The squeaky wheel may get the grease, but in Riverside, businesses with grease traps will have to prove they’re keeping them clean to hold onto their business licenses.
Village trustees on Thursday directed staff to draft an ordinance that will require those businesses – mostly restaurants – to verify that they’re maintaining their grease traps with cleanings before Riverside issues their annual business licenses and again by July 1. Businesses can submit an invoice from a third-party cleaner or an “affidavit of cleaning” including a time-stamped photo of the cleaned grease trap.
Assistant Village Manager Ashley Monroe explained the new measure is mostly preventative in nature.
“We have experienced, from time to time, blockages in our sewer systems. This isn’t relating [to] a particular incident. We do have public works go out and occasionally investigate if there are any concerns,” she said. “Grease trap issues happen when particularly restaurants … aren’t servicing them properly. It is a nasty job to clean and service these spaces. It’s where you place all of the extra cooking grease or other materials that are fatty and built up over time, so by cleaning them regularly, you prevent them from overflowing into our sewer facilities and infrastructure.”
She said she reached out to seven restaurants in town, whose operators were “amenable” to working with the village.
“They said, ‘We’re either having it regularly serviced for periods throughout the year, or we’re doing it ourselves. We can prove to you that we’re handing off our grease to someone that’s willing to give us a receipt. We are cleaning it. We’re willing to have you inspect it if you want to see it now.’ I declined politely,” she said.
According to village board documents, businesses that fail to comply with the new rule could face monetary penalties or the suspension of their business licenses. Village staff can grant extensions or exceptions to businesses in special cases.
The village board is expected to approve an ordinance codifying the rule at its next meeting.
