NEWPORT BEACH : City Backs Off on Grease Ordinance

A strict city ordinance requiring restaurants to control food grease that flows down drains and clogs city sewage lines has been temporarily shelved to study a more lenient plan that would offer relief to businesses that find it too costly to install the necessary plumbing.

The City Council this week agreed to rework the ordinance to allow the changes, which would help restaurants with no record of grease problems and provide alternatives for shops that cannot afford the costly and space-consuming underground containers.

“Nobody wants to deny that restaurants don’t (stop) grease from going down the drain,” said Richard Luehrs, president of the Newport Harbor Area Chamber of Commerce. “But that’s a multimillion-dollar imposition on an industry that right now isn’t doing as much business as it would like to.”

The Chamber of Commerce estimates that the cost of installing new plumbing systems to contain the grease would be from $1,000 to $10,000, depending on the size of the restaurant and the extent of changes needed to existing plumbing.

The proposed changes are likely to include an exemption waiver that would be granted to businesses with no history of a problem of excessive grease flow.

Also, the plan may extend the time for restaurants to comply with the ordinance by one year and allow shops that cannot install underground systems to use a system that can be installed beneath a countertop.

A city study of the sewer system over the last 15 years shows that there have been hundreds of reported clogs and stoppages, particularly in pipelines just downstream from restaurants. The clogs often cause the sewers to overflow and threaten to pollute Newport Bay, according to the study.

In all, the city estimates that it has spent more than $300,000 over the last 15 years because of claims filed against the city for damages that were the result of stopped sewers.

The initial, stricter plan was approved last year and required all restaurants to install underground grease containers by March of this year. Just under half of the city’s 284 restaurants had complied by the deadline.

The chamber initially supported the ordinance when it was approved last year, but as restaurants have tried to comply and costs have mounted, the chamber has changed its position.