A grease trap that isn't being serviced on schedule is eventually going to be found by the City of Amarillo's Industrial Waste Department. When an inspection finds your trap needs service, Amarillo's ordinance gives you 10 business days to pump it - after that, enforcement goes to Environmental Health. The question isn't whether compliance matters; it's whether you have a service schedule that keeps you ahead of an inspection finding.
Commercial food service operations in Amarillo are required to maintain grease interceptors under the city's pretreatment ordinance. That means regular service, proper documentation, and a trap that's sized and maintained to actually do its job. We service restaurants, cafeterias, food processing operations, and commercial kitchens throughout the Amarillo area.
How Grease Traps Work
A grease trap (also called a grease interceptor) is a holding tank installed between your kitchen drains and the municipal sewer line. Hot, greasy water enters the trap, slows down, and cools. Grease and fats, being lighter than water, float to the top and form a grease cap. Heavier food solids settle to the bottom as sludge. The relatively clear water in the middle flows out to the sewer.
The trap only functions when there's enough clear space in the middle zone for separation to happen. As the grease cap builds from the top and the sludge layer builds from the bottom, that middle zone shrinks. A widely used pretreatment industry benchmark: once grease and sludge together exceed 25% of trap volume, separation efficiency drops and grease starts passing through to the sewer. That threshold isn't in Amarillo's ordinance specifically, but it's a useful service trigger regardless.
There's no sensor on a grease trap that alerts you when it's getting full. Without a service schedule, you find out one of two ways: grease backs up into the kitchen, or the city finds the problem during an inspection.
FOG Compliance in Amarillo
Amarillo's grease trap requirements are governed by Code of Ordinances Section 18-3-33, administered by the Industrial Waste Department. The key requirements that affect your service program:
City-permitted haulers only. Pumpers operating in Amarillo city limits must be permitted by the Industrial Waste Department. Using an unpermitted hauler doesn't satisfy the ordinance - the permit is on the hauler, not just on having someone show up with a truck.
City-issued manifest required. Each service visit must use the city-issued manifest. The hauler leaves a copy at your facility. Amarillo urges operators to keep the latest manifest on site for inspection - it's the proof that the last service was performed by a permitted hauler and disposed of properly.
10-day deadline after an inspection finding. If the Industrial Waste Department inspects and finds your trap needs service, you have 10 business days to pump it. After that, enforcement goes to Environmental Health. A current service schedule keeps you from being in that position at all.
Interceptors sized and maintained at the user's expense. The city plumbing code governs sizing requirements. Maintenance is the facility's responsibility, not the city's.
Call (806) 216-4115 to set up a service schedule or to get current after an inspection finding.
What Happens During a Service Visit
- We pump out all layers - grease cap, liquid, and sludge - until the trap is empty.
- We scrape and clean the trap walls, lid, and baffles. A pumped trap with dirty walls accumulates a new grease cap faster than one that's been properly cleaned.
- We inspect the baffles and outlet condition. A broken baffle lets grease pass directly through the trap with no separation at all.
- We record the volumes: grease cap depth, sludge depth, total gallons removed, and condition notes. This is the compliance documentation.
- We haul the FOG waste to a licensed receiving facility.
The difference between a compliant service and an adequate-looking one is in steps 2 and 4. Some operations just pump the liquid and hand you a generic receipt. That's not a compliance record, and it's not a clean trap.
Service Frequency Guidelines
Frequency depends on your kitchen's output. These are starting intervals, not fixed rules - we adjust based on what we see at each visit.
| Operation type | Starting service interval |
|---|---|
| High-volume commercial kitchen (busy full-service restaurant, fast food) | Monthly |
| Moderate-volume restaurant | Every 6-8 weeks |
| Lower-volume commercial kitchen (office cafeteria, small cafe) | Quarterly |
| Seasonal operation | Before and after season |
If you're at 40% full at the first service and the interval was supposed to be 8 weeks, the interval is wrong. We set the interval based on actual accumulation rate, not a default.
Grease Trap Sizing
The most common FOG compliance problem isn't poor maintenance - it's an undersized trap. A trap sized for a small cafe can't keep up with the same space operating as a high-volume kitchen. An undersized trap runs behind maintenance no matter how frequently it's pumped.
If you're opening a new food service location, expanding a kitchen, or adding cooking equipment, the trap size is part of the city permitting process. We can tell you whether an existing trap is adequate for a new operation's volume, but the required size is the city's determination, not ours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a food truck need a grease trap? If the truck connects to a permanent sewer hookup at a commissary or fixed location, yes - the hookup point typically requires a grease interceptor. Mobile operations that use a holding tank and dump at approved stations are handled differently. Check with the City of Amarillo and your commissary's requirements for your specific setup.
What happens if an inspection finds my trap needs service? Under Amarillo Code Section 18-3-33, you have 10 business days to pump the trap after an inspection finding. If that deadline passes without service, enforcement goes to Environmental Health. A regular service schedule is what keeps an inspection finding from becoming a countdown.
Can you service the trap at night or early morning? Yes. Most operators prefer service before prep starts or after close to avoid disrupting kitchen flow. Call (806) 216-4115 to work out a schedule that fits your operation.
How do I know if my trap is the right size? The original installation permit lists the design capacity. If you don't have those records, we can measure the trap and compare it to your estimated daily grease output. An undersized trap is usually apparent from the rate at which it fills.
What if I don't have a grease trap installed? If you're a commercial food service operation discharging to the Amarillo sewer system without a grease interceptor, you're likely out of compliance with the city's pretreatment requirements. The path forward is to contact Amarillo Utilities about what's required and start the permitting process. Operating without one while knowing it's required is the higher-risk position.
Do you provide documentation for health department inspections? Yes. Every service visit comes with a written record of date, volumes removed, condition, and disposal destination. Keep these on file - they're what an inspector asks for.
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