WIDESPREAD CHALLENGES IN THE MARKETPLACE
Many businesses face problems with fats, oils and grease (FOG), food waste and other solids, and bad odors. These can result in disruptions of daily business (imagine a horrible smelling backup in a restaurant during the busy lunch rush!) and lead to out-of-control maintenance expenses with hefty fines from the local utility. No one wants unhappy customers, miserable employees, or disgruntled municipal officers! We’re talking about much more than lost revenue for a day; with today’s social media and review sites, plumbing and odor problems can put a company out of business!
“As long as humans continue to eat, the problem with fat isn’t going away!”
– Aziz Tejpar, President and CEO, EnviroLogik® and Environmental Biotech.
LEGISLATION AND THE FUTURE
More and more cities and communities are enacting legislation to force restaurants, resorts, event facilities, manufacturing plants, industrial factories, and other companies to monitor and reduce their water contaminants and odors. The EPA requires all publicly-owned treatment works (POTW) to “establish and enforce specific local limits for industrial users to prevent interference with the operation of the municipally-owned treatment works” in support of the Clean Water Act. These utilities can levy fines of up to $1,000 per day on restaurants and other establishments that don’t control their output of FOG, for example!
“To work effectively, our sewer system must be properly maintained from the drain all the way to the treatment plant. Currently, Miami-Dade County and its municipalities, along with the County’s sewer system infrastructure, are under Federal Court Order to correct existing problems.”
– Miami-Dade County
“Are there Ohio EPA regulations concerning grease-contaminated stormwater? Grease is considered a pollutant. Under Ohio’s water pollution control laws, a business cannot discharge any pollutant into waters of the state without obtaining a permit from Ohio EPA. Waters of the state include streams, rivers, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways, and springs. The requirement also applies to conveyances, such as ditches and storm sewers that drain to waters of the state. Therefore, unauthorized discharges of grease-contaminated stormwater into storm drains or waters of the state are illegal.”
– Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Environmental and Financial Assistance