Louisiana Grease Trap Regulations: Who Can Walk Into Your Kitchen

Inspector #1: the health sanitarian

The Louisiana Department of Health’s retail food program permits and inspects roughly 32,000 food operations statewide under the state Sanitary Code (LAC Title 51). Inspections are risk-based — one to four visits a year depending on your operation — and unannounced. Violations are classed critical (directly tied to contamination or illness risk) or non-critical, and every establishment’s inspection history is public on the state dashboard, updated daily. Where grease shows up in their world: backed-up drains and standing wastewater in food areas, odors, pest attraction, and the general sanitation of the trap area. A grease problem at the wrong moment turns a routine visit into a re-inspection.

Inspector #2: the sewer authority

The City-Parish Department of Environmental Services enforces the pretreatment ordinance — the rules about the trap itself: the 90-day cleaning floor, the one-third accumulation ceiling, full-evacuation cleanings, permits for repairs, and recordkeeping. They have an explicit right of entry to inspect and sample (Sec. 2:275), and the power to bill you for public sewer damage. We’ve translated their whole rulebook here: the East Baton Rouge grease trap rules.

Where the rules come from

The chain of authority, top to bottom: the federal Clean Water Act and EPA pretreatment regulations (40 CFR Part 403) → Louisiana’s environmental code (LAC Title 33, Part IX) → the parish ordinance (Title 2, Chapter 5, enacted by Ord. 18719 in 2022). The practical takeaway: none of this is optional, none of it is going away, and both inspectors expect the same two things — a trap that separates grease, and paperwork proving it’s being maintained.

What both inspectors ask for

• Your most recent pump-out documentation — date, hauler, and manifest
• Clear, safe access to the trap
• No odors, spills, or grease residue around the unit
• A trap that’s actually separating — not passing grease downstream

The one-page record that answers all of it: our free pump-out log template. And if an inspection already went sideways, start here: clearing a grease citation.