Sanford officials review oil-and-grease rules after utility problems, ask staff for more data

Sanford officials reviewed the city’s Oil and Grease Prevention Program on Sept. 22, with Public Works and Utilities staff presenting technical standards for grease traps, interceptors and oil/water separators and explaining inspection and permitting practices. The commission asked staff to gather more data on costs, business impacts and the program’s effect on sewer overflows and plant operations.

The presentation, delivered by Brett Johnson, Public Works and Utilities director, said grease is the leading cause of sewer overflows and blockages and can force the city to use vac trucks or excavate sewer lines. Johnson said the city is consolidating information now scattered across an ordinance, a utility specifications manual and an oil-and-grease manual into a single, updated Oil and Grease Prevention Program manual to remove contradictory requirements.

City staff described current permit and maintenance requirements: an oil-and-grease permit is valid for two years with a $250 initial fee and a $150 renewal fee; minimum cleaning frequencies are set by device type and may be increased case-by-case (90 days for in‑ground interceptors; seven days for interior under‑sink units); grease haulers must submit manifests and maintenance logs for city review; and inspectors verify maintenance and enforce cleaning schedules. Hope Duncan, the city’s environmental coordinator, inspects and conducts outreach, including presentations and a public display called “fat‑free sewers.”

Technically, staff told the commission, under‑sink hydro‑mechanical traps are used for lower flows (roughly 4 to 100 gallons per minute), while gravity in‑ground interceptors are sized by plumbing tables and generally must meet a city minimum of 750 gallons. The Florida Plumbing Code and related Florida Administrative Code language commonly referenced in the presentation include a 750‑gallon minimum and a 1,250‑gallon per‑chamber maximum as sizing benchmarks; staff said the city’s standards and manuals have contained inconsistencies that staff are correcting. Johnson also described oil‑and‑water separators used for automotive and petroleum residual flows and noted state rules for haulers and disposal sites.

Commissioners pressed staff on the program’s economic effects. One commissioner said businesses have closed or were unable to reopen because of grease‑control requirements and asked whether the city had cost‑benefit data. Johnson replied that manifests show how much grease is removed from traps and that staff can assemble that data, but the department does not currently have a time series tying program activity to avoided repair costs. Johnson and others noted residential collection centers for used cooking oil — two locations in the city and a third planned at Derby Park — and said the city has collected more than 5,000 gallons of residential oil since August 2015.

The commission requested that utilities, planning and economic development coordinate a follow‑up report that better balances infrastructure protection and the economic impact on businesses and development corridors. Staff said they would compile manifest and inspection data, show documented grease‑related incidents, and propose metrics the city could use to evaluate program effectiveness.

No ordinance change or formal vote occurred at the meeting; commissioners asked for additional analysis and a joint presentation by planning, utilities and economic development staff on tradeoffs and options for sizing, exceptions, and mitigation measures.

Ending: The presentation closed with staff available for follow‑up questions and a directive from the commission to return with consolidated manual language and data that quantify how much grease is being removed and whether higher local standards are justified relative to state plumbing code baselines.