The City of McPherson is dedicated to providing quality sewer service for its customers. The Grease Management Program will regulate food service establishments to provide mechanisms and resources with the goal of helping control and minimize the introduction of fats, oils, and grease (FOG) into sanitary sewers.

The Environmental Protection Agency National Pretreatment Program provides regulatory tools and authority to state and local Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) pretreatment programs for eliminating pollutant discharges that cause interference at POTWs, including interference caused by the discharge of Fats, Oils, and Grease (FOG) from food service establishments (FSE). More specifically, the Pretreatment Program regulations at 40 CFR 403.5(b)(3) prohibit “solid or viscous pollutants in amounts which will cause obstruction” in the POTW and its collection system.

WHAT IS FOG?
Fats, Oils and Grease (FOG) comes from cooking oil, shortening, lard, margarine, butter, mayonnaise, dairy products and meat fat in food scraps. FOG can enter the sewer system from washing dishes containing even residual amounts of these items. Large amounts of FOG are commonly found in Food Service Establishments (FSEs). When FOG enters the drain, it solidifies and builds up in the sewer pipes. As it accumulates, the flow through the pipe is restricted and can cause sanitary sewer backups and overflows (SSO). The end result is sewage backing up into homes, yards, streets, storm drains and waterways. These SSOs can damage property, harm the environment and create health hazards. Backups are expensive, unpleasant to clean up and must be paid for by the business or homeowner.