Florida Restaurant Grease Trap Spill Covers City Streets

About 100 gallons of grease from a Florida restaurant spilled into the streets according to city officials and a state report.

The grease flowed from the grease trap and spilled into a parking lot behind the building.

“This type of spill rarely happens,” said Nora Emmanuel, city spokeswoman. Restaurants are responsible for keeping their grease traps — devices used to capture fatty oils from food preparation to prevent them from clogging pipes and infiltrating wastewater — from overflowing and having them drained regularly.

The grease “filled the parking lot behind the restaurant” reads a report from the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Without knowing exactly how much grease spilled, the city estimated 100 gallons. It was contained before reaching Northeast Second Avenue, the street that leads to Pineapple Grove Arts District.

The grease spill shut down Northeast Second Avenue from Atlantic Avenue to Northeast First Street for nearly eight hours. The city hired a contractor to clean up the spill, and plans to evaluate the cost for reimbursement from the restaurant, Emmanuel said.

“The City of Delray Beach responded to the incident because it became a potential public health and safety issue,” she said.

There were no injuries and the environmental impact was undetermined, the emergency management report says.

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