palo Alto's Environmental Compliance and Water Gas and Wastewater staff are supporting the DA and testified at the Grand Jury hearing which lead to a December 2, 2003 indictment. A-1 Septic Tank Service and the workers were charged with illegally dumping the grease and polluting Matadero Creek. A vice president of the company was charged with perjury for allegedly omitting material information from a two-page document he gave to prosecutors in response to a subpoena.
Restaurants
All food service facilities should be aware of the importance of installation and proper maintenance of grease removal devices. Existing ordinance provisions and several new requirements for food service facilities are designed to help minimize the impact that these businesses have on the sewage collection system in Palo Alto. There is more information on the Restaurants Page.
Overview
The discharge of fats, oils, and greases to the sanitary sewer system is an important environmental and public health issue. Fats, oils, and greases (called FOG for short) build up in sewer lines over time, restricting the capacity of the pipes. Attempts to keep the sewer collection system flowing is a very costly and time consuming effort. Eventually, the pipes can become blocked completely, leading to overflows of raw sewage into streets, storm drains, and our creeks. There is more information on the Overview Page.
