Information on what to do if you have an oil spill or oil contamination from a heating equipment failure an oil delivery over fill and or oil contaminated storm waters.
Underground oil tank spill.
First if your oil tank sprouts a leak the cost of cleaning the contaminated soil and water can stretch into thousands of dollars.
For those that use oil heat this means replacing it with an above ground tank.
If a residential heating oil ust was removed from july 1 1999 to december 31 2001 the owner may have obtained amnesty for the underground tank leak and the address may appear on a list located in the environmental quality records file room.
Insurance may only cover a portion of these costs further increasing your risk.
When released indoors heating oil can damage both a home and its contents and cause health problems.
If you discover you have an abandoned tank on your property it s best to get rid of it.
Heating oil contamination and your home.
Here we give some first response suggestions for indoor or outdoor heating oil storage tank leaks.
Underground storage tanks usts approximately 542 000 underground storage tanks usts nationwide store petroleum or hazardous substances.
Most home heating oil tanks are not regulated by new york state s petroleum bulk storage pbs regulations because they have a capacity of less than 1 100 gallons see the pbs registration fee worksheet pdf 11 65 kb for more information.
In 2015 epa revised the underground storage tank ust regulations.
Underground heating oil tanks.
Remove the underground oil tank.
The only way to eliminate the hazards that come with an underground oil tank is to remove the tank from your property.
The risks of an underground oil tank range from environmental and legal to financial and health related.
Cleaning up an oil storage tank leak.
Analytical data from an independent laboratory provides third party data concerning the presence or absence of petroleum around the buried storage tank.
Below are the requirements for tanks and piping spill overfill and containment sumps.
The greatest potential threat from a leaking ust is contamination of groundwater the source of drinking water for nearly half of all americans.
However some delegated counties have regulations that do apply.
You can repair a leaking tank if the person who does the repair carefully follows industry codes and standards that establish the correct way to conduct repairs.
Risks of buried oil tanks.
If a spill has ever occurred while filling the tank or if the tank or piping has or is leaking residual oil will be present in the soil around the tank.
Guidance for residential underground home heating oil tank leaks.
