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I've been surfing the forums again after a long absence and have seen many posts regarding Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) and their associated problems.
There seems to be a lot of confusion and lack of information regarding the regulations, timeframes, costs, etc. and since I am an environmental consultant in the State of NJ and I remediate USTs.... I figured I'd provide you guys with my knowledge. The following is the basic framework for a simple case, i.e. soil and small-scale ground water contamination.
I hope you find it useful. Sorry it's so long, but I'm trying to be thorough. PM me with any questions and I'll be happy to help you!
Most Important Things
1. Contract with a reputable company that is certified under the Unregulated Heating Oil Tank Program (UHOT) and sends licensed subsurface evaluators to conduct the work.
2. Get all the paperwork related to the UST removal. More details at the end of this monster.
3. If you have a question, ask. Make sure you understand everything, every step of the way.
Funding Sources and Issues
First, tank removal costs are typically always the responsibility of the homeowner. Some tank policies will cover the removal costs but they typically require the installation of another tank or other requirements you may not agree to. So count on the UST removal bill to be yours.
1. State Funding
Yes, the UST Fund, a funding source provided by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), is no more. They still accept applications, but these will be approved first come, first serve and when funds become available. You should read this as "never going to happen" or as near as.
2. Tank Policies
If you have a tank policy you may be able use this towards tank removal and remediation. Many tank policy providers, such as Proguard, only cover the costs of soil removal related to soils above the water table. So, those of you in South Jersey will very likely have contaminated soils below the water table.
3. Homeowners Insurance
Another funding source may your homeowner's policy. Most insurance companies today have put into effect the "Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy" which states they will not pay for environmental damage, i.e. contamination, resulting from the release of fuel oil. However, this policy was put into place around 2005-2006, depending on the insurance company, so if you've maintained insurance at the same company from pre-2005 to present, you may be covered for a percentage of the remediation costs.
Before the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy, insurance companies would cover the following costs:
1. Ground water investigation: the ground water investigation involves a licensed environmental consulting firm conducting investigation on your property to determine whether ground water has been impacted above the State's standards. A ground water investigation typically involves the installation of soil borings and temporary well points in the former UST footprint or, if the tank has not yet been removed, in the down-slope direction of the existing UST. It's down-slope because ground water typically flows in the direction of the surface topography, i.e. flows downhill. Therefore, the most likely place to find ground water contamination is down-slope of the UST location.
2. If ground water was determined to be impacted, insurance companies would cover the costs for the remediation of contaminated soil. This is because, once the UST has been removed, the soil becomes the source of ground water contamination. Remove the source (contaminated soil)=clean up ground water.
3. If ground water is deemed clean, that would typically be the end of the insurance company's involvement and the homeowner would bear the bill for soil remediation on their own.
After the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy, insurance companies take the following actions:
1. Best case, they pay for the ground water investigation, using their own environmental consulting firm. The environmental consultant will retain a licensed driller and will proceed to collect ground water and soil samples from your property.
2. They may deny your claim straight out, citing the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy. However, like I said above, if you had a policy pre-2005/2006 and it covered your UST, you can fight this, though you will need to pay for the cost to do so.
If they deny you, you will need to pay for your own ground water investigation. If ground water is not impacted, you know you are responsible for the bill. If ground water is impacted, it is possible to fight your insurance companies denial if you can prove the leak started during a time period when they did cover the UST.
There are a variety of methods to determine when a UST started leaking.
1. You could pay for a corrosion dating test in which a section of the UST which has the largest holes is tested to determine how long it would take to create holes of that size in the material of the UST under the specific environmental conditions present on your property. Note: USTs submerged in ground water=faster corrosion. USTs with higher voltage power lines over them (central air power lines, etc.) often display a line of corrosion holes directly under that power line, caused by the electromagnetic field of the electricity interacting with the metal of the UST. Tree roots can damage the UST.
2. Soil age dating. This method involves collecting soil samples and analyzing the chemical makeup of the released oil. Oil will degrade over time, causing changes to its chemical makeup which can be compared to typical fresh oil chemical makeup. Based on specific environmental conditions, a professional judgement can be made as to when the UST started leaking.
In fact, insurance companies use these methods to determine the age of a spill so they can allocate total costs between you, themselves, and any previous insurance companies which once insured the UST. For example, the UST has been leaking for 20 years. In that time, Insurance Co. A insured the UST for 10 years. Insurance Co. B insured the UST for 5 years and then implemented the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy, leaving you responsible for 5 years. A claims adjuster examines the current and previous policies and determines what percentages you, Insurance Co. B, and Insurance Co. A are responsible for and then divides the total cost of remediation by those percentages.
Of course, if the ground water is clean or if age-dating proves the UST started leaking after the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy was put into place you are out that money. However, at this point, that policy is only 5 years old so it's still a good bet that the UST was leaking for longer than that. Of course, a shallow water table, power lines, etc. can and will accelerate UST corrosion so under certain conditions, the UST could corrode in less than 5 years.
UST Removal Activities
You decided to remove your UST. First, make sure you contract with a reputable company that is certified in the Unregulated Heating Oil Tank Program (UHOT). You can find a list on the NJDEP website. Just google NJDEP UHOT. Always remember that every ton of soil removed from your property is money in the contractor's pocket. There are sheisty firms out there who tell homeowners it's dirty just to make a buck. Be sure you trust the people you deal with and be there to observe! Believe me, you'll know what impacted soil smells like. Ask to smell it, straight from the excavator's bucket, if need be, ESPECIALLY if you are contracting for them to remove impacted soils as well as the UST.
Always obtain the soil disposal receipt, UST disposal receipt, and the disposal receipts for any fluids removed from the UST or ground water removed from the UST excavation.
As to types of firms, there are those who only do UST removal, no sampling or reporting. These will be cheaper, but may complicate matters down the road (getting paperwork, etc). You could also contract with a comprehensive environmental firm that can handle everything from the UST removal, soil and/or ground water sampling, to final reporting to the NJDEP. It's often easier to go this route, especially if ground water is clean and your insurance company is not involved, because you're not contracting with many firms and different people. Just always remember to read their proposal carefully and be there to observe.
Undamaged UST and No Corrosion Holes
You've removed the UST and there are no holes. The township inspector will come and OK the UST. Congrats, really! ;-D
Holes in the UST
Alright, you've got holes... Your tank contractor will notify the NJDEP hotline and will be assigned a case number. The township inspector will fail the tank. Now you've got to determine the extent, if any, of the soil contamination. If you've got sandy soil, it's likely the soil impact is widespread. In tight clayey soils, it can stay contained to a small area.
Your contractor should advise you of their professional opinion, as they've seen a lot of tanks with holes in them. You might want to let them dig a couple feet deeper to see if that finds the end of the contamination. Or maybe you just have them remove the tank, backfill the excavation, and wait to see what your insurance company says. It depends on the situation, though unless you have expendable money, I suggest the latter option.
Ground Water Investigation
A ground water investigation is conducted, whether by you or by your insurance company. Typically these take no more than a day with the analytical results available after 2-3 weeks, depending on the laboratory. The environmental consulting firm will collect one or more ground water and/or soil samples. Every firm does ground water investigations differently and those representing insurance companies may not collect soils as they are only there to determine whether there is a claim, i.e. impacted ground water.
Based on the ground water investigation, it will be determined whether the insurance company will be responsible for remediation costs.
Further Investigation
Before starting remediation, i.e. soil excavation, further environmental investigation is warranted. Additional work, the same as the ground water investigation, will be conducted to determine the limits of the contamination in soil and/or ground water.
Soil Remediation
You're ready for a dig. Ok. I've included at the end of this monstrous post, some standard rates for soil disposal, ground water disposal, analytical costs, etc. so you know what's reasonable in the cost estimate. This is particularly important when you are footing the bill, though also when you only need to put up a percentage.
Depending on the complexity of the job an excavation can take from a day to several weeks or longer to complete. Do you need structural support of your residence? Is ground water accumulation going to be a problem, requiring a discharge permit? These issues should be clearly addressed by the environmental consultant. Timing will be complicated by these issues.
Soil samples must be collected from the excavation (called pos-excavation soil samples). There are NJDEP guidelines dictating the sampling frequency. For every 30 linear feet of an excavation sidewall, one soil sample must be collected. For every 900 square feet, one base sample must be collected. So if your excavation is 35x15, that's 4 sidewalls and 1 base. Use these regulations when you're looking at the excavation cost estimate.
The contractor/environmental firm will field screen the soils using an instrument to determine where the contaminated soils end. This should be similar to the area defined during the investigation activities.
Post-Soil Remediation
Once the soil excavation is complete, a permanent monitoring well is installed in the excavation, or sometimes just outside it in the down-slope direction. The permanent monitoring well is very similar to the temporary wells installed during the ground water investigations(s), except that these will stay in the ground until your case is closed. This monitoring well will need to be sampled to make sure that soil is no longer impacting ground water (as it's all been removed). You need two consecutive rounds of clean sampling before you can submit everything to the NJDEP.
By NJDEP regulation, you must wait for 2 weeks after installation before you can collect the first round of samples. If these are clean, then one month after the first, a second round is collected. If this is clean as well, it's time to write the report.
If ground water remains impacted, due to the initial presence of free product (oil floating on the ground water) additional ground water remediation activities may be needed.
Report Writing and Timeframe
The final report, called a Remedial Action Report (RAR), summarizes all the activities conducted on your property, from UST removal to the final ground water sample collection.
You will need the following documentation for the RAR. The environmental consultant will gather these together, but for expediency, try to get a copy of these items from your UST removal contractor:
1. Tank disposal receipt
2. Tank contents disposal receipt (if there was any oil, sludge, etc in the UST at the time of removal)
3. Any soil disposal receipts from UST removal
4. Clean fill certification receipts for the clean fill used to fill in the hole after UST removal (if any).
The rest of the information will be gathered by the environmental consultant.
If you qualify for the UHOT program, the report will be submitted with a questionnaire and the NJDEP will review this report and, if everything is ok, will issue a No Further Action Letter (NFA), typically within a couple months of receiving the report. If you do not qualify for the UHOT program, or if you used a contractor who was not certified in the UHOT program, you will go through the old, traditional review process and an NFA takes upwards of a year, if not longer, to receive.
Once you receive an NFA, the permanent monitoring well will be abandoned and that's that. You're done.
Costs
Soil disposal: ~$65 per ton
Ground water disposal: ~$0.75 per gallon
Senior project manager: ~$85 per hour
Field Tech: ~$55 per hour
Field Manager: ~$75 per hour
Alright, to bed with me. Hope you find this informative and feel free to ask me any questions.
YOU REALLY DID YOUR HOME WORK ! >>>>>>>>>>> ARE YOU RELAYED TO Erin Brockovich ?
I get my information from being a Senior Underwriter for a very large insurance company that specializes in Personal Insurance and there is not a homeowners policy out there that covers $200,000 for anything environmental...in fact most policies specifically exclude that coverage all together.
This is straight from the ISO form which most companies use:
[SIZE=2][SIZE=2]
[LEFT]"Pollution or Contamination
We do not cover any loss, directly or
indirectly, and regardless of any cause or
event contributing concurrently or in any
sequence to the loss, caused by the
discharge, dispersal, seepage, migration or
release or escape of pollutants. Nor do we
cover the cost to extract pollutants from
land or water, or the cost to remove, restore
or replace polluted or contaminated land or
water. A “pollutant†is any solid, liquid,
gaseous or thermal irritant or contaminant,
including smoke, vapor, soot, fumes, acids,
alkalis, chemicals and “wasteâ€. A
“contaminant†is an impurity resulting from
the mixture of or contact with a foreign
substance. “Waste†includes materials to be
disposed of, recycled, reconditioned or[/LEFT]
reclaimed."
[/SIZE][/SIZE]
They used to , in 2005-06 State farm paid out $235K on mine. I know they no loner do. Mine did hit groundwater to be covered
I'm glad to see that it seems like there are some knowledgeable people contributing to this thread.
So I'd like to ask, who owns the oil tank in a condominium association? Our bylaws imply that the common elements include everything except the items that are specifically designated to the unit owners. There is is a long list in the bylaws of unit owner items that includes the "heating unit." It says nothing about an oil tank being the unit owner's responsibility. Does the meaning of "heating unit" include an underground tank or is an oil tank something separate and distinct? Is it implied that the oil tank is the unit owner's responsibility? What is the New Jersey case law on this question?
Thanks.
Dave
Hi Dave,
Sorry it took a couple days. Work! To answer your question, in my experience if you're in a situation where you own the house but not the land and each house has a separate tank for heating, then you will be responsible for the cleanup. Of course in situations where there is a central heating source that is usually the association's liability.
I would ask your association on the details. There are still private tank insurance policies out there so if you find out you're not covered under association or homeowners, then you might want that, albeit limited, safety net. I don't know specific case law, but if your association sticks you with the bill, the last thing you need is a legal battle too. My bet is that the law will side with the association.
Hope that helped!
I'm posting on my phone so to the person who asked if I'm an Erin Brockervich (excuse the spelling) i'm just a wanna be moving up. Research is fun, though this is my work too so it's all in my head. :-D
I appreciate all the information you posted in 2011.
We are in the middle of making a decision regarding whether to remove an oil tank or not.
Question: what are the odds of a 1936 underground (under dirt) oil tank leak?
Gas company rep said if we disturb it may cause a leak - best to leave and fill in with sand. (quote $8300)
Oil company rep said to remove. (quote $15,000) Of course, Proguard is involved - they will only cover if we stay with oil.
Then we have the situation about selling the house: will the house sell easier without the filled tank underground?
We just need someone to discuss these issues with... I hope you can contribute to our conversation.
Abby, Fords, NJ
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kiru
Hi all.
I've been surfing the forums again after a long absence and have seen many posts regarding Underground Storage Tanks (USTs) and their associated problems.
There seems to be a lot of confusion and lack of information regarding the regulations, timeframes, costs, etc. and since I am an environmental consultant in the State of NJ and I remediate USTs.... I figured I'd provide you guys with my knowledge. The following is the basic framework for a simple case, i.e. soil and small-scale ground water contamination.
I hope you find it useful. Sorry it's so long, but I'm trying to be thorough. PM me with any questions and I'll be happy to help you!
Most Important Things
1. Contract with a reputable company that is certified under the Unregulated Heating Oil Tank Program (UHOT) and sends licensed subsurface evaluators to conduct the work.
2. Get all the paperwork related to the UST removal. More details at the end of this monster.
3. If you have a question, ask. Make sure you understand everything, every step of the way.
Funding Sources and Issues
First, tank removal costs are typically always the responsibility of the homeowner. Some tank policies will cover the removal costs but they typically require the installation of another tank or other requirements you may not agree to. So count on the UST removal bill to be yours.
1. State Funding
Yes, the UST Fund, a funding source provided by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), is no more. They still accept applications, but these will be approved first come, first serve and when funds become available. You should read this as "never going to happen" or as near as.
2. Tank Policies
If you have a tank policy you may be able use this towards tank removal and remediation. Many tank policy providers, such as Proguard, only cover the costs of soil removal related to soils above the water table. So, those of you in South Jersey will very likely have contaminated soils below the water table.
3. Homeowners Insurance
Another funding source may your homeowner's policy. Most insurance companies today have put into effect the "Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy" which states they will not pay for environmental damage, i.e. contamination, resulting from the release of fuel oil. However, this policy was put into place around 2005-2006, depending on the insurance company, so if you've maintained insurance at the same company from pre-2005 to present, you may be covered for a percentage of the remediation costs.
Before the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy, insurance companies would cover the following costs:
1. Ground water investigation: the ground water investigation involves a licensed environmental consulting firm conducting investigation on your property to determine whether ground water has been impacted above the State's standards. A ground water investigation typically involves the installation of soil borings and temporary well points in the former UST footprint or, if the tank has not yet been removed, in the down-slope direction of the existing UST. It's down-slope because ground water typically flows in the direction of the surface topography, i.e. flows downhill. Therefore, the most likely place to find ground water contamination is down-slope of the UST location.
2. If ground water was determined to be impacted, insurance companies would cover the costs for the remediation of contaminated soil. This is because, once the UST has been removed, the soil becomes the source of ground water contamination. Remove the source (contaminated soil)=clean up ground water.
3. If ground water is deemed clean, that would typically be the end of the insurance company's involvement and the homeowner would bear the bill for soil remediation on their own.
After the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy, insurance companies take the following actions:
1. Best case, they pay for the ground water investigation, using their own environmental consulting firm. The environmental consultant will retain a licensed driller and will proceed to collect ground water and soil samples from your property.
2. They may deny your claim straight out, citing the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy. However, like I said above, if you had a policy pre-2005/2006 and it covered your UST, you can fight this, though you will need to pay for the cost to do so.
If they deny you, you will need to pay for your own ground water investigation. If ground water is not impacted, you know you are responsible for the bill. If ground water is impacted, it is possible to fight your insurance companies denial if you can prove the leak started during a time period when they did cover the UST.
There are a variety of methods to determine when a UST started leaking.
1. You could pay for a corrosion dating test in which a section of the UST which has the largest holes is tested to determine how long it would take to create holes of that size in the material of the UST under the specific environmental conditions present on your property. Note: USTs submerged in ground water=faster corrosion. USTs with higher voltage power lines over them (central air power lines, etc.) often display a line of corrosion holes directly under that power line, caused by the electromagnetic field of the electricity interacting with the metal of the UST. Tree roots can damage the UST.
2. Soil age dating. This method involves collecting soil samples and analyzing the chemical makeup of the released oil. Oil will degrade over time, causing changes to its chemical makeup which can be compared to typical fresh oil chemical makeup. Based on specific environmental conditions, a professional judgement can be made as to when the UST started leaking.
In fact, insurance companies use these methods to determine the age of a spill so they can allocate total costs between you, themselves, and any previous insurance companies which once insured the UST. For example, the UST has been leaking for 20 years. In that time, Insurance Co. A insured the UST for 10 years. Insurance Co. B insured the UST for 5 years and then implemented the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy, leaving you responsible for 5 years. A claims adjuster examines the current and previous policies and determines what percentages you, Insurance Co. B, and Insurance Co. A are responsible for and then divides the total cost of remediation by those percentages.
Of course, if the ground water is clean or if age-dating proves the UST started leaking after the Fuel Oil Exclusion Policy was put into place you are out that money. However, at this point, that policy is only 5 years old so it's still a good bet that the UST was leaking for longer than that. Of course, a shallow water table, power lines, etc. can and will accelerate UST corrosion so under certain conditions, the UST could corrode in less than 5 years.
UST Removal Activities You decided to remove your UST. First, make sure you contract with a reputable company that is certified in the Unregulated Heating Oil Tank Program (UHOT). You can find a list on the NJDEP website. Just google NJDEP UHOT. Always remember that every ton of soil removed from your property is money in the contractor's pocket. There are sheisty firms out there who tell homeowners it's dirty just to make a buck. Be sure you trust the people you deal with and be there to observe! Believe me, you'll know what impacted soil smells like. Ask to smell it, straight from the excavator's bucket, if need be, ESPECIALLY if you are contracting for them to remove impacted soils as well as the UST.
Always obtain the soil disposal receipt, UST disposal receipt, and the disposal receipts for any fluids removed from the UST or ground water removed from the UST excavation.
As to types of firms, there are those who only do UST removal, no sampling or reporting. These will be cheaper, but may complicate matters down the road (getting paperwork, etc). You could also contract with a comprehensive environmental firm that can handle everything from the UST removal, soil and/or ground water sampling, to final reporting to the NJDEP. It's often easier to go this route, especially if ground water is clean and your insurance company is not involved, because you're not contracting with many firms and different people. Just always remember to read their proposal carefully and be there to observe.
Undamaged UST and No Corrosion Holes
You've removed the UST and there are no holes. The township inspector will come and OK the UST. Congrats, really! ;-D
Holes in the UST Alright, you've got holes... Your tank contractor will notify the NJDEP hotline and will be assigned a case number. The township inspector will fail the tank. Now you've got to determine the extent, if any, of the soil contamination. If you've got sandy soil, it's likely the soil impact is widespread. In tight clayey soils, it can stay contained to a small area.
Your contractor should advise you of their professional opinion, as they've seen a lot of tanks with holes in them. You might want to let them dig a couple feet deeper to see if that finds the end of the contamination. Or maybe you just have them remove the tank, backfill the excavation, and wait to see what your insurance company says. It depends on the situation, though unless you have expendable money, I suggest the latter option.
Ground Water Investigation A ground water investigation is conducted, whether by you or by your insurance company. Typically these take no more than a day with the analytical results available after 2-3 weeks, depending on the laboratory. The environmental consulting firm will collect one or more ground water and/or soil samples. Every firm does ground water investigations differently and those representing insurance companies may not collect soils as they are only there to determine whether there is a claim, i.e. impacted ground water.
Based on the ground water investigation, it will be determined whether the insurance company will be responsible for remediation costs.
Further Investigation
Before starting remediation, i.e. soil excavation, further environmental investigation is warranted. Additional work, the same as the ground water investigation, will be conducted to determine the limits of the contamination in soil and/or ground water.
Soil Remediation
You're ready for a dig. Ok. I've included at the end of this monstrous post, some standard rates for soil disposal, ground water disposal, analytical costs, etc. so you know what's reasonable in the cost estimate. This is particularly important when you are footing the bill, though also when you only need to put up a percentage.
Depending on the complexity of the job an excavation can take from a day to several weeks or longer to complete. Do you need structural support of your residence? Is ground water accumulation going to be a problem, requiring a discharge permit? These issues should be clearly addressed by the environmental consultant. Timing will be complicated by these issues.
Soil samples must be collected from the excavation (called pos-excavation soil samples). There are NJDEP guidelines dictating the sampling frequency. For every 30 linear feet of an excavation sidewall, one soil sample must be collected. For every 900 square feet, one base sample must be collected. So if your excavation is 35x15, that's 4 sidewalls and 1 base. Use these regulations when you're looking at the excavation cost estimate.
The contractor/environmental firm will field screen the soils using an instrument to determine where the contaminated soils end. This should be similar to the area defined during the investigation activities.
Post-Soil Remediation
Once the soil excavation is complete, a permanent monitoring well is installed in the excavation, or sometimes just outside it in the down-slope direction. The permanent monitoring well is very similar to the temporary wells installed during the ground water investigations(s), except that these will stay in the ground until your case is closed. This monitoring well will need to be sampled to make sure that soil is no longer impacting ground water (as it's all been removed). You need two consecutive rounds of clean sampling before you can submit everything to the NJDEP.
By NJDEP regulation, you must wait for 2 weeks after installation before you can collect the first round of samples. If these are clean, then one month after the first, a second round is collected. If this is clean as well, it's time to write the report.
If ground water remains impacted, due to the initial presence of free product (oil floating on the ground water) additional ground water remediation activities may be needed.
Report Writing and Timeframe
The final report, called a Remedial Action Report (RAR), summarizes all the activities conducted on your property, from UST removal to the final ground water sample collection.
You will need the following documentation for the RAR. The environmental consultant will gather these together, but for expediency, try to get a copy of these items from your UST removal contractor:
1. Tank disposal receipt
2. Tank contents disposal receipt (if there was any oil, sludge, etc in the UST at the time of removal)
3. Any soil disposal receipts from UST removal
4. Clean fill certification receipts for the clean fill used to fill in the hole after UST removal (if any).
The rest of the information will be gathered by the environmental consultant.
If you qualify for the UHOT program, the report will be submitted with a questionnaire and the NJDEP will review this report and, if everything is ok, will issue a No Further Action Letter (NFA), typically within a couple months of receiving the report. If you do not qualify for the UHOT program, or if you used a contractor who was not certified in the UHOT program, you will go through the old, traditional review process and an NFA takes upwards of a year, if not longer, to receive.
Once you receive an NFA, the permanent monitoring well will be abandoned and that's that. You're done.
Costs
Soil disposal: ~$65 per ton
Ground water disposal: ~$0.75 per gallon
Senior project manager: ~$85 per hour
Field Tech: ~$55 per hour
Field Manager: ~$75 per hour
Alright, to bed with me. Hope you find this informative and feel free to ask me any questions.
I appreciate all the information you posted in 2011.
We are in the middle of making a decision regarding whether to remove an oil tank or not.
Question: what are the odds of a 1936 underground (under dirt) oil tank leak?
Gas company rep said if we disturb it may cause a leak - best to leave and fill in with sand. (quote $8300)
Oil company rep said to remove. (quote $15,000) Of course, Proguard is involved - they will only cover if we stay with oil.
Then we have the situation about selling the house: will the house sell easier without the filled tank underground?
We just need someone to discuss these issues with... I hope you can contribute to our conversation.
Abby, Fords, NJ
I'd say the odds of a leak are rather high for that age. The house will most definitely sell easier next time if the tanks has been properly removed.
We went through a tank removal (found to be leaking) a couple years ago and it was a long process, and we also had Proguard.
I appreciate all the information you posted in 2011.
We are in the middle of making a decision regarding whether to remove an oil tank or not.
Question: what are the odds of a 1936 underground (under dirt) oil tank leak?
Gas company rep said if we disturb it may cause a leak - best to leave and fill in with sand. (quote $8300)
Oil company rep said to remove. (quote $15,000) Of course, Proguard is involved - they will only cover if we stay with oil.
Then we have the situation about selling the house: will the house sell easier without the filled tank underground?
We just need someone to discuss these issues with... I hope you can contribute to our conversation.
Abby, Fords, NJ
Hello Abby! First off, if the tank is under dirt, does that mean there is enough space to dig out the tank with a machine? If so, the prices you were given are extremely high. A tank removal where the tank is easy to access should only cost ~2-3 thousand, possibly less. That's just for the removal of the tank, not any dirty soil, if present. So first step, contact an independent tank removal contractor (or several), and get an unbiased quote. You should look for a contractor who is certified in the UHOT (Unregulated Heating Oil Tank) Program. You can find a list at the link at the end of this post.
To answer your questions:
1. Odds that the tank has leaked...
It depends on a lot of factors, such as where is the water table (above tank, below tank), are there any electrical lines above the tank, located in a low point where water collects? Basically anything that could corrode the steel. Even soil can do it, if it's too acidic or alkaline. That being said, the tank may not have leaked as they made tanks with good thick steel back then (pre-WWII), and it's possible it hasn't leaked. However, it's the more conservative option to believe it has leaked. I'd bet that it has, but the size of the leak depends on the soil you have (sandy or clayey), time that it leaked, etc. If groundwater is impacted, that could be a big expense there too.
For purposes of money, know if your insurance will pay anything (Proguard will pay for soils down to the water table) and what you can afford, because you're probably going to have a percentage.
2. Leaving it in place and filling with sand - good?
Leaving the tank in place and filling it with sand (also known as abandonment-in-place) is not favored by the NJDEP. Unless you can prove there is a technical reason why it can't be removed, like it's under the house and would cause structural problems if removed, the NJDEP will most likely require you to remove it. Not to say you can't try the abandonment-in-place, but don't be surprised if it doesn't get approval.
3. Is it easier to sell with the tank removed?
Absolutely! Having the tank out and a No Further Action letter (NFA Letter) from the NJDEP proving the soil and groundwater are clean is practically required if you want to sell, unless you have a miracle buyer. That being said, if you do get approval to abandon in place, you'll also have documents from the NJDEP indicating their approval of that method and your report from the contractor stating how it was done, etc. So a buyer would still have the peace of mind that they won't have to remove the tank (unless the laws change), but they might still be skittish.
My advice:
1. Contact independent tank removal contractors and get real pricing. Also find out if you have the option to abandon in place. You may not.
2. Contact all your insurance companies (proguard and your homeowners) to see what kind of coverage you have. Homeowners will probably tell you there is no coverage, but if you've had them for years and were using the tank, you were probably covered at some point. If the leak happened during the time period they covered you, then they have to pay a percentage. You may be covered by previous insurance companies if you've changed them.
3. Determine how much you can afford to spend if the soil is impacted.
4. If you go with removal, you can expect to pay for the removal. The insurance may pay for the soil/groundwater investigation (I'd demand it), and then the insurance adjuster will determine who gets what percentage of cost.
Unfortunately, there are too many variables to know for sure.
Is there any way of estimating how much a total change over to gas would be for a home in essex county? Has anyone hired a company to handle all of the steps this post mentions? It seems like theres no assistance to change over by this current administration in office. I would love to remove my 550 gallon underground tank, and install a gas system in its place. with a new little one on the way i am really worried this will be too stressful to handle.
Is there any way of estimating how much a total change over to gas would be for a home in essex county? Has anyone hired a company to handle all of the steps this post mentions? It seems like theres no assistance to change over by this current administration in office. I would love to remove my 550 gallon underground tank, and install a gas system in its place. with a new little one on the way i am really worried this will be too stressful to handle.
Well first, stop looking to the "administration" for "assistance". Such assistance is you taking money out of other people's paychecks to solve your problem. And that, is wrong. Get that kind of thinking out of your mind.
Now, changing over to gas is about $10,000-$12,000 plus or minus, providing that your oil tank is not leaking. If it is leaking, the bill will be much higher.
The mistake was buying a home with an underground oil tank. It has been well-known for at least 10 years that you never buy a home with an underground oil tank under any circumstances.
Let this be a lesson to others: If the home has an underground oil tank: do not buy it without the seller removing it. Not filling it with sand. Removing it. And: There is no such thing as tank insurance. It's a myth.
You are in a bind at this point. If you test the tank, and it fails, you are on an uncertain road. Depending on the scope of the leak, you will be faced with a bill that cound range from "manageable" to "losing the house" large. Since you are about to have a baby, that kind of stress is not advisable. Just stay with oil for the next year and get to a stronger position in terms of health and emotions. The tank isn't going anywhere, deal with it when you are able to focus on it. Right now, you can't.
The cost will be the conversion plus any environmental issues that may pop up from thank tank removal, which could be considerable. I'd wait a few years until your new baby is a little older. Unless you plan to sell soon, I' wait.
I don't believe there is any assistance for a conversion an I know the UST Fund is depleted. Whether it comes back with more funding in the future... Probably not but it may. In any case you'll probably be in a better position after the baby is older to deal with the tank. Or at least have a better grip on your finances since babies are expensive. :-)
Yes there is tank insurance. It's not the greatest thing in the world but it does generally pay for removal of dirty soil above the water table. There are a lot of restrictions and requirements but it does exist. You might not be able to use it for an oil to gas conversion since the insurance company has a vested interest in you using oil heat, but you could probably use it to go underground tank to above ground tank then later convert to gas. At least if your underground tank is leaking you'll get some assistance.
The cost will be the conversion plus any environmental issues that may pop up from thank tank removal, which could be considerable. I'd wait a few years until your new baby is a little older. Unless you plan to sell soon, I' wait.
I don't believe there is any assistance for a conversion an I know the UST Fund is depleted. Whether it comes back with more funding in the future... Probably not but it may. In any case you'll probably be in a better position after the baby is older to deal with the tank. Or at least have a better grip on your finances since babies are expensive. :-)
Yes there is tank insurance. It's not the greatest thing in the world but it does generally pay for removal of dirty soil above the water table. There are a lot of restrictions and requirements but it does exist. You might not be able to use it for an oil to gas conversion since the insurance company has a vested interest in you using oil heat, but you could probably use it to go underground tank to above ground tank then later convert to gas. At least if your underground tank is leaking you'll get some assistance.
Congratulations on your new baby!
Just to clarify, the so-called insurance pays if the expense is negligible. If the aquifer is involved, and the real money starts rolling, it will be your money, not the insurance company's. Tank insurance is really more of a service contract, it is not true insurance in any real sense. That is why I cringe when I am representing a buyer and the seller's agent says something like this: "Yes it has an underground oil tank, but they have tank insurance so no worries." YES WORRIES. That literally drives me crazy.
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