City to hold public forum on new food establishment regulations

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 15, 2012

For more information, please contact:
John Langley, Deputy Director, City of Bloomington Utilities
Department, 349.3656
Jon Callahan, Public Affairs Specialist, City of Bloomington Utilities
Department, 349.3940

City to hold public forum on new food establishment regulations

Bloomington, Ind. - The City of Bloomington Utilities Department will conduct a public work session from 2 to 4 p.m. on Nov. 20 at the Utilities Department Service Center, 600 E. Miller Drive. The purpose of the work session is to provide an open forum to hear comments and answer questions from citizens who might be affected by proposed amendments to the Bloomington Municipal Code Sewer Use Ordinance regarding grease waste management.

"Our primary purpose is to clarify rules related to grease waste management practices which are already part of the Utilities Department's current policies," said Utilities Department Deputy Director John Langley. "We are updating the ordinance in an effort to promote more effective removal of grease before it enters the sewer waste collection system. The Department spends thousands of dollars each year cleaning sewers in entertainment and food service areas of the city. While we routinely clean all sections of the sewer system, by far our biggest cleaning challenge is grease," he said.

Utilities Department staff will recommend adoption of a revised Sewer Use Ordinance that includes EPA required "best management practices" for food service establishments to the Utilities Service Board and Bloomington Common Council later this year.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, poor grease waste management is responsible for 30 to 40 percent of sanitary sewer overflows in urban areas. These overflows are prohibited by the Clean Water Act.

"During the past 15 years the EPA has stressed the importance of strict grease waste management programs in virtually every contact we have had with them regarding sanitary sewer overflows," Langley said. Prevention of grease-waste-related overflows is also a principal part of the city's Agreed Order with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management regarding sanitary sewer flows.

Copies of the proposed ordinance and Enforcement Response Plan are available at the Indiana Room of the Monroe County Public Library and the Utilities Department offices at 600 E. Miller Drive. Copies of both documents are also available on the Department's website, [www.bloomington.in.gov/utilities|www.bloomington.in.gov/utilities].

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