Restaurants and breweries face new regulations

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As the city of Nederland seeks to secure its water rights and plans to expand its water resources with a new reservoir, it is also beginning to enforce the protection of its assets by developing new ordinances.

Just as the Watershed Protection Regulation aims to regulate specific activities in and around the watershed in order to protect it, the new Wastewater Pre-treatment Regulation aims to regulate the way municipal wastewater treatment plants operate to protect businesses such as restaurants and breweries.

On April 18, 2023, the Board of Trustees voted to approve City Attorney Jennifer Madsen’s proposed amendments to Chapter 13, Article II of the Nederland Municipal Code (NMC). The City’s contracted engineering firm, JVA, and the Operator in Responsible Charge, Direct Discharge LLC, were to consult on the development of the code amendments.

According to information provided by JVA and city staff, the code changes were intended to bring the city into compliance with its wastewater discharge permit issued by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Clean Water Act.

Protecting wastewater treatment plants by removing harmful waste before it reaches them has been identified as a goal of the new regulations, and compliance with the regulations will help delay the expansion of the plant.

During the April 2023 meeting, it was stated that JVA and Direct Discharge LLC plan to begin outreach this summer, holding one-on-one meetings with business owners to discuss how the proposed code changes will impact their businesses.

“We definitely want to make sure that we’re not operating out of the city,” said Dave Lewis of Direct Discharge LLC. “We want to make sure that the revenue is still there and that we’re just good stewards of our wastewater treatment process.

“I think a lot of it has to do with training; going to breweries, making connections and making sure they understand who we are and what we’re trying to do.”

He added: “This is something new for the whole city and we certainly don’t want to come out of the gates looking like the bad guys.”

Lewis mentioned that Direct Discharge assisted the city of Lyons in developing a similar ordinance, which, given the evolving situation in Lyons, where the city’s wastewater treatment plant was approaching capacity, contained some pretty strict regulations.

Lewis said some businesses had left Lyon as a result, but he did not think the Netherlands’ situation with its wastewater infrastructure was as dire.

Trustee Tania Corvalan asked directly whether the new rules would significantly affect many businesses in the Netherlands and how much it might cost them to comply.

“From what I know about Nederland, it’s not going to cost businesses a lot of money. If we play it right, nobody’s going to leave town,” Lewis responded, noting that transparency and outreach were essential and how he was able to meet with business owners in person and explain the ordinance.

The BOT did not discuss the ordinance again until more than a year later, on June 18, 2024. Utilities Manager Andrew Bliss presented Ordinance 864 to the board for discussion; an Agenda Information Memorandum (AIM) prepared by Bliss noted that the JVA had developed changes to the NMC and stated that outreach to businesses via an email chain would begin prior to the final ordinance vote on July 16, 2024.

There was no mention on AIM or in conversations between Bliss and BOT of the in-person outreach to local businesses impacted by the pandemic planned for last summer.

When asked whether the provisions in the regulation are common to other municipalities, Blissa replied that such safeguards for wastewater treatment plants are used in most municipalities to better comply with regulatory standards, and that the Nederland regulation is much more lenient than others he has examined.

Other than the most recent draft of Regulation 864 being made available to Trustees for review, the only change to the regulation that has been discussed since the April 2023 discussion was the planned effective date of the regulation, changed from January 2025 to June 2025.

Regulation 864 repeals and replaces several sections of the NMC, starting with Section 13-30, which lists wastes that businesses are not permitted to discharge into municipal sewer systems.

Such waste includes toxic waste that may be harmful to humans or animals, waste containing concentrated chemicals, and harmful contaminants that may create a public nuisance or endanger the health of workers.

Gasoline, benzene, kerosene, fuel oil or other flammable or explosive liquids, solids, gases, oils or greases and distilled alcohol are prohibited from being poured into the sewage, as are “ashes, slags, sand, mud, straw, shavings, metal, glass, rags, feathers, tar, plastic, wood, manure or any other solid or viscous substances likely to obstruct the flow of sewage.”

Other prohibited wastes include any liquid with a pH less than 5.0 or greater than 9.0; any garbage that is not cut into pieces smaller than one-half inch; water containing more than 100 mg/l of animal or vegetable fat, oil or grease; and any liquid with a temperature above 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

Many business owners, after receiving an email from the City of Nederland, reacted strongly on social media to such regulations within the ordinance. Concerns were raised about the disposal of liquids with a pH lower than 5.0, as this regulation may affect some liqueurs, beers, wines, carbonated drinks and coffee mixes.

As for the regulations banning the pouring of any liquid above 104 degrees Fahrenheit, some restaurant owners have questioned whether this is consistent with food handling regulations. State regulations require dishwashers to operate at temperatures between 150 and 160 degrees, with a final rinse at 165 to 180 degrees to properly sanitize dishes and cutlery used by customers.

Article 13-32 has been repealed and replaced to implement Best Management Practices, which are guidelines that companies must follow to comply with the new provisions set out in Article 13-30.

These practices include placing sieves over drains to collect hazardous waste, disconnecting waste disposal units and disposing of waste in a garbage can or compost pile, and collecting oil and grease in a separate container during cleanup.

The regulation also states that restaurants should use “dry methods” to clean up oil, grease and other food waste, and that paper towels should be used for this purpose, as well as for cleaning plates and cutlery before washing them and for cleaning surfaces and removing any spills.

The ordinance clarifies that paper towels should be disposed of in the trash can rather than the garbage sink, and restaurants promote proper grease disposal methods by posting “Protect the Environment” signs in the kitchen.

Section 13-33 has been repealed and replaced with requirements for restaurants and other related facilities to install grease interceptors. Affected facilities include “each commercial food service establishment, all food service establishments, all other grease generators, and any other facility determined by the utility manager to require a grease interceptor.”

The decision as to whether a company will need to install an above-ground or below-ground grease trap depends on the water flow rate produced by the facility.

The regulation states that “the volume of a grease trap shall be determined by multiplying the total flow rate in gallons per minute (GPM) from each device required to be connected to the trap times a minimum retention time of not less than 15 minutes and the resulting volume shall be expressed in gallons.”

For a building where water flow from all fixtures exceeds 100 GPM, it will be necessary to install an underground interceptor that is located outside the building but away from vehicle lanes and main building entrances.

Regulation 864 also requires parking garages, repair shops, and storage facilities to install oil and sand interceptors, with interceptor volume dictated by the 2018 International Hydraulics Code. The regulation also includes many Best Management Practices for maintaining grease, oil, and sand interceptors.

The changes to the NMC include how companies will be required to keep three years of best management practice records, and the fact that these records and other wastewater pretreatment data will be made available to the city upon request.

The City may also require utilities to provide peak rates and volumes of sewage discharged over a specified period of time, chemical analysis of the sewage, and a plan or design showing the location of the utility’s sewer and wastewater pretreatment facilities. Equipment to monitor the utility’s wastewater pretreatment facilities may also be required at the discretion of the Utilities Manager.

The 20-page resolution will be placed on the BOT agenda on Tuesday, July 16, 2024 as an action item, meaning the Board intends to approve or reject Resolution 864. Please continue to follow Mountain ear for further updates.