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ENFIELD TOWN COUNCIL
MINUTES OF A PUBLIC HEARING
AUGUST 5, 2002
A Public Hearing was held in the Council Chambers of the Enfield Town Hall, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Monday, August 5, 2002. Chairman Vayda called the Public Hearing to order at 6:45 p.m.
ROLL-CALL - Present were Commissioners Edgar, Egan, Fiore, Kaupin, Mangini, Strom, Tait, and Vayda. Commissioner Hall and Tallarita were absent. Also present were Town Manager, Scott A. Shanley; Assistant Town Manager, Daniel Vindigni; Town Clerk, Suzanne F. Olechnicki; Assistant Town Attorney, Maria Stavropoulos; Director of Public Works, John Kazmarski; Deputy Director of Public Works, Geoffrey McAlmond; Director of Finance, Gregory Simmons; Director of Libraries, Henry Dutcher.
Chairman Vayda read the notice of Public Hearing as follows:
TOWN OF ENFIELD
LEGAL NOTICE
PUBLIC HEARING
MONDAY, AUGUST 5, 2002
"Notice is hereby given that the Enfield Town Council, acting in its capacity as Water Pollution Control Authority, will hold a Public Hearing in the Enfield Town Hall, Council Chambers, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut on Monday, August 5, 2002 at 6:45 p.m. to allow interested citizens an opportunity to express their opinions regarding the amended Grease Trap Ordinance.
Copies of the proposed ordinance are available for public inspection in the office of the Town Clerk, 820 Enfield Street, Enfield, Connecticut, Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m."
Chairman Vayda then announced the ground rules for the public hearing and invited speakers to come forward.
Director of Public Works, John Kazmarski, was present to explain the amended Grease Trap Ordinance.
Mr. Kazmarski stated the Council has before them copies of the resolution and some recommended proposed revisions to several sections of the sewer ordinance. He explained they're seeking to establish a waiver process that could be used to allow for the installation of newer grease trap technology under the sink or within the building. He noted this would take the place of the standard exterior grease traps that cost between $10,000 and $15,000. He pointed out at times it's not feasible to build the exterior grease traps due to limitations in the front of the building/roadway or because of the age of certain buildings. He noted these amendments would not apply to any new facilities being built. He explained this basically relates to smaller businesses or older buildings being rehabilitated for use as a food establishment.
Mr. Kazmarski stated at the last meeting he mentioned the State DEP was going to act on the same issue. He distributed a program fact sheet regarding "FOG", or what's known as fat, oil and grease. He stated according to a DEP representative that he spoke with, the time table for this might be accelerating and it appears legislation will be passed within 6 months to a year. He noted this would mean that all food preparation establishments that generate fat, oil, or grease would be required to install a grease trap. He stated such establishments will be required to register with DEP, and this will be the way in which the DEP will follow up on this. He pointed out no fee is involved with the registration. He stated all these grease traps will be required to be pumped out on a regular basis, a minimum of once every three months. He added all grease trap pumpings would have to be disposed of in a special tank. He noted the grease processed from this tank would be fuel for incinerators.
Mr. Shanley pointed out the State hasn't identified what they consider to be an acceptable grease trap. He noted as the Town tries to be more flexible, they have to be sure the applicants recognize that what they're suggesting to do and what the Town is approving for the time being, may not be appropriate for the State when the State passes these laws.
Mr. Kazmarski stated one thing that they did not change was the technical criteria that has to be met with the sewer effluent, therefore, that gives the Town the flexibility of insuring that whatever the DEP may require or consider acceptable, as long as the Town meets the provisions in Section 8-28, then the Town will be meeting the same technical requirements that they generally comply with.
Mr. Kazmarski explained Section 8-24 is the change in what is an outdated section of the regulation and it speaks to the technical provisions for the types of materials to be used and how they're supposed to be established, i.e., joint materials. He noted these are for vitrified clay pipe and old pipe of that nature that may have been used 20 to 30 years ago. He pointed out it's no longer a practice to use those types of materials, and they're just eliminating the possibility of someone misinterpreting that portion of the regulation. He pointed out they're basically calling for PVC plastic pipe and cast iron pipe of an appropriate type and appropriate installation.
He explained Section 8-27 involves a very minor revision and talks about discharges into sanitary sewers. He noted the ordinance reads entirely the same, except in the first and second paragraph the words "cooling water" was deleted. He noted cooling waters are now allowed to be processed into the sanitary sewer system with an appropriate application for a permit through the Water Pollution Control Plant.
Mr. Kazmarski stated he has a handwritten response from the North Central Health Department about the proposed ordinance changes, and they basically concur with the
Town. He noted they talked about including a penalty clause in the event someone isn't maintaining their grease trap and as a result the Town has to visit the site for some type of non-compliance. He added they suggested car washes, garages and other things be included. He noted right now, they're specifically dealing with restaurants and food handling types of items. He stated there are provisions for the other establishments that come into play under a different section of the Town's regulations and DEP's regulations. He stated there really isn't anything contrary to what they're recommending from the North Central Health District.
As no one from the audience wished to speak, Chairman Vayda closed the Public Hearing at 6:56 p.m.
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