How do you size a grease interceptor?
A correctly sized grease interceptor reduces maintenance costs for restaurants and the chance of a messy, costly, and unsanitary clog/backup. Right-sizing is critical in choosing the correct grease interceptor. We recommend all fixtures and drains within the establishment, except bathrooms, be connected to the interceptor. Use both the capacity calculations and the estimate of grease based on meal type, fryer, and flatware to size the interceptor.
See WSA’s interceptor sizing guide to choose which calculator is best for you, as well as information on the FOG from various kinds of FSEs.
Do you have posters/graphics reminding FSEs to not dump grease?
Educational outreach is a key aspect to making sure Food Service Establishment (FSE) staff understand what needs to be done and why, scraping food waste from plates into the garbage is crucial to keeping FOG from clogging drains. Best management practices (BMPs) are a good place to start but are only one piece of the puzzle. Our FOG BMP poster, in English or Spanish has some great tips on what to do, why it's important, and the benefits. Our Tackle Grease in the Kitchen Poster, available in English or Spanish, shows some great DO’s and DON’Ts concerning dishes and the sink drain. The same goes for our Dealing with FOG poster. Our Yellow vs Brown Grease poster shows the importance of capturing this reusable resource as well as why you want to keep it out of your drains. An excellent booklet to educate your staff and FSE’s is Clean Water Service’s FOG Outreach Booklet. It goes into more depth on what to do and what to avoid along with some checklists. This booklet is available for you to use/reprint for free and put your own contact information on it.
Where are the training videos?
Western States Alliance maintains a video library that includes various training videos for pumpers and inspectors.
Training videos include: testing for FOG loading in a gravity grease interceptor (GGI) and GGI pumping and cleaning standards, hydromechanical grease interceptor (HGI) pumping and cleaning standards, inspections of FOG self-cleaners, best management practices for outdoor storage of used cooking oil and grease, how to conduct FOG triage for inspection of grease removal devices, how to create a Preferred Pumper Program (3P), How to test for PFAS in biosolids and wastewater, and more.
Where is a template to make an ordinance if we don’t have a pretreatment program?
Whether you have a pretreatment program or not, you need an ordinance to make your requirements and/or requests of Food Service Establishments (FSEs) enforceable. If you don’t have a pretreatment program and don’t have ordinance, the EPA R8 Example Ordinance is a good place to start; modify it as needed. This sample ordinance was developed by the pretreatment coordinator for EPA Region 8, Al Garcia.
Where is information on PFAS and Chemicals of Emerging Concern?
This topic is changing rapidly as more information is learned and as EPA updates regulations. WSA’s PFAS resources, found in the Technical Resources Library, are the latest on PFAS and other contaminants of emerging concern and their impact on the wastewater treatment plant and the environment.
Do you have any case studies?
WSA has several case studies of jurisdictions that have implemented successful FOG abatement programs. These are found in WSA’s Technical Resources Library
Do you have a resource that helps a jurisdiction just getting started on creating a FOG Abatement Program?
Yes, the FOG Primer is a 77-page resource that provides step by step instruction to help jurisdictions do everything that is necessary to have a successful FOG abatement program.