Who administers it
Fernley Municipal Code Title 28, Chapter 7, the “City of Fernley Wastewater Rules and Regulations” (28.07.01(a)), governs “wastewater service supplied by the city public works department to its customers” (28.07.01(b)). “Director means the director of the city public works department” (28.07.02), and every discretionary call in the chapter is his. The same section warns that “no officer, inspector, agent or employee of the city has any authority to waive, alter or amend in any respect these rules and regulations” unless the chapter itself allows it, so a verbal okay from a field crew is not an exemption.
We do not print a phone number or web address for the Fernley public works department on this site. Ask the City of Fernley public works department directly for the current contact, the sewer design standards and any grease handout it issues; none of those documents is quoted here.
What the code requires
28.07.06(f), “Grease, oil, and sand separators”: “Grease, oil and sand separators shall be provided when they are necessary for the proper handling of liquid wastes containing grease in excessive amounts, or any flammable wastes, sand or other harmful ingredients, except that such interceptors shall not be required for private living quarters or dwelling units. All interceptors shall be of the type and capacity specified in the most current edition of the Uniform Plumbing Code (IPC), and shall be located so as to be readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection.”
Read that carefully against Reno’s or Carson City’s version. Fernley does not say every restaurant must have an interceptor; it says one is required when the public works department finds it necessary for grease “in excessive amounts.” There is no minimum gallonage. Type and capacity come from the Uniform Plumbing Code, and the parenthetical “(IPC)” is printed in the code as written. If the department permits pretreatment, “the design and installation of the plants and equipment shall be subject to the review and approval of the public works department,” and the director “shall recover the costs, incurred in making such a determination, from the discharger” (28.07.06(e)(2)). The UPC sizing method, worked →
How often you must pump: the code does not say
Title 28 has no pumping interval, no 25% rule, no manifest and no hauler wording. The maintenance standard is 28.07.06(g): “Where preliminary treatment or flow-equalizing facilities are provided for any waters or wastes, the owner at his or her expense shall maintain them continuously in satisfactory and effective operation.” “Continuously” is the operative word; a tank that is passing grease is not in effective operation whatever the calendar says.
The discharge limit is stricter than Reno’s
Fernley prohibits discharging “any waters or wastes containing fats, wax, grease or oils, whether emulsified or excess of 100 mg/l or containing substances which may solidify or become viscous at temperatures between 32 degrees and 150 degrees Fahrenheit” (28.07.06(d)(6)). That is one-third of the 300 mg/L limit in Reno, Sparks, Washoe County and Carson City. A garbage grinder of three-fourths horsepower or more is “subject to the review and approval of the public works department” (28.07.06(d)(7)). Where waste does not conform, the department may “require pretreatment to an acceptable condition,” “require control over the quantities and rates of discharge,” or “require payment to cover the added cost of handling and treating the wastes not covered by existing sewer charges” (28.07.06(e)(1)). Fernley’s chapter is silent on enzyme and bacteria additives; an emulsified tank still fails the 100 mg/l limit, so the answer is the same as everywhere else: do not use them.
Inspection
“Authorized employees of the city bearing proper credentials and identification shall be permitted to enter all properties for the purposes of inspecting, observations, measurement, sampling and testing” (28.07.07). The separator itself must be “readily and easily accessible for cleaning and inspection” (28.07.06(f)).
Enforcement: the penalty is your service
Chapter 7 has no dollar fine for a grease violation. The lever is the connection. “Any person found to be violating any provision of these regulations shall be notified by the city with written notice stating the nature of the violation and providing a reasonable time limit for the satisfactory correction thereof” (28.07.11(a)). Fail to comply or to pay charges assessed and “the city reserves the right to discontinue service” (28.07.11(b)); the chapter’s own penalty clause says non-compliance “will result in the customer’s water and sewer service being discontinued,” with no restoration until the reconnection fee is paid and the rules are met (28.07.01(h)). “If any unsafe or hazardous condition is found to exist on the customer’s premises the service may be shut off without notice” (28.07.11(f)). Decisions of the director “shall be final unless appealed in writing” to the city council “within ten business days” (28.07.12).
How we service Fernley kitchens
Same truck that runs Reno and Sparks. Full pump-out, baffles and tees checked, and a trip ticket with gallons removed and the depth reading before service. Fernley gives you “continuously in satisfactory and effective operation” 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. With a 100 mg/l limit and a shut-off clause, the reading matters more here, not less. How the Washoe County jurisdictions write the same rules →