The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic are all too familiar, and Johnson County Wastewater's Fats, Oils, and Grease program had its own challenges.

The FOG division is a proactive program focused on the food service and commercial kitchen industry to help keep FOG out of Wastewater's sanitary system. On average, Wastewater manages approximately 1,300 annual food service establishment permits, with new restaurants applying regularly.

“Businesses don’t notify us when they go out of business and often don’t contact us when they open a new business, so we are constantly investigating and educating restaurants on the importance of Wastewater’s food service requirements,” explains Chris Smelser, an Environmental Compliance Manager for the FOG program.

During the pandemic, Wastewater temporarily stopped all enforcement, focusing instead on education, in an effort to alleviate any additional pressure and financial strain on the struggling industry. Many restaurants shut their doors or changed hands while enduring high staff turnover. Fast forward to 2023, and the program is back in full swing and there is a lot of “clean-up” to do.

This spring, the FOG team reinstated the enforcement process. The first task the team tackled was ensuring all food service facilities in Wastewater’s records renewed their operating permit. That’s over 1,300 restaurants to track down on a yearly basis.

As of April 15, there were still 300+ with expired permits and 51 businesses with back due fees spanning multiple years. As of June 13, all restaurants in Wastewater’s records have a current operating permit and are 100% paid on fees.

The FOG team is a well-oiled machine made up of David Streiler, a longtime Wastewater compliance manager specializing in commercial plan review and inspections; Chris Smelser, a four-year Wastewater compliance manager with a background in water from California, and Manny Cabral; the newest team member, who brings many years of experience from the City of Overland Park.

Cabral and Smelser tag team to ensure permitting, maintenance enforcement and food services education. The FOG team also contributes their success to Wastewater’s Permits group, which played an integral part in implementing a new option for business owners to pay permit fees over the phone with a credit card.

In addition to getting the FOG program back in full swing, the team is also working to streamline processes, eliminating unnecessary hurdles for restaurants in addition to public education of fats, oils and grease. Did you know you can protect public health by disposing of fats, oils and grease properly?

Check out Wastewater’s FOG webpage or contact Wastewater to learn more.