Restaurant grease targeted in Vancouver suburb

Some sewer pipes in Richmond are getting clogged, and officials with the Lower Mainland city's engineeringdepartment are blaming restaurant grease.

They're requesting council permission for a bylaw change that willspecifically identify the practice as illegal, set a fine for restaurants that get caught andallow for the hiring ofa part-time enforcement officer.

The grease problem is worst along busy Number 3 Road, which is lined with hundreds of restaurants, the officialssay.

Richmond Coun. Bill McNulty said the grease could cause serious problems.

"There'll be blockage results. There's backup and flooding, and as a result of that, you'll get health impacts."

At one of the city's busiest restaurants, Hon's Wun-Tun House, the kitchen has a grease filter, and its grease is picked up each month by a waste disposal company.

Hon's managing director, Simon Lee, said while it's possible some restaurants are illegally dumping grease, he doubts the city can effectively crack down on the problem.

"They basically have to be there 24 hours, because you never know when they'll be pouring the grease down."

Richmond currently spends more than $300,000 a year cleaning grease from sewer pipes.