Fuel Oil Tanks

Buried fuel oil tanks raise increasing environmental, safety, legal and economic concerns for home owners and home buyers because fuel oil tank leaks underground or even within buildings can lead to both environmental damage and very costly cleanup operations. Home heating fuel oil tanks are excluded from Federal Regulations about oil storage tank reporting and monitoring, but in some states and provinces, are addressed by state or local DEP/DNR/DEC agencies and regulations. For example, in New York, even residential storage sites must be reported to the state DEC if more than 1100 gallons are stored at a single site. In any case, should a home heating fuel oil tank cause a release of oil into the environment, at that point the owner of the tank is not exempt from the other provisions of the State or Federal Regulations: the leak needs to be reported (often within two hours of observation), the source of leak/spill would have to be stopped, a site characterization would have to be completed, and appropriate corrective action (cleanup) would have to initiated, and the incident would have to be reported. Above ground fuel oil tanks and clues for the presence of buried oil tanks are not usually examined during a home or building inspection unless specific prior test arrangements have been made. Fuel oil tank inspection, other than casual visual inspection for obvious leaks is not performed by such inspectors. Fuel oil tank tests for leaks, soil tests for oil contamination, as well as oil storage tank removal or abandonment require that you use an appropriate expert. However articles at this website outline easy on-site visual observations that any thoughtful observer can make to spot evidence of a present or previous buried tank and to spot evidence of leaks or other problems with above ground storage tanks.