FOG for food service establishments

Fats, oils and grease (FOG) discharged from restaurants, hotels, institutional kitchens, apartment buildings and other food service establishments (FSEs) is the leading cause of blockages in sewer lines. These FOG blockages, located in either the property owner’s sewer lateral or the public agency’s sanitary sewer system, can cause back-ups into kitchens or basements, or can lead to sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs); it can cause untreated sewage to flow onto streets and travel to storm drains, creeks, and other surface waters. SSOs have become the focus of many large lawsuits and a Report to Congress by the EPA in 2004. This has made the control of the source of these blockages a high priority for the EPA and many states, which are now requiring municipalities to adopt FOG Control Programs.  A major part of these programs consist of controlling the FOG discharge from restaurants, etc.