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Sorry this is happening to you but I highly doubt you will be able to pin any kind of liability on the inspector. They will argue that since the tank was still in place they could only access certain areas and those areas had no evidence of contamination.
I know the EPA had a fund established to help people with soil remediation bills but I think that money may be all gone by now. It's worth a look online to see.
The tough thing is that now that contamination has been discovered you will not be allowed to sell that house even if they buyer is willing to take it on themselves, you have to get it cleaned up first.
Sorry this is happening to you but I highly doubt you will be able to pin any kind of liability on the inspector. They will argue that since the tank was still in place they could only access certain areas and those areas had no evidence of contamination.
I know the EPA had a fund established to help people with soil remediation bills but I think that money may be all gone by now. It's worth a look online to see.
The tough thing is that now that contamination has been discovered you will not be allowed to sell that house even if they buyer is willing to take it on themselves, you have to get it cleaned up first.
Very sorry, hope you find an affordable solution
That fund ran out of money over a year ago. Technically, it might get funded again and people might get reimbursed, but not something to count on.
I have a question regarding the same issue; and I hope the OP does not mind me kinda hijacking his/her thread. If the house had an above ground oil tank and it was removed, would the township be informed of such process? Do you need a certification letter for te removal of above ground oil tanks?
I'm the OP and since I bought my house almost three years ago it's more than ok for you to "hijack"
So you're concerned about an above ground tank having been there at some point in time? I'm guessing that the house has switched hands multiple times and the current owner bought it without an above ground tank?
Honestly, and this may not be a popular choice but I would say stop trying to find and kick open pandoras box. If there was a tank there at some point in time and it was removed a long time ago it's not going to be easy to pin point the exact spots in the soil to test. The current owner might not even let you test because they are then opening themselves up for liability since if contamination is found you won't buy the house and now they will be stuck having to complete the remediation. It's not the same as buying a house with an in place underground tank and wanting to test the soil around it to make sure it's not a liability to leave in the ground, if the tank is gone it's gone. Yes there is the slight possibility there is some contamination there lurking where there was once a tank but if that bothers you that much then maybe you shouldn't buy in NJ because what like 80% of the state is a superfund site?!?
I'm the OP and since I bought my house almost three years ago it's more than ok for you to "hijack"
So you're concerned about an above ground tank having been there at some point in time? I'm guessing that the house has switched hands multiple times and the current owner bought it without an above ground tank?
Honestly, and this may not be a popular choice but I would say stop trying to find and kick open pandoras box. If there was a tank there at some point in time and it was removed a long time ago it's not going to be easy to pin point the exact spots in the soil to test. The current owner might not even let you test because they are then opening themselves up for liability since if contamination is found you won't buy the house and now they will be stuck having to complete the remediation. It's not the same as buying a house with an in place underground tank and wanting to test the soil around it to make sure it's not a liability to leave in the ground, if the tank is gone it's gone. Yes there is the slight possibility there is some contamination there lurking where there was once a tank but if that bothers you that much then maybe you shouldn't buy in NJ because what like 80% of the state is a superfund site?!?
Thanks for letting me hijack your thread.....=)
Even though I would like to turn around and ignore the issue, I just can't do that. The house in question is operating on natural gas currently. However, the owner is more than willing to let us do the oil tank sweep. So we scheduled one and will see how it goes. I would hate to inherit someone else's problem. I need to make sure that the house does not have an undisclosed oil tank, regardless of how many owners have passed through the years. Honestly, I'm not so concerned with the posibility of a small contamination. I'm mor concerned with the posibility of an oil tank buried-hiding somewhere.
Even though I would like to turn around and ignore the issue, I just can't do that. The house in question is operating on natural gas currently. However, the owner is more than willing to let us do the oil tank sweep. So we scheduled one and will see how it goes. I would hate to inherit someone else's problem. I need to make sure that the house does not have an undisclosed oil tank, regardless of how many owners have passed through the years. Honestly, I'm not so concerned with the posibility of a small contamination. I'm mor concerned with the posibility of an oil tank buried-hiding somewhere.
I get doing a sweep for an underground tank but your original question was about finding out if there was once an above ground tank. You should absolutely try and find under ground tanks that are still in place.
I get doing a sweep for an underground tank but your original question was about finding out if there was once an above ground tank. You should absolutely try and find under ground tanks that are still in place.
Right...and it totally makes sense. But the problem is that, the current owner, the township, and NJDEP have no records of any tank being removed or decommissioned. With the understanding that rules about environmental issues are fairly new, nobody knows for sure the history on this house. My fear is that maybe somebody in the 30's 40's or later on decided to remove the tank without proper procedure and not considering the impact of such removal. Or maybe they just left it there buried and decided to jsut convert the house to natural gas. So there's only one way to know....and I meant to say inground oil tank. I guess that if it was above ground then there are no worries........By the way, thanks for responding.
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