Sparks Grease Interceptor Rules: SMC Title 13, Explained

Who administers it

Sparks Municipal Code Title 13 puts the program in the hands of the public works director. The Environmental Control section that does the day-to-day work sits under the City’s Water Reclamation Facility department, and its printed contact is environmentalcontrol@sparksnv.gov. The City also prints “Environmental Control, 24-Hour Spill Response” at 775-697-9227; that is the spill line, not the permit desk. The treatment plant, TMWRF, is (775) 861-4100; City Hall is 431 Prater Way, Sparks, NV 89431, 775-353-5555.

The City used to publish a Grease Interceptor Worksheet and an interceptor-requirements page under its old web address. We do not quote either on this site; ask Environmental Control for the current copies at the email above before plan review.

What the code requires

SMC 13.36.075: “every existing industrial/commercial discharger upon whose premises food is served, prepared, packaged or processed for ultimate human consumption shall install, use, and maintain an exterior, properly-sized and installed grease interceptor through which all wastes from such food processing, preparation or service must be discharged prior to entry into any wastewater system facilities.” Sizing is “based on the sample sizing calculation sheet that was developed from the 2003 Uniform Plumbing Code, Chapter 10, appendix H,” and the director “may waive the required minimum size.”

That minimum is in 13.30.020(E): “Grease interceptors shall be a minimum capacity of seven hundred fifty (750) gallons and shall be sized using the 2003 Uniform Plumbing Code Appendix H (Table H-1) sizing criteria. Grease traps are prohibited unless approved by the public works director.” No pretreatment device goes into operation “without a written permit of approval issued by the public works director” (13.39.070(C)). Two details that catch new builds: a trash enclosure with a grease rendering receptacle “shall include a trench drain connected to the sanitary sewer” (13.30.020(G)), and scullery or dish-table waste may not go through a garbage grinder “unless the discharge is through an approved grease interceptor” (13.36.070).

The Environmental Control Permit

Class II through Class V dischargers “shall obtain an Environmental Control Permit from the Public Works Director,” and it is unlawful to discharge without one (13.39.010). Class III is defined as “industrial users that have pretreatment requiring maintenance at least annually”; your permit states your class. Permits run “for a specified time period not to exceed five years” (13.39.030(A)) and may carry conditions for “pretreatment of wastes before discharge” and for “maintaining and retaining records relating to wastewater discharge” (13.39.030(B)(9) and (12)). Unpaid permit or code-enforcement fees must be settled “as a condition precedent to the issuance or renewal of a business license” (13.39.025(C)). The City’s special-event manual quotes the fee as “$183.00 for a 5-year permit” for food trucks; ask Environmental Control what a fixed restaurant pays, because that figure is printed for trucks.

How often you must pump: the code does not say

There is no “every 90 days” in Sparks and no 25%-of-depth rule. The code says interceptors “shall be maintained to insure proper operation” (13.36.075), and for a shared interceptor the owner of record maintains it “on the schedule outlined in the environmental control permit issued by the public works director” (13.30.020(F)). Your interval is whatever your permit says. Strip-mall tenants should know whose name is on that permit, because the duty runs to the property owner.

Additives and the discharge limit

“The introduction of emulsifiers, bacteria, enzymes or any other product into the grease trap or interceptor which would cause oil and grease to pass through the trap or interceptor is prohibited” (13.36.072). Discharge containing animal or vegetable grease “in excess of three hundred (300) milligrams per liter” is prohibited (13.36.010(M)).

Records and spills

Sparks has no manifest or trip-ticket sentence of its own; the three-year record rule in 13.39.080(C) is written for “dischargers subject to federal reporting requirements,” and your permit may add its own record condition. We write a trip ticket for every load anyway; it is the cheapest answer to an inspector. If grease escapes, “users shall notify the public works director immediately upon becoming aware of an accidental discharge, spill, or slug discharge,” followed by “a detailed written statement within (5) five days” (13.36.110(A)).

Inspection and enforcement

City officials “shall have the right of entry for inspection purposes” (13.39.060). After a violation notice you have “ten (10) days” to submit a correction plan (13.42.020). Civil liability runs to “an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00)” (13.42.100); a misdemeanor conviction carries “a fine of not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000.00) and/or imprisonment of not more than six (6) months,” with each day “a separate offense” (13.42.140, 13.42.170). Damage to City facilities is cleaned at your cost and added to your sewer bill (13.42.070); service can be terminated (13.42.110).

How we service Sparks kitchens

Same truck, same crew as Reno. We pump the full contents, scrape walls and baffles, check the tees, and hand you a trip ticket with gallons removed and the depth reading before service. Sparks does not write a 25% rule, so we use it as our yardstick: when grease plus settled solids pass a quarter of the tank’s depth it is overdue, and the interval we propose for your permit comes from that reading, not from a calendar. Keep the tickets with your permit; they answer the right-of-entry visit. Reno’s version of the same rules is on the comparison page.