Some say costly regulation is overkill

By Scott Zoback

Enforcing the city&#39;s new requirement that restaurants install grease traps and interceptors has not gone as well as some officials and pols could have hoped. Two and a half years after the Environmental Protection Agency forced the city to develop a comprehensive fats, oils and greases (FOG) program, almost 200 businesses are in non-compliance with the ordinance; City Councilor Philip Palmieri nearly had a breakdown a few weeks ago over what it would mean if those restaurants were all forced to close.

While the city claims the average cost for a given business to comply with the regulations is $2,500, one of the biggest complaints from business owners has been the cost of getting up to code. Some owners have claimed the expense hits closer to $10,000; some tell stories of potential costs hitting several times that when the total price of plumbing is considered.

A key element in the cost is the number of grease traps that need to be installed. And privately, some restaurateurs have grumbled about where the city requires traps, specifically about the requirement to hook up dishwashers to the interceptors.

In reality, it&#39;s not the city&#39;s ordinance that requires the dishwashers to get grease traps, but the Massachusetts Uniform State Plumbing Code, which the city based its ordinance on. And the state code is clear: Virtually any kitchen equipment that could potentially discharge grease (sinks, pre-rinse tables, woks) require grease traps. Currently, that list includes &quot;automatic dishwashers regardless of temperature.&quot;

But should dishwashers be hooked up to grease traps?

&quot;No, unless your code requires it,&quot; says Mitch Baser, a Connecticut-based representative of Thermaco Big Dipper, a grease trap manufacturer. He says his company generally suggests not hooking up dishwashers unless required by law.

The issue is that &mdash; in most cases &mdash; high-temperature dishwashers, mixed with high-powered soaps, render the traps ineffective, softening any fats, oils and greases, and allowing them to pass through the grease traps into the pipes anyway.

&quot;Surprisingly, very little grease comes from the dishwasher .... Any grease that does come out of a dishwasher is emulsified grease. Grease emulsifies due to the high concentration of detergents and high-strength soaps that dishwashers utilize. Emulsified grease cannot be trapped,&quot; states Thermaco&#39;s Web site.

In fact, Baser says that in Connecticut, state regulations request businesses not to hook grease traps up to dishwashers. &quot;They want the pre-rinse [table] ... put through it.&quot;

&quot;Coming from the pre-rinse table, there&#39;s a lot of grease at that point.&quot;

Bill Batten, who works with Baser, says that it&#39;s a problem a number of municipalities are facing.

&quot;Most sewer districts are saying &lsquo;look, the gun is being held to our heads,&#39;&quot; Batten says.

Batten says some districts like the idea of hooking up the dishwashers, thinking, &quot;That way we know that every opportunity for grease [is covered].&quot;

Still, Batten says it&#39;s a case-by-case issue based on the size and type of the restaurant and equipment, and regulations.

When it comes to ordinances, says Baser, &quot;Sometimes whoever has the biggest stick wins.&quot;

But despite the ongoing complaints from restaurateurs in Worcester, Batten says that, in his experience, businesses have managed to move on beyond the initial cost.

&quot;People can get from Point A to Point B &mdash; a lot of cities have done this, and gotten the pain behind them,&quot; he says. &quot;They&#39;ve moved on.&quot; o