Sewer board OKs grease trap waiver, abatements

Other Committee · Meeting of October 29, 2026

AUBURN — The Auburn Board of Sewer Commissioners approved a grease trap waiver for a Southbridge Street food business and cleared most of a batch of 2026 sewer abatements. Commissioners unanimously granted a waiver letting an enhanced internal grease interceptor replace a costlier external grease trap, after staff worked with the Board of Health, noting "the maintenance of the grease trap is the thing." The board approved roughly a dozen abatements tied to meter errors and irrigation usage, including a correction at 35 Lowell Street from 15,800 to 8,454 cubic feet. It denied an abatement for 2 Pinedale Road, where usage rose from 7,400 to 10,999 cubic feet over two years, directing staff to send the resident a denial letter.

Staff also reported a failed 1990s pump station transfer switch running on a $1,600-per-month rental, and a Pinrock Pump Station odor-control fix estimated at $424,000 that could go to Spring Town Meeting. The department's total annual billing commitment was just over $4 million.

In the full story:

• Grease Trap Waiver for 895 Southbridge Street
• 2026 Sewer Abatements
• Pump Station Transfer Switch Failure and Replacement Planning
• Sewer Connections, Capital Projects and Pinrock Odor Control
• Hilltop Farm Pump Station Easement
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report: 3,080 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of October 29, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript.