Grand jury orders fix for grease buildup

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- Restaurants soon could be required to install grease

traps, on orders from the Orange County Grand Jury.

An ordinance requiring the traps is in the works after the grand jury

in April sent a letter to the Costa Mesa Sanitary District. The letter

stated that grease discharged from restaurants and high-density

residential areas is a leading cause of sewage spills and recommended

that the city adopt an ordinance to prevent such occurrences.

In turn, the district is beginning to draft a proposal and, at a

meeting this week, asked for the City Council’s help, said Arlene

Schafer, president of the district board.

“The city said it would cooperate, and we’re drafting a letter to the

grand jury now just letting them know we agree with them and that we’re

putting a draft together with full cooperation from the city,” she said.

The grand jury sent letters to all cities in the county requesting

information about any grease-trap installation or maintenance

requirements that are now in place. The cities have until July 25 to

respond.

According to the grand jury report, cities must work with the county

and sanitary districts to reduce grease buildup in Orange County sewer

system.

“When a sewage line or other sewage facility fails, raw sewage may

drain to the ocean, carrying with it bacteria and other human pathogens,”

according to the report. “This will automatically trigger a

state-mandated beach water closure. . . . When [the beaches] are closed

to public use, not only do people using the beaches lose a recreational

resource, but there is a substantial economic impact associated with the

absence of beachgoers as well.”

One problem with grease traps is the cost, which is somewhere between

$10,000 and $40,000 per restaurant, according to Dave Kiff, assistant

city manager for Newport Beach, which already has a grease-trap

ordinance.

“It can be expensive,” he said. “We just require them for new and

significantly remodeled restaurants. The traps have to be maintained

often, and the other challenge is that placing them can require a

significant amount of space around the restaurant, which some existing

restaurants just don’t have.”

Newport Beach is considering setting up a revolving loan or grant

account to help restaurants install the grease traps, Kiff said.

Schafer agreed that the traps, which she thinks usually cost between

$10,000 and $15,000, will be hard on “mom-and-pop” restaurants, but said

the ordinance “is something everyone needs to work together for because

it will improve health and safety.”

Christoph Boo, owner of Lugano Restaurant, said the ordinance could

mean higher prices for restaurant customers.

“I don’t have all the information I need,” he said. “It would be easy

for me to say I don’t want to pay for this. On the other hand, we have to

take responsibility for the impacts of our businesses. But I think the

whole cost should not be put on the restaurants.”

Jessica Ordonez, manager of Super Star Burgers, said she doesn’t think

grease traps are really necessary for small restaurants.

“If it’s a huge restaurant, you should have one,” she said. “For us, a

small restaurant, I don’t think we really need one. The city should pay

for part of it if it wants us to have one.”

Ed Fawcett, president and chief executive of the the city’s Chamber of

Commerce, said he thinks the traps are necessary, but that the sanitary

district should assist the restaurants with a no-interest or low-interest

loan.

“Grease buildup in sewer lines can be extraordinary,” he said. “Once

it drops into the line, it doesn’t wash out without a special cleaning by

the sanitary district. So I can understand the need for it, but I would

be concerned about the huge impact on existing restaurants.”