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Staff outlines FOG (fats, oils and grease) program, new toolkit and cleaning rules
Summary
City staff presented a FOG (fats, oils and grease) program update, emphasizing design standards, cleaning logs and a 90‑day minimum interceptor-cleaning rule that shortens to 45 days if an interceptor is 25% full; staff also introduced a toolkit and monitoring procedures for food-service establishments.
City staff delivered a detailed presentation on the city’s fats, oils and grease (FOG) program, explaining how cooking oils and food waste enter sanitary sewers and why the city requires a three-part approach: properly sized equipment, routine maintenance, and employee best-management practices.
The presenter said the city’s sewer code requires interceptors to be cleaned at least every 90 days and that ‘‘if during that 90‑day maintenance period it’s found that 25% of the capacity of that interceptor tank is filled with FOG, then that timeline is reduced to 45 days.’’ Staff described two main types of interceptors—exterior gravity interceptors (large, often ~750 gallons or larger) and smaller in‑building hydromechanical interceptors (typically 15–60 gallons)—and noted pros and cons for each.
Staff reviewed new support materials the city will use with food‑service establishments: a design manual, a best‑practices manual, and cleaning logs that establishments must submit to the city for monitoring. The presenter said the manuals align with the adopted plumbing and building codes and are intended to give inspectors a clear, auditable record of maintenance and pump‑out frequency.
On enforcement and flexibility, staff said the city may require more frequent pump‑outs when records show tank capacity is approaching thresholds, and may allow a return to 90‑day intervals if consistent maintenance demonstrates low FOG accumulation. The presenter encouraged managers to train new employees on simple behavioral steps—‘‘keep the grease out of the sewer. Don’t dump it down the drain. Dump it into the recycle bin’’—and noted many businesses use after‑hours pumping and grease recycling as part of normal operations.
Council members asked whether the hydromechanical interceptors and code alignment represented new technology; staff replied that the technology and the code basis are not brand new, citing the 2020 Minnesota plumbing code (based on the 2018 Uniform Plumbing Code) and describing the hydromechanical units as a widely used, tested option.
The materials related to the program were included on the consent agenda for acceptance (design manual, best‑practices manual, toolkit and implementation tools). The presentation closed with staff offering to respond to follow‑up questions from council and the public.
