By Ryan Lewis
Correspondent
KIMBALL, Tenn. — In an effort to comply with new federal regulations, city administrators here approved a slightly modified ordinance on the disposal of animal and vegetable fats, oils and grease.
The Kimball Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously endorsed the measure, known as the Fog ordinance, on final reading last week with a couple of new amendments.
“The board added a section dealing with pumping requirements,” Kimball attorney Billy Gouger said. “Those with a system that falls within this ordinance will have to pump their interceptors, grease traps, lint traps or oil traps at least every 90 days using a private contractor that’s approved by the town.”
Gouger said the businesses then will have to provide Kimball officials with a report from the disposal contractor on what was done.
“This amounts to a quarterly obligation,” he said, “and the town does have the right in terms of the ordinance to require more treatment.”
In addition to the new pumping requirements, city officials added language to the ordinance that allows the town to recover any damages it incurs because of a violation.
“If [a violation] results in a civil penalty, an assessment being made to the town, or if it just simply results in the town incurring expenses to address a problem, it allows those costs to be recovered from the violator,” Gouger said.
The superintendent of the town’s sewer system will be in charge of enforcing the ordinance, officials said, but the board can authorize other people or employees to oversee compliance, if necessary.
“If, for some reason, we didn’t have a supervisor of the sewer system, then [the board] could authorize whomever it wanted to do this,” Alderman Jerry Don Case said.
Most of the enforcement provisions in the ordinance are civil and not criminal, so they will not require the use of a police officer, officials said.
Kimball Mayor David Jackson said his staff will draw up a letter explaining the new ordinance and send it out this week to all the businesses in town that fall within the new requirements.
Ryan Lewis is based in Marion County. Contact him at ryanlewis34@gmail.com.