Houston Regional Group - News

The HSC testified before Houston City Council in April 2007 in favor of a proposed ordinance that would require existing businesses with grease/pit traps to pay a $50 permit fee; clean-out (maintain) these traps quarterly or meet a waiver and clean-out grease traps twice/year; implement a manifest system to track FOG from generator to transporter to disposal site; and fund a compliance inspection and enforcement program for FOG.

The FOG ordinance is needed to stop sewage overflows due to blocked sewage lines. These overflows cause water pollution, endanger public health, and cost the City of Houston (COH) over a million dollars each year.

The proposed FOG ordinance is one step by the COH in the regulation of FOG. The COH has implemented a public education campaign, called "Corral the Grease" for single family homeowners. The COH has also begun a program for multi-family units that have problems with FOG blockages. This program consists of educating renters about the FOG program and supplying them with mini-grease traps so that FOG can be caught before it enters the drain and can be disposed of in the trash. The COH already regulates FOG via its industrial pretreatment program.

In 2005, 9,000 of the 14,000 grease traps were cleaned out only once or no times/year. Other large cities in Texas charge $125 for a FOG permit versus the proposed $50 for the COH ordinance.

In 2005, the COH conducted inspections of 3,417 grease traps and found 7,533 violations. Grease related violations equaled 90% of total violations and included grease trap overflows; sample well overflows, illegal discharge of grease into the sanitary system; and deposition/accumulation of grease in sample wells. Total non-grease related violations included foul odors, no waste manifests, and no registration certifications.

Unless the COH approves the proposed FOG ordinance the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which has already fined the COH over a million dollars, will assess additional fines.

The HSC is monitoring the progress of the ordinance and will continue to provide input into the process. 

June 2007

Last updated:  05/03/2007.   Content © 1999-2007 by the Sierra Club.