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MDC Fats, Oils and Grease Management Program

MDC Guidance

The DEP General Permit is applicable to all new and existing Class III and IV FSEs (Food Service Establishments) that discharge fats, oils and grease in their wastewater.  The General Permit requires facilities to install, operate and maintain a FOG pretreatment system.  The FOG pretreatment system is described as either an Outdoor In-Ground Grease Trap/Interceptor or an Automatic Grease Recovery Unit (AGRU) as defined in the General Permit.

Compliance Dates

Food service establishments and facilities that are applicable to this General Permit shall comply based on the following schedule:

  1. All new facilities shall comply with the requirements of the General Permit before initiating such discharge.
  1. An existing facility, which begin operation prior to the effective date of the General Permit (September 30, 2005), shall comply with the requirements of the General Permit no later than July 1, 2011 with the following exceptions:
    1. A change in ownership of the facility shall require compliance with all conditions of the General Permit within 60 days of the change in ownership.
    1. A renovation (as defined in the General Permit) of the facility shall require compliance with all conditions of the General Permit.
    1. Any designated facility that the MDC, as the authorized agent, has determined to be problematic to the sewer system based upon evidence of excessive fats, oils, and grease including sewer overflows, excessive maintenance or any means of inspection.  For designated facilities, the MDC will establish, within a reasonable time, a schedule for compliance with the General Permit.

What are the General Permit requirements?

The General Permit includes, but is not limited, to the following conditions:

 

Best Management Practices

(1)     Renderable fats, oils, and grease shall be disposed of in separate storage containers for recycling by a renderer. No renderable fats, oils, and grease shall be discharged into grease trap/interceptors or AGRUs, sanitary sewers, dumpsters or storm sewers.“Renderable” means uncontaminated fats, oils and grease from the food preparation process that can be used as a source of material that is free of impurities and can be recycled into products such as animal feed and cosmetics.

(2)     The owner/operator shall perform at least quarterly inspections of all indoor and outdoor grease trap/interceptors.

(3)     For disposal in Connecticut, the contents of all grease trap/interceptors, AGRUs and other approved units shall be disposed of at a regional collection/transfer/disposal site.  For disposal outside of Connecticut, the contents of all grease trap/interceptors, AGRUs and other approved units shall be disposed of in an environmentally accepted manner.

(4)     The permittee may use hot water, steam, chemicals, or biological additives in the normal course of facility maintenance, but may not intentionally use hot water, steam, physical means, chemicals, or biological additives that will cause the release of fats, oils, and grease from the grease trap/interceptor.

(5)     No food grinder or food pulper shall discharge to any grease trap/interceptors, AGRUs or other approved units.

(6)     All wastewater flows connected to the grease trap/interceptors shall be screened to prevent solids from entering the treatment units. Screened solids shall be disposed of in accordance with applicable solid waste regulations.

OUTDOOR IN-GROUND GREASE TRAP/INTERCEPTOR

An outdoor in-ground grease trap must be emptied at least every 3 months or whenever 25% of the operating depth of the grease trap/interceptor is occupied by grease and settled solids which ever is more frequent.  Following a minimum one year of operation, the permittee may submit a request to the MDC to extend the cleaning beyond the 3 month period if the permittee demonstrates that the level of grease and solids was less than 25% during each of the 3-month intervals.  The permittee shall maintain a written log and receipts of all cleaning and maintenance of the trap.

An example of a grease trap/interceptor:

The outdoor grease trap/interceptor specifications are described in Section 5(b)(1) of the General Permit.  Installation of a new outdoor grease trap/interceptor shall meet the specifications as described in the General Permit and the MDC specifications (link to MDC specifications.)

INDOOR AUTOMATIC GREASE RECOVERY UNITS (AGRU)

All AGRUs shall be maintained in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. The permittee shall maintain a written log and receipts of all cleaning and maintenance of the trap.

Examples of an AGRU:

                               

List of AGRU vendors, grease interceptor cleaning contractors and grease removal contractors
 

Get Acrobat ReaderTo view and print the above list, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader ®. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader ®, you may download it now. 

 

LIST OF EQUIPMENT CONNECTED TO GREASE TRAP/INTERCEPTOR OR AGRU

The grease trap/interceptor or AGRU shall be connected to those fixtures or drains which would allow fats, oils, and grease to be discharged.  This includes:

  1. Pot sinks;
  2. pre-rinse sinks;
  3. any sink into which fats, oil, and grease are likely to be introduced;
  4. soup kettles or similar devices;
  5. wok stations;
  6. floor drains or sinks into which kettles may be drained;
  7. automatic hood wash units;
  8. dishwashers without pre-rinse sinks; and
  9. any other fixtures or drains that are likely to allow fats, oils and grease to be discharged.

REPORTING & RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS

(1)     A written log of all inspections required pursuant to subsections (d)(3) and (d)(4) of the General Permit shall be maintained for each authorized discharge.  The log shall document:

a.       the date of the inspection;

b.       the inspector's name, title and signature;

c.       the depth, as measured at the time of the inspection, of fats, oils, grease and food waste located within the grease trap/interceptor; and

d.       any maintenance work or changes in equipment associated with such discharge that has taken place at the site since the last inspection.

(2)     Except as provided in subsection (e)(1) of the General Permit, the permittee shall retain, for a period of five (5) years at the subject facility, all inspections, cleaning and maintenance logs and analytical results from any monitoring elected to be done by the permittee.  All records and reports shall be made available in writing to the authorized agent upon request.

(3)     Immediately upon learning or having reason to believe that an authorized discharge may cause or has caused a sewer blockage or may adversely affect the operations of a POTW, the permittee shall notify the MDC.

(4)     Records required under this subsection as well as installation of a grease trap/interceptor as specified in either Section 5(b)(1), Section 5(b)(2), or Section 5(b)(3) of the General Permit shall be sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the effluent limits established in Sections 5(c)(1) and 5(c)(2) of the General Permit.

 

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