Does a Goodyear restaurant need a grease trap or interceptor? Size, 180-day pumping and records

The city's Industrial Pretreatment Program page puts it in one line: "Per City of Goodyear Ordinance 12A, all food service establishments (FSE) in Goodyear are required to install an appropriately sized grease trap or grease interceptor." It adds that the type, size and maintenance of the device depend on a variety of factors. Article 12A-3 supplies those factors:

• Who can be required. The director may require users, "which includes food preparation facilities," to install grease, lint, sand/oil interceptors, oil/water separators, hair or grease traps as needed for wastewater with excessive fats, oils, grease, lint or sand. Residential users are excepted.
• Upkeep. Interceptors, separators and traps are inspected, cleaned and repaired regularly by the user at the user's expense, and the user keeps records of all cleaning, repair and maintenance for at least three years, available to the director on request.
• Size. Sizing uses the drainage fixture unit value. The minimum interceptor is 500 gallons, the maximum 2,500, with at least two chambers. A trap is a minimum of 50 gallons per minute and 100 pounds of capacity.
• Cleaning cycle. "All grease traps, oil, sand, and grease interceptors shall be pumped out or cleaned out completely at least once every 180 days, or more frequently as required by the City, unless otherwise authorized in writing by the Director."
• Fees. The city assesses administrative and penalty fees and costs for inspections and compliance tracking.

• Food service establishment (FSE). Chapter 12A-1 defines it as any facility that prepares or serves food and discharges kitchen or food preparation wastewater. The list includes bars, delis, kiosks, snack bars, ice cream shops, coffee shops and diners, plus "any establishment that requires a county food service license" and any facility the city decides needs a trap or interceptor because of its operations.
• Grease trap. A device that separates and retains greases before the wastewater enters the sewer, typically a compact under-the-sink unit near food preparation.
• Grease interceptor. A structure for removing fats, oils and grease, often a below-ground two or three chamber baffled tank.
• Appropriately sized. The city page gives no gallon figure. The ordinance sizes devices with the formula in Article 12A-3.

Every Goodyear food service establishment, which the definition extends to any establishment that requires a county food service license. It does not cover residential users, who are excepted from the interceptor requirement.

It also does not mean every FSE gets an interceptor. A trap is allowed only when there are four or fewer fixtures used for food preparation, and a facility installing a dishwasher must install an interceptor.

A coffee shop with a three-compartment sink and a prep sink. Two food-prep fixtures and no dishwasher, so a trap qualifies. The county's three-compartment sink requirement is itself a trigger for a trap.

A small cafe adds a dishwasher. The dishwasher forces an interceptor. The sizing arithmetic is the one in the article: total the drainage fixture unit values, multiply by 3 gpm, multiply by 12, and round up to the next size. As an illustration, a kitchen with two 2-inch fixtures (3 units each), one 3-inch fixture (5), two floor drains (2 each) and a 2-inch dishwasher outlet (3, doubled to 6 under one reading of "Double Size") totals 21 units, 63 gpm and 756 gallons before rounding. At 750 gallons or more the interceptor needs three chambers, each with a manway.

The edge case. A contractor orders a traffic-rated lid with wording that says the interceptor belongs to the city. The article says the covers "must not be marked with any wording indicating it is owned by the City of Goodyear."

1. 1Count your food-prep fixtures, floor drains and dishwashers using the table in 12A-3, and total the drainage fixture units.
2. 2Contact Goodyear Development Services about the Industrial Pretreatment Program questionnaire and plan review. The city's pretreatment page tells businesses to contact Development Services (DSD), and its footer lists 623-932-3910.
3. 3Ask whether your trap or interceptor needs plan review. The first section of Article 12A-3 requires detailed plans for wastewater treatment facilities to be accepted and approved by the city before construction or installation, and the director can require interceptors under the section that follows.
4. 4Set up the 180-day cleanout cycle, and ask the director in writing if you want a different cycle.
5. 5Start a record file for every cleaning, repair and maintenance visit, kept for at least three years and ready for the director.

HQ Plumbing & Air repairs and inspects grease interceptors. A separate pumper does the pump-out first.

• Myth: a trap is fine for any kitchen. It is allowed only with four or fewer food-prep fixtures and no dishwasher.
• Myth: the cleanout schedule is up to the hauler. The article sets 180 days, or more often if the city requires.
• Myth: bigger is always allowed. The maximum interceptor is 2,500 gallons.
• Myth: the city page is the whole rule. It points to Ordinance 12A, where the sizing and cleaning rules live.

The text above comes from the City of Goodyear Industrial Pretreatment Program page and Chapter 12A of the Goodyear City Code, read on 2026-10-04. This page explains them, and the official text governs.