Overview
Larry Ryder, FOG Compliance Inspector for Dekalb County GA, outlines the county’s FOG program and talks through his vast experience of conducting inspections and enabling compliance.
Key Takeaways:
- DeKalb’s county is broken into zones, with each zone assigned to an inspector and FSEs get inspected annually – hope to get to an FSE three times annually but this is usually not feasible. FOG was responsible for 57% of SSOs in 2014 – they’ve now reached under 52%.
- DeKalb’s FOG requirements:
- All food serving establishments must have a GCD if remodeling/expanding they’ll need a bigger GCD, and if there are blockage hotspots, citizen complaints, or change of ownership they’ll come back to inspect.
- Use a permit system – applications must be completed, there must be a proper installation of GCD that is in compliance with the ordinance before receipt of the permit.
- Interior traps must be metal and connected to all discharge points. Mechanical GCDs are not allowed. The county requires a 30-90 day cleaning cycle using a licensed hauler. FOG must not exceed 5% of total capacity.
- Exterior traps must be concrete (due to rust) with 2 or more manholes and at least 1000 gallon capacity, but not over 3000 gallons per trap. 90-day cleaning cycle in most cases. Use a sludge judge and mustn’t exceed 10%.
- Service manifest information must be current and available for 3 years.
- DeKalb’s inspection process:
- Pre-installation and post-installation inspections are conducted and a dye test is used in post-inspections. Once successfully conducted and fees have been paid, a permit is issued.
- Regular, drop-in compliance inspections are performed where inspectors inspect the entire facility.
- Inspectors have badges to show as they are sworn compliance officers – likely that if they have to show this badge they’ll have to give a court citation. They’ll issue warnings first for overdue pump-outs and permit renewals. Citations can range from $250-to-1500 per citation or even 30 days in jail. SSOs result in an immediate court citation because it’s a public health issue.
