In This Section:
Tucson Tests Low-Flow Nozzles
Four States and D.C. Mull Menu Nutrition Labels
A/C Efficiency Standards To Limit Patchwork Regs
Newport Beach Requires New FOG Fee
South Carolina To Adopt ICC Codes
This issue's Economic Report Sponsor: ES3 | Industry ReportSponsor: Atlas Metal Industries Inc.
 
Tucson Tests Low-Flow Nozzles
Tucson Water has installed low-flow spray nozzles in a dozen Tucson, Ariz., restaurants, including a Marriott hotel, in a pilot program to conserve water.
"At our continued rate of growth, we’ll max out our current sources of water by 2020," says Tracey Berry, commercial conservation specialist at the Tucson Water Board.
Rob LeMaster, regional v.p. at the Arizona Restaurant Association, helped Berry identify operators to participate in the program. Berry then replaced existing spray nozzles in those facilities with 1.4 gpm low-flow nozzles at no cost, funding the program out of Tucson Water’s conservation unit.
"We know the device will save water," Berry says, "which is better than trying to modify behavior." The test is designed to get feedback from operators on how well they like using the nozzles, and whether or not they notice savings.
Berry plans to follow up with participants in three and six months and present his findings to the city council for discussion on how to expand the program.
Four States and D.C. Mull Menu Nutrition Labels
Does this plate make me look fat?
Four states—Maine, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania—and the District of Columbia have bills pending that would require chains with 20 or more units to include nutrition information on their menus.
"The only (immediate) movement is in Maine, which has filed a bill for consideration next year," says Tom Foulkes, director of state relations for the National Restaurant Association. "If the other bills don’t pass this year, which looks likely at this point, they’ll have to be re-introduced next year."
Similar legislation introduced in California, New Hampshire, New York and Texas was defeated or tabled this year. Legislators in California, however, have introduced menu-labeling bills the past two years in a row.
"This certainly isn’t the end of the issue," Foulkes says.
State restaurant associations actively oppose nutrition labeling since most chain restaurants already make that information available voluntarily.
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A/C Efficiency Standards To Limit Patchwork Regs
In a win-win-win agreement, air conditioner manufacturers and energy efficiency advocates in November established new efficiency standards for commercial HVAC systems. If adopted by federal regulators at the Department of Energy and in Congress, the standards would result in a 26% efficiency increase. They would also preempt attempts by many states to create their own standards.
The current federal efficiency standard hasn’t changed since 1992. The new agreement calls for an increase in the energy efficiency ratio (EER) to 11.2 from 8.9 by Jan. 1, 2010. It also includes language that extends the federal standards to large-package commercial HVAC systems up to 63 tons. The current standard regulates only systems up to 20 tons.
States with efficiency standards higher than current federal standards would be grandfathered into the rules when adopted. They include California and Connecticut, and (as noted in previous issues of Fortnightly) may also include New Jersey and Maryland if those states pass legislation before the end of the year.
ARI also has been negotiating new efficiency standards for commercial refrigeration, and expects to have an agreement by the end of the year. The agreements mean less uncertainty for manufacturers, good news for the environment and energy savings for you.
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Newport Beach Requires New FOG Fee
If you operate a restaurant in Newport Beach, Calif., get ready to pay more for grease disposal. To combat sewer system overflows caused by grease from restaurants, the city is adding new teeth to its fats, oils and grease (FOG) disposal ordinance.
Any restaurant that doesn’t currently have a grease removal device in its wastewater system will be required to install one or pay an annual fee for a grease removal permit. All new construction or remodeled restaurants must have grease interceptors.
Less than half the city’s restaurants have grease removal devices in their wastewater systems, according to assistant city manager Dave Kiff. The new ordinance is designed to help the city recover costs of around $70,000 a year to clean the lines around restaurants without grease interceptors. It also helps the city meet a Jan. 1 deadline imposed by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The new law takes effect Jan. 13, but fees won’t be set until city budget talks next July. Proposed fees, Kiff says, are $20 for an annual permit, $100 to $150 for an annual inspection, and a charge of up to $800 if the city needs to clean your pipes.
South Carolina To Adopt ICC Codes
South Carolina starts the new year with an updated building code. As of Jan. 1, the state will expect builders to follow the building safety and fire prevention codes developed by the International Code Council.
Sections of the 2003 ICC Code taking effect in the state include the Int’l. Codes for Building, Residential Fire, Mechanical, Plumbing, Fuel and Gas, and Energy Conservation.
More than 40 states, Washington, D.C., and the Department of Defense use the International Building Code. Some 36 states and Washington, D.C., rely on the International Fire Code.
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