Catch Those Grease Dumpers!
Anybody know what brought this about? Apparently a law has been passed making it a misdemeanor to improperly dispose of grease from interceptors or grease traps. Was this a problem that's been going on for some time? If so, I don't recall ever hearing about it.
I remember some time ago they passed some law where some kind of identification requirements were established for used vegetable oil. Apparently the stuff they make biodiesel out of was a hot item and people were stealing the stuff.
Of course, I never knew there was a problem with used vegetable oil until I read about that proposed law. Anybody aware of problems arising from improperly handling grease?
posted by Fred Mangels @ 9:18 AM
34 comments
34 Comments:
Grease traps? This is absurd.
Dang Fred, I gotta hand it to you. You are the undisputed Elmer Fudd of Humboldt political bloggers. Congrats!
Why tankyou, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
You see, da reason dis waw iz sooooo bad, iz becuz dat siwy wabbit Gallegos iz fo it. See? If he iz fo it, it must be baaaaad!
huh?
huh-whaaaat???
9:51 wrote, "Grease traps? This is absurd.".
I'm just wondering what the problem with grease was?
And I agree with you Fred! It seems absurd!
Let's be clear: That wasn't me that said it was absurd. That was another commentor. I just wonder what brought this all about. Was there a problem to begin with? I never heard of one in all the news I read.
Maybe there was a problem. I'd like to know what it was.
Rumormill has it that this law was made so that people couldn't steal grease and use it in their cars as WVO or to make Bio out of. I guess one of the other things is you have to have a 2 million dollar insurance to move grease now.
Let's be clear: That wasn't me that said it was absurd. That was another commentor.
Aww, c'mon, admit the absurdity, Fred. You wrote the first one again to grease the wheels of commenting, so to speak.
Good job. Works (almost) every time. You're a master of the blogosphere.
It's OK to torture and kill dogs but don't get caught disposing grease.
I hate grease-dumpers! If people want to dump grease, they can just go to hell! When I think about grease-dumpers, I just want to put my asshat on and through my weight around! I am an authorty! I used to wear a gun!
I hate you.
Cops rule.
Sure grease is a problem. Spend some time in McKinleyville where a pipe can become clogged and bust in the street and the homeowner whose home gets damaged has to pay the bill. There aren't people who sit in rooms and think up crazy laws to bother people. Laws are enacted for genuine reasons. Rather than shout at the darkness, try opening the door and letting some light inside.
My point being, the homeowner isn't responsible for the grease clog. It's someone somewhere else in town who is to blame, but the person receiving the damage gets stuck with the bill. The govt says it's not their fault. Home insurance says it's not covered. You the victim get screwed.
How the hell you catch a grease dumper is the real mystery.
there is a reason why you USED TO CARRY A GUN. and we should all be glad for that.
4:44 wrote, "There aren't people who sit in rooms and think up crazy laws to bother people.".
Oh yes there are.
4:44 also wrote, "Sure grease is a problem. Spend some time in McKinleyville where a pipe can become clogged and bust in the street and the homeowner whose home gets damaged has to pay the bill.".
What about poop and toilet paper? That's been a problem in this house. Do we need a law for that?
Perhaps. But sometime life just sucks and we just have to deal with it. Take care of your pipes on your own without making a government project out of it.
5:33 wrote, "USED TO CARRY A GUN.".
Nope. My understanding is he still carries a gun, not just in places he's not allowed to, via Homeland Security.
He's okay by me.
4:27 PM & 5:33 PM: Nice try asshat! Yep Fred, "Nick the Greek" aka ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ is a lifetime gun carrier per Calif and Federal law as he is a RETIRED (not former) peace officer. Since asshat is so interested in the length of ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ's career he may be advised that ΛΕΟΝΙΔΑΣ earned a lifetime tax exempt retirement from a "real" law enforcement agency due to an on duty injury. KMA!
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ
4:44 Ever hear of roto-rooter? Or are you one of those that sits around waiting for the government to fix everything for you?
The stupid article didn't specify what kind of grease they were talking about - is it sink drains? big 50-gallon drums of lard used for cooking chips? It truly is absurd,
And 3:28, spot on!
Insurance doesn't cover it because the insurer will tell you the root cause was off property and therefore the responsibility of the city or other agency that manages water and sewer.
As for roto-rooter, that person doesn't have a clue. Yeah, sure, roto-rooter is going to dig up a street proactively before an undetectable clog occurs... on a pro bono basis (6:44, pro bono means "for free"), thus sparing the homeowner.
Touchy touchy Nick. If you do have a service injury retirement my apologies.
Many years ago there was a restaurant in McKinleyville that failed to maintain its grease trap. That meant that grease was entering the MCSD sewer lines.
This concerned the MCSD because there was a potential that the grease could clog the line. If the sewer line clogged, raw sewage could flow out of the manhole and into a nearby stream.
If sewage entered the stream, the MCSD could be liable for fines of up to $10,000 per day.
At first the MCSD tried to work with the restaurant owner. They talked a lot and sent numerous letters. That didn't work. The owner never responded.
It wasn't until they threatened to turn off his water that, by some miracle, the grease trap was repaired. The problem was solved. Not long after, new owners took over. They've done a great job improving the place.
It makes me wonder with this new law – are there grease trap cleaners who simply shovel and wash the grease downstream? That doesn't make sense, but maybe this has happened.
In a related matter, the MCSD is scheduled to develop an ordinance that would create fines for people who discharge stormwater into the sewer system. Supposedly there are some folks who connect their rain gutters to the sewage system. This creates higher than expected flows at the sewer plant and makes the MCSD have to treat water that should be discharged into the drainage system.
For what it's worth...
apparently grease traps are worse than meth, and child abuse.
Probably not, but when a literal river of shit is flowing through your house it probably feels that way.
gonna need a technical explanation of why this is a big deal, how you can even tell if you need to worry about it. do individual homeowners need to check it out? or is it just restaurants? and, wasn't there a code or ordinance in place already to deal with it? is this just another law that won't be enforced? that article just leaves you with all these unanswered questions, a big "huh?"
What about all those grease spots left behind by fired Arkley employees? Whose goona clean them up?
FYI: The new law applies only to commercial "grease waste haulers," which are defined as "transporters of inedible kitchen grease subject to the registration requirements in Section 19310 of the Food and Agricultural Code."
It regulates how they extract and dispose of restaurant grease, and makes it easier for the authorities to prosecute the commercial haulers who are paid to collect restaurant grease and who then simply dump it into sewers (which accounts for the majority of sewer system blockages, at enormous public expense) and creeks (where it causes serious environmental pollution).
God forbid anyone should read about the bill before ranting and opining about it.
WARNING!
Lunatic ancient-greek-god-wannabe carries gun and wears an air of superiority! Be cautioned, he can not comment on who he works for and whose interest he protects, seems overly prone to war and verbal violence, and feels entitled.
WARNING!
8:03, you're gonna hurt Nick's feelings.
7:48 wrote, "God forbid anyone should read about the bill before ranting and opining about it.".
Thanks for the heads up. That's exactly what I was asking when I brought this up: What was the reason for this bill?
7:48 also wrote, "commercial haulers who are paid to collect restaurant grease and who then simply dump it into sewers".
So, I guess grease can't be used for biodiesel- just vegetable oil can?
Next question: Where do the grease haulers normally (properly) dump the waste grease? Just curious.
Who was it who had the sewage line break in their house? What part of town?
Fred. if you can render it, you can burn it as fuel. Like I said above, alot of people are claiming this is a way to squeeze out the little guy trying to make bio-diesel from the local deep fry and keep the larger renders, who get paid to haul the grease away, open.
It's all about the contracts!
Tim,
Some of the clogs were in the street lines. If the clog is in a lateral, that's the homeower's problem. Right? – Jack
Yes, but who was the homowner who had the blowout? Or the general neighborhood? Were they at the end of a line? On the outer edge of town?
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