Carson City Grease Interceptor Rules: CCMC 12.06 and the ECA

Who administers it

Carson City Public Works – Environmental Division, 3505 Butti Way, Carson City, NV 89701, (775) 887-2355. The City describes the program this way: “The Carson City Environmental Control Authority (ECA) protects the city against toxic wastewater discharges and groundwater contamination by reviewing commercial building plans for required plumbing and pretreatment systems, and monitoring commercial wastewater and industrial by-product disposal.” It “issues wastewater discharge permits, and routinely inspects hundreds of businesses,” and “non-compliance can result in criminal penalties. Authority is provided in Carson City Municipal Code Chapter 12.06, through an EPA Region IX approved Enforcement Response Plan.” In the code, “ECA” means “the officers and agents of the environmental control section of the Department and the director” (12.06.010).

We do not quote the City’s food-establishment submittal handout, its Enforcement Response Plan or its fee schedule on this site; ask the ECA at the number above for current copies.

Who must install an interceptor

CCMC 12.06.245(1)(a): “all businesses issued an initial wastewater discharge permit after April 1, 2008 dealing in food service of any kind shall install an approved grease interceptor in accordance with the Uniform Plumbing Code.” The one exemption is for “limited food service,” defined as “serving pre-packaged food items, use of disposable utensils and other service ware, food items prepared and service utensils and equipment cleaned off-site at an approved location”; the owner signs an agreement, attached to the permit, to install an interceptor if the food service level changes (12.06.245(1)(b)).

Businesses permitted before April 2008 are pulled in when they add, change or remove plumbing-related equipment or change their food service in a way that increases grease or creates “excessive maintenance,” which the code defines as Public Works having to clean a section of sewer “every two (2) months or more due to excessive accumulations of fats, oils, and greases” (12.06.245(2)(a)). On a sale or remodel the director may exempt a business whose food service will not change (12.06.245(2)(b)). And: “Grease emulsifiers or enzymes are prohibited for use in grease interceptors or traps” (12.06.245(3)).

Sizing and plan review

The Development Standards (Title 18 Appendix, Division 15, §15.5.2) require new or remodeled food service establishments to “install a grease interceptor sized in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Uniform Plumbing Code, as adopted by the City, but which must not in any case be less than 750 gallons notwithstanding drainage fixture units calculations,” to submit plumbing plans showing every sewer line discharging to or bypassing the interceptor, and to submit the UPC sizing calculations in writing to the ECA. “Grease interceptors must be easily accessible at all times”; a tank in a drive-thru lane makes it the owner’s job to stop traffic during inspection. Plans go to the building department for distribution to the ECA before a building permit issues (§15.5.4). Separately, “the installation or use of garbage disposals in any commercial or institutional facility is prohibited” (12.06.226). The UPC method, worked →

The permit and what it asks of you

Food service businesses in Carson City are permitted by the ECA; 12.06.245 and §15.5 both refer to the business’s wastewater discharge permit, and the ECA page says it issues them. Permits “must not exceed five years” (12.06.080). Pretreatment devices including grease traps “shall not be put into operation without a written permit of approval issued by the ECA” and “shall be open to the inspection of the ECA at any time” (12.06.070(7)). The permittee must let the ECA enter the premises, copy records required under the permit, inspect and sample (12.06.070(3)), and “at all times shall maintain in good working order and operate as efficiently as possible any facilities or systems of control installed by the permittee” (12.06.070(4)).

How often you must pump: the code does not say

CCMC 12.06 and Development Standard §15.5 contain no pumping interval, no 25% rule and no manifest or hauler wording. What governs is 12.06.070(4) above, the conditions written into your permit, the enzyme ban, and the discharge limit: “Oil and grease 300.0 mg/l” as an instantaneous maximum (12.06.410(2)(a)). The seven-year record rule at 12.06.090 is for users subject to federal reporting, not ordinarily a restaurant; the records that matter to you are whatever your permit names, which the ECA may copy on inspection.

Enforcement

“The ECA will generally take action in accordance with ECA’s enforcement response plan,” with discretion to “take multiple actions based on a single violation” (12.06.150(1)). Discharges that cause “a stoppage, plugging, breakage, any reduction in sewer capacity” are prohibited, and “any excessive sewer or sewerage maintenance expenses ... will be charged to the offending discharger by the city” (12.06.240). Civil penalty: “not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) for each day of such violation,” plus actual damages to the City (12.06.160(2)–(3)). Intentional or criminally negligent violation is a misdemeanor, “not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) nor less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) for each violation,” or up to six months in the City jail, or both (12.06.170(2)).

How we service Carson City kitchens

Same truck as Reno. Full pump-out of both compartments, walls and baffles scraped, tees checked, and a trip ticket with gallons removed and the depth reading before service. Carson City gives you “good working order” rather than a number, so we use ours: when grease plus settled solids pass a quarter of the tank’s depth it is overdue, and your interval is set from how quickly it got there. Keep lids clear; the code makes accessibility a permit condition. How Reno, Sparks and the County write the same rules →