Pipe prescription: Cut out the grease

Alicia Robinson

Clogged sewer pipes are a squeaky wheel in Orange County, but grease

is the last thing Newport Beach officials want to use to solve the

problem.

To comply with new regulations from the Santa Ana Regional Water

Quality Control Board, the city is working to educate restaurant

owners about how to keep fats, oils and grease out of the pipes and

could charge restaurants fees to cover new programs.

Oil and grease can cling to the inside of sewer pipes, causing

clogs and eventually sewage spills that can be the bane of swimmers

and surfers.

In April 2002, the water board adopted a program to address sewage

collection and spills that included detailed standards for what

sewage treatment agencies are responsible for, and the program is

being phased in through 2005.

“The genesis of this was that we had seen an increasing trend of

sewage spills in Orange County, and obviously there was a lot of

concern about coastal water quality,” water board spokesman Kurt

Berchtold said. “Based on work we had done, we identified a lack of

effective operations and maintenance of sewage collection systems as

a cause of many of the sewage spills that we were seeing in Orange

County.”

Newport Beach has been an exception. Inspecting regularly, working

with restaurants and frequently cleaning the city’s sewer lines --

workers clean a total of 313 miles of lines a year -- have helped

keep down the number of sewage spills in the last two years,

Assistant City Manager Dave Kiff said.

“There’s not a lot of change from what we’re doing now because we

started to gear up in anticipation of the new regulations,” he said.

“The big difference is we’re going to ask the City Council to pass

along the restaurant-specific activities’ costs.”

The city is proposing a $15 to $20 annual permit for most of the

city’s 355 food service businesses, a $100 to $150 annual fee for

inspecting restaurants’ grease interceptors and possible cleaning

costs for restaurants without them. The City Council would have to

approve any new fees.

Those possible charges have restaurant owners concerned.

Proprietors of restaurants are usually trained not to put grease or

oil into sewage systems, and as part of an industry that benefits the

city with revenue and charity work, they don’t want to be penalized,

said Dan Marcheano, owner of the Arches restaurant and head of the

Newport Beach Restaurant Assn.

“The point of view of the restaurant industry of Newport Beach is

go after the bad apples,” he said. “Even a fee of a hundred dollars a

year, that’s a lot of money coming out of the restaurant industry.”

City officials are seeking input from restaurant owners, and they

must have any new regulations in place by January 2005. The issue

could come before the council as soon as Oct. 26.

While restaurant operators say they agree overall with the city’s

goals, they’ll likely oppose any new fees.

“We’re hoping the City Council takes a look at our situation,”

Marcheano said. “I think if the council comes up with something

unacceptable, we’re going to fill the City Hall.”