Grease lightening

More area restaurants are cutting the fat. Preventing grease from clogging the septic system and causing more work at treatment plants, that is. Restaurants are being asked to do their part for the environment as inspections and regulations on new or changing businesses have increased.

More area restaurants are cutting the fat.

Preventing grease from clogging the septic system and causing more work at treatment plants, that is.

Restaurants are being asked to do their part for the environment as inspections and regulations on new or changing businesses have increased.

Greg Grasseschi and his wife, Nancy, have been trying to open their Lucca's Italian restaurant in Hayden for six months and, of all the regulatory hoops they have had to jump through with the city, the grease issue has clogged the process the most.

Greg said it makes sense to tackle the problem at the source - under the sink - rather than outside in a holding tank that could fail, in the sewer system or at the treatment plant.

"I proposed technology that can solve the majority of the issue at the source," Grasseschi said. "My whole intent was to find a better mouse trap."

A product Grasseschi and the city settled on is a 20-gallon Zurn grease interceptor approved by the Environmental Protection Agency in lieu of a 750-gallon holding tank under the parking lot.

The total cost for the Zurn, including installation, is about $7,000 compared to $8,000 for the tank.

But Grasseschi believes the Zurn, which does not release any grease down the drain into the sewer system that exceeds 100 parts per million, will be better for the environment and easier and cheaper to maintain.

"My main hangup was that I could've discharged more into the sewer system (with the larger tank)," Grasseschi said. "It was a remedy, not part of the solution. The Zurn is not the whole answer, but at least it's part of the solution."

Established restaurants have also jumped on board to trap grease. Michael D's, the Pita Pit and both Capone's locations in Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene recently installed a product called Rhino that's distributed locally.

The Rhino traps waste before it enters the holding tank and reduces the risk of a sewer drain backing up.

Tom Capone said the Rhino captures 7 to 10 pounds of waste per day.

"That's 300 pounds of garbage per month that's not going into the sewer system," he said.

Capone said the tank had to be pumped every three months before the Rhino was installed, which costs about $400 each time. With the Rhino, which costs $250 for the product itself, about $130 to be installed and $2 for filters, he said the tank will likely need pumped just once a year.

"It pays for itself," he said, adding that the filters are changed daily. "It's a good thing for the restaurant business. Let's face it, most of the damage in sewer pipes is probably done by restaurants. I saw it as a good for everybody."

Grasseschi said he pitched the Rhino to Hayden, but only the Zurn met city requirements in lieu of the holding tank.

Trevor Johnson, a local Rhino distributor, said the idea of requiring restaurants to do their part to reduce grease in the sewer system is catching on nationwide. Atlanta is doing a pilot test with a group of businesses using the Rhino, and Seattle is expected to follow suit, depending on the results.

"These are at-source solutions that are making the jobs easier down the road," Johnson said.

Terry Werner, Post Falls public works director, said grease is tough on the sewer system because it doesn't break down. It also balls up at the treatment plant, wreaks havoc on lift stations and has to be trucked off with other solids from the treatment plant to a compost facility.

Werner said that whether businesses use the standard holding tank or new technology under sinks, containment depends largely on maintenance.

He said waste from a restaurant recently overflowed into the parking lot because it had gotten so backed up from not being pumped.

Werner said some restaurants are grandfathered in, so they aren't required to meet city standards.

However, they can be required to install improvements if they are a new business or more make changes or upgrades. Restaurants are also regularly inspected and will receive a letter if they're releasing more grease and fats than the standard.

Grasseschi believes incentives should be made to restaurant owners wanting to be proactive to keep sewer lines unclogged.

"I'd like to see grant funding be made available to help restaurants be a part of the solution for wastewater treatment plants," he said.