Tempe FOG inspections: pumping schedule, records and what inspectors check

The FOG Program page says the city "performs routine inspections" and lists what it checks. Grease control devices must be serviced by a permitted hauler every 30 or 90 days, depending on device size. Pump-out records must be on site and available for review. Devices must be in good condition, with no holes, missing or broken parts or severe corrosion. Three-compartment sinks, floor sinks, mop sinks, floor drains and dishwashers must be plumbed to the device. Garbage disposals and food grinders are not permitted.

The city's 2017 Rules and Procedures add the detail:

• Traps: pumped at least every 30 business days by a non-hazardous liquid waste hauler approved by Maricopa County and permitted by ADEQ. No self-cleaning without written approval.
• Interceptors: pumped at least every 90 business days, or sooner if grease or solids exceed the manufacturer's capacity limit or solids reach 25 percent of the interceptor volume.
• Cleaning method: mechanical cleaning. No additive that causes emulsification or saponification. Other additives only with written approval, and they do not change the required frequency.
• Records: all maintenance records, including third-party invoices, stay on site.
• Sand/oil interceptors: pumped at least every 180 days. Lint interceptors and hair traps at least every 12 months if the city requires it.

The rules also say the city may ask you to call Environmental Services before a scheduled cleaning with the date, time and contractor, and to give an inspector access before, during or after it.

• Permitted hauler: a non-hazardous liquid waste hauler, meaning a pumping company the county has approved and ADEQ has permitted. The rules require both.
• Business days: the rules count 30 and 90 business days. The city page says 30 or 90 days. Business days run longer on the calendar, roughly six weeks and eighteen weeks. Treat the shorter reading as the safe one.
• Grease control device: the city's umbrella term for a trap or an interceptor.

Food service establishments with a trap or an interceptor, and property owners who share one. It does not cover residential kitchens. Public K-12 schools have their own schedule in the rules: traps at least every 90 days while school is in session, and interceptors at the start of each winter and summer break.

A pizza take-out with a trap. The trap is due at the 30-day mark. The owner keeps each hauler invoice in a binder. The inspector opens the binder, checks dates and looks at the trap. Done.

A restaurant with an interceptor and a bad odor. The 90-day pump-out was on time, but the solids were near the 25 percent line. The rules say pump sooner, so a calendar pump-out alone does not cover it.

The edge case: the Tempe Grease Cooperative. A voluntary program run by the city. The city page says any food service establishment may join or leave at any time with no fees and no contract. Members "are assured compliance" with the city's cleaning and maintenance requirements by receiving scheduled service and paying on time, and may ask for a reduced cleaning frequency under the enrollment terms. The city page does not say a member skips inspection.

1. 1Find out your device type and size, and the date of its last pump-out.
2. 2Put the hauler's invoices and manifests in one place on site.
3. 3Confirm your hauler is county-approved and ADEQ-permitted, or that you are enrolled in the cooperative.
4. 4Fix any holes, missing baffles or corrosion the last pump-out noted, and check each fixture drains to the device.
5. 5For questions, call Environmental Services at 480-350-2678. Grease cooperative questions go to grease@tempe.gov or 480-350-8239.

• "An enzyme product replaces pumping." The rules ban emulsifiers and allow other additives only with written approval, and an approved additive does not change the required frequency.
• "Every 30 days means every month." The rules say business days. The page says days. Ask the city which it will hold you to.
• "The hauler handles the records." The rules put record-keeping on the user, and the records stay on site.
• "Joining the cooperative is mandatory." The city says it is voluntary and free.