Madera County Grease Trap Requirements
Chapter
13.66
Madera County adopted Ordinance No. 279C, April 1995, establishing
requirements for restaurant and food service grease traps.
This ordinance applies to all food establishments as defined
in MCC Chapter 7.01.050. This ordinance also identifies
the requirements for grease trap installation, standards
for grease trap inspection and maintenance, reporting requirements,
and penalties for non-compliance with the ordinance.
If you are a property or business owner of a restuarant
or food service establishment located within a county sewer
district, you are required to submit a quarterly report
on the maintenance and cleaning of your grease trap. Grease
traps should be inspected on a weekly basis, if you are
a heavy grease generator to monitor the quantity of grease
which is in the trap. The inspection date and thickness
should be noted on the County form for reporting trap maintenance.
You should also record the date, company and amount of grease
pumped when the trap is serviced. As noted in the ordinance,
monthly inspections are required of your grease traps and
the accumulated grease shall be removed as necessary to
insure their proper operation. Please make photocopies of
the County
Approved Reporting Form, (Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader
5 to View and Print), and return them to the County
Engineer no later than 15 days after the end of each quarter,
i.e. December 31, March 31, June 30, and September 30. Failure
to file the report by the required dates will be non-compliance
of Madera County Ordinance No. 279C and results in a violation
of county code punishable as provided in MCC
Section 13.66.080 (B.). Each day that a violation continues
shall be considered a separate violation.
Proper maintenance of your grease trap is important to
prevent obstruction of the County's collection system in
your area. Failure to maintain your grease trap in an efficient
manner, or to return your quarterly report, will result
in the appropriate enforcement action to be taken. The use
of enzymes is not considered to be an appropriate method
of cleaning a grease trap. The enzymes will break up the
grease in the trap and allow it to flow into the collection
system, where it will later solidify and block the collection
system.
If you have any questions regarding the above requirements,
please contact the Madera County Engineering and General
Services Department at (559) 675-7817.
