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As I described to you earlier, when you have a tank legally abandoned by a state licensed tank company, they dig down and expose the top of the tank, and cut the top out of it.. The remaining fuel is then pumped out of it, and solution is put in to clean all traces of contaminate from the tank. The tank is then filled with an inert substance to fill it. The fill and vent pipes are removed and the hole backfilled. After that you can build anything you want over it, with no fear of any future problems.
Had you looked at the site I sent you earlier, you would see they frequently work on tanks that are already under a structure, and they have a way to abandoned them, also.
Some of the scenarios descried in above posts are talking about gas station tanks, which are usually 10 to 12 K gallons, and are a completely different situation, and the laws are far more strict than a home fuel oil tank.
http://www.danatanks.com/cgi-bin/danat.cgi
Please read the information in this site from begining to end and you will know everything there is to know about home fuel oil tanks.
http://www.danatanks.com/cgi-bin/danat.cgi
Please read the information in this site from begining to end and you will know everything there is to know about home fuel oil tanks.
http://www.danatanks.com/cgi-bin/danat.cgi
Please read the information in this site from begining to end and you will know everything there is to know about home fuel oil tanks.
Thank you-I read it but I've got the procedure aspects down, its just whether or not it could hold a structure.
Common sense sezs, fill it full of concrete if you want to leave it in place and build something over it. Eventually it will corrode, if only the tank walls are in the "Collapsing Zone" then lil will happen.
Yeah, a lil oil on / in the ground is not good but this is your typical over reaction to something "Hazardous". Common sense has deserted the scene. If in doubt dig the puppies up and be done with all the wailing. To bad, the government is worse than the problem.
According the the "laws" of where I live, I can abandon without testing-although I've soil tested. If I go to remove, they will check under the tank, that can open up a can of worms that I dont want to open-epa/dec involvment. That is why I would like to avoid the removal-abandoning closes the door and I'm done but to remove, I don't know what they can fine me for.
Ah! But if you later try to sell that property you will have to disclose potential contamination and structural issues and the costs to prove everything is ok would be a lot higher.
I would have it properly and legally abandoned. I spoke to someone at the town hall in planning and building and there is no real info. I am going to speak to the contracter and architect further. I believe if they say it is okay and I have all the proper certificates and approval, any seller would accept that or take the option of walking away. G-d willing, I will be in this house for another 25 years and won't be selling until then. Thanks everyone for the replies
According the the "laws" of where I live, I can abandon without testing-although I've soil tested. If I go to remove, they will check under the tank, that can open up a can of worms that I dont want to open-epa/dec involvment. That is why I would like to avoid the removal-abandoning closes the door and I'm done but to remove, I don't know what they can fine me for.
Daa, I thought they were talking about the bigger tanks. Did not realize they were mostly the 275 gallon ones. That has to be about the dumbest thing anybody can do in the first place. Those tanks basically are not designed to be buried. Did anybody think there would not be a problem down the road???? Not only were they losing valuable fuel oil but the pollution aspects, plus in many locations you really open yourself up for the typical government hassles.
I don't see how they could even service or use the tank properly if you buried it. Makes zero sense to me as any kind of installation in the first place. I had oil heat in my last house. Boston area, lots of oil heat about. All the ones I knew about were in the basement. Even there it was possible to have an old tank leak. They corrode from the outside in. I've removed a bunch of them. Was not rocket science. We got them pumped out. Then toted it outside and cut it in half with a sawsall metal cutting blade. The cleaning part really was only possible once you had in half. Used to use sawdust with a rag to do the initial stage. Then hot soapy water with a brush, then a hose rinse. After that could sell it for scrap steel. They are not that heavy, one guy could get one out of the house. Lots of peeps converted to gas, getting the tank out was a fairly common job. Wasn't any special paperwork involved.
But this idea of burying one makes zero sense to me. Don't see what somebody thought they were doing. Yep, if I had the problem, still think I would actually dig it up. If some of the soil is comtaminated would have to deal with that as required but at least it would all be over. Once you got the tank above ground got to be the same as dragging it out of the basement.
If you really wanted to build over the spot, I guess you would have to backfill with the proper compaction.
Who was the genius that decided burying them was a super good idea. I've seen them outside in back of houses. In Yankeeland that did not work well because the fuel got too cold in winter. Them Yankees were dumb but I never seen any of them bury oil tanks. Is it a new kind of disease? I just can not think why somebody would have ever thought it was such a good idea in the first place.
If I had the problem would solve it once and for all by digging that puppy out. Might try to get the paperwork if needed to do it myself. Where I now live, they would just do whatever they wanted. But I don't think peeps around here are dumb enough to bury one in the first place.
Daa, I thought they were talking about the bigger tanks. Did not realize they were mostly the 275 gallon ones. That has to be about the dumbest thing anybody can do in the first place. Those tanks basically are not designed to be buried. Did anybody think there would not be a problem down the road???? Not only were they losing valuable fuel oil but the pollution aspects, plus in many locations you really open yourself up for the typical government hassles.
I don't see how they could even service or use the tank properly if you buried it. Makes zero sense to me as any kind of installation in the first place. I had oil heat in my last house. Boston area, lots of oil heat about. All the ones I knew about were in the basement. Even there it was possible to have an old tank leak. They corrode from the outside in. I've removed a bunch of them. Was not rocket science. We got them pumped out. Then toted it outside and cut it in half with a sawsall metal cutting blade. The cleaning part really was only possible once you had in half. Used to use sawdust with a rag to do the initial stage. Then hot soapy water with a brush, then a hose rinse. After that could sell it for scrap steel. They are not that heavy, one guy could get one out of the house. Lots of peeps converted to gas, getting the tank out was a fairly common job. Wasn't any special paperwork involved.
But this idea of burying one makes zero sense to me. Don't see what somebody thought they were doing. Yep, if I had the problem, still think I would actually dig it up. If some of the soil is comtaminated would have to deal with that as required but at least it would all be over. Once you got the tank above ground got to be the same as dragging it out of the basement.
If you really wanted to build over the spot, I guess you would have to backfill with the proper compaction.
Who was the genius that decided burying them was a super good idea. I've seen them outside in back of houses. In Yankeeland that did work well because the fuel got too cold in winter. Them Yankees were dumb but I never seen any of them bury oil tanks. Is it a new kind of disease? I just can not think why somebody would have ever thought it was such a good idea in the first place.
If I had the problem would solve it once and for all by digging that puppy out. Might try to get the paperwork if needed to do it myself. Where I now live, they would just do whatever they wanted. But I don't think peeps around here are dumb enough to bury one in the first place.
I'm on Long Island in New York and there are a lot of buried tanks. Developers put them in from everything from small houses 60 years ago to 2 million dollar homes around the corner from me that were built in the late 90's.
Ah! But if you later try to sell that property you will have to disclose potential contamination and structural issues and the costs to prove everything is ok would be a lot higher.
BINGO!!!! Or, get a building permit in the futute.
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