Grease-trap proposal could spark own fire

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- A small political fire could end up being sparked by a

Sanitary District proposal to require restaurants to install grease

traps.

The district on Thursday approved a letter stating its intent to pass

a grease-trap ordinance, but City Councilman Gary Monahan said the

district doesn’t have the authority to carry out its plan.

“They’ve got no jurisdiction,” he said. “They can make a

recommendation, write a letter or whatever they want to do, but it’s a

city matter handled by our building official, and subsequently by the

City Council, not them.”

Rick Brown, Costa Mesa’s building safety director, in 1999 wrote a

letter to the sanitary district explaining that the City Council would

have to approve any ordinance requiring grease traps, Monahan said.

A copy of the letter was not available by press time.

But according to a report by Alan Burns, the sanitation district’s

counsel, the board does have authority over issues relating to the

sewers, including creating a grease-trap ordinance.

The letter the district passed Thursday adheres to that report.

“The district has the authority to adopt and enforce an ordinance and

will work with the local agencies within the district’s service area in a

cooperative manner,” the letter reads.

City Manager Allan Roeder said it is not clear whether the city or

district is responsible for grease-related issues.

“The district has responsibility for the sewer lines and the city has

the authority to enact ordinances,” he said. “Unfortunately, there is

some overlap there and we’re looking at whether the district can require

grease traps or if the city has to do it. [The district] will forward the

letter to us and I would expect it to get put on an agenda for council

direction. It’s in the discussion stage at this point.”

The possibility of a grease-trap ordinance was already controversial

without this added loop.

The sanitary district letter is a response to an Orange County Grand

Jury report, sent to the district in April, stating that grease

discharged from restaurants and high-density residential areas is a

leading cause of sewage spills.

The report recommends that the district adopt an ordinance to prevent

such occurrences.

All cities in the county received letters from the grand jury

requesting information about any grease-trap installation or maintenance

requirements that are not in place. The cities have until July 25 to

respond.

Sanitary district board member Dan Worthington said he thinks

restaurants are causing the spills and related problems, citing

videotapes from sewer line monitors as the basis for his opinion.

Restaurants owners, for their part, have said they are concerned about

the cost of the traps, which can range from $10,000 to $40,000 per

restaurant.

Monahan, who owns Skosh Monahan’s, said a grease trap would be the

most expensive piece of equipment in his restaurant.

“It needs some work if there is going to be [an ordinance],” he said.

“I like the way Newport Beach does it, requiring them on new builds and

major remodelings.”

The owners of restaurants should be involved in the discussion,

Monahan added.

“This is a huge financial hit. If you’re building or rebuilding a

restaurant, it’s really easy to put in a grease trap, but to have to put

one in an existing restaurant can be devastating. To say that all the

little restaurants in town are screwing up the ground water system is a

stretch.”

Dan Marcheano, owner of the Arches Restaurant in Newport Beach, said

that restaurants are very careful about keeping grease out of the drains.

“The first time you pay for a plumber, you learn that,” he said.

“Restaurant owners and managers aren’t going to put anything down the

drain that’s going to subtract from the business or the pocket book. We

work our tail off because we have old pipes here -- old enough to vote --

and we take care of them. We use biodegradable soap and de-greaser to eat

up the grease we do have.”

The blame shouldn’t sit only with restaurants, he said.

“Residents cause more problems than the restaurants because not

everybody is conscientious about what goes down the drain,” he said. “Do

we produce grease? Yes, but we’re not the total culprits. Everyone can

share the blame.”

QUESTION

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