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Blue Mounds adopts grease ordinance to protect wastewater treatment plant
Summary
The Village of Blue Mounds on April 8 adopted Ordinance A‑256, a new grease, fat and oils rule aimed at commercial users to reduce FOG and protect the village’s wastewater treatment plant; trustees approved the measure with one abstention.
The Village of Blue Mounds Board of Trustees on April 8 adopted Ordinance A‑256 regulating grease, fat and oils to limit the risk that FOG (fats, oils and grease) poses to the village wastewater treatment plant.
Village President Paul Baum said the ordinance is modeled on rules used by other municipalities and is aimed primarily at commercial users, which typically generate higher volumes of FOG. Baum said the measure is intended to reduce the risk to the village’s “multi‑million‑dollar treatment plant” by setting inspection triggers and compliance timelines for users that pose higher risk to the system.
The board approved the ordinance on a roll-call vote: Paul Baum, Steve Burbank, Jim Frame and Rick Kelly voted yes; Trustee Jeff Lange abstained. The ordinance follows building and plumbing code frameworks, according to Baum, and the minutes state that inspections could be triggered by visible noncompliance or by conditional-use permits for residential cooking businesses that expand operations. If a user is found noncompliant, the ordinance allows a 90‑day period to remedy the issue before further action.
The ordinance was introduced during the meeting’s reports and unfinished-business section after the board reviewed questions submitted by a resident (Baum said he had received 34 questions). The minutes indicate staff believe an ordinance is necessary because it was never adopted previously.
The discussion also occurred alongside routine water and public‑works updates: Baum read a public‑works report noting that a staff member, Andy, passed both water certifications, and the minutes record that the village’s treatment plant generator is currently broken, a point trustees did not resolve at the meeting. President Baum also presented the village’s Annual Consumer Confidence Report and said there were no drinking-water violations during the reporting period.
Next steps listed in the minutes are procedural: the ordinance was approved by vote at the meeting; an effective date and enforcement details were not specified in the minutes.
