Abandoning Commercial & Residential Underground or Above Ground Oil Storage Tanks (UST)

Oil Tank Abandonment Procedures & Regulations

Summary of Rules for Abandoning a Buried Oil Tank

The US EPA has this succinct advice about abandoning oil tanks:

1. Notify the regulatory authority 
   
   at least 30 days before you close your UST.
2. Determine if contamination 
   
   from your UST (underground storage tank) is present in the surrounding environment. If there is contamination, you may have to take corrective action.
   
   For at least 3 years, keep a record of the actions you take to determine if contamination is present at the site (or you can mail this record to your regulatory authority).
3. Either remove the UST from the ground or leave it in the ground.
   
   In both cases, the tank must be emptied and cleaned by removing all liquids, dangerous vapor levels, and accumulated sludge.
   
   These potentially very hazardous actions need to be carried out carefully by trained professionals who follow standard safety practices. If you leave the UST in the ground, have it filled with a harmless, chemically inactive solid, like sand.

The US EPA also provides more detailed oil storage tank abandonment guidelines for both temporary and permanent abandonment of oil tanks as you will see

at MORE READING

Before Abandoning a Leaky Buried Oil Tank

In New York abandoning an oil storage tank includes contacting the NYS DEC within two hours of leak discovery.

Oil leaks require special cleaning and testing.

Significant costs can be involved.

Buyers of buildings with buried tanks should either obtain good documentation regarding tank abandonment (and any leak tests performed) or if no documentation is available, testing for leaks is very strongly advised.

See OIL TANK LEAKS & SMELLS

In other U.S. states and Canadian provinces similar regulations apply in almost all jurisdictions.

Due to the corrosive properties of the soil environment, any steel tank left in the ground will eventually corrode and collapse.

See OIL TANK LEAK / FAILURE RATES and

also see OIL TANK LEAK / FAILURE CAUSES. For this reason, storage tanks which are no longer to be used must be properly "abandoned" or "discontinued."

Can I Abandon an Oil Tank In Place Without Removing It?

Abandonment of an oil tank does not itself require that a tank be removed. If a tank has not leaked, thus is there is not a soil contamination issued, it can be opened, cleaned, inspected, and filled in-place. Actual removal of a buried tank involves the additional expense of excavation to remove the tank and then having to fill-in the hole.

Home inspectors in states or provinces where oil-fired heating equipment is used may often find indications that an old tank has been "abandoned" at the property either because of a switch to an alternative fuel or because an old leaking tank was supplanted by a new one. S

afety and environmental concerns mean that an improperly abandoned tank may become a significant future cost to the homeowner.

Portions of this article are from the first half of a New York DEC article printed in the NYSBOC Building Log newsletter in 1992.

While most of the present tank regulations exclude the mere presence of residential heating oil storage tanks under 1100 gallons from having to be reported, inspectors should watch for changes: increasing public concern is leading to increased regulation of residential tanks. Original author - Russ Brauksieck. Extensive edits & additions: D J Friedman.

Many localities across the country are allowing underground petroleum tanks to be filled with water if the tank is to be closed in-place. This is not a good engineering practice because the water will accelerate the ultimate corrosion of the tank. Subsequently, the water, now contaminated by the residues in the tank, will escape to the soil and eventually contaminate the ground water.

Note: Long Island NY requires that residential heating oil tanks be registered with the State Department of Environmental Conservation. (C)Trap DJ Friedman

In addition, the tank, now empty, is likely to cave-in along with the ground around it. The need to require that good engineering practices be used in underground storage tanks has prompted the development of much legislation across the country. Abandoned buried storage tank cave-in prevention is discussed in the next section of this article.

Note: Regulations for proper closure of underground petroleum storage tanks in New York State [and almost certainly in other oil-using states as well] have been promulgated by the NYS Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code (UFPBC), the U.S. EPA, the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

Regulations: Buried Oil Tank Must be Emptied Before Abandonment

Also see NFPA 31, (2011) Sections 7.12 and 7.13 having the identical text as NFPA 31 Section 2-8 in older editions in older editions, with a possible exception, and with an affidavit required in 7.13. which provides

"If a tank and its related piping is abandoned for whatever reason, the tank and all piping connected to it, including the outside fill and vent piping and any piping connected to the appliance, shall be emptied of all contents, cleaned, removed from the premises or property, and disposed of in accordance with all applicable local, state, and federal rules and regulations."

Thanks to NHFireBear, a frequent InspectApedia contributor, for updates to these standards. 5/11/2015 - Ed.

Other Oil storage tank regulations regarding Oil Tank Abandonent

• New York State Fire Code: 3404.2.13.1 (old NY CRR 1164.5) requires that an oil tank which is no longer going to be used (a discontinued oil storage tank) shall be opened, cleaned, and abandoned (filled in-place or removed) within ninety days of the day on which it is no longer used. Piping is also removed (Avoid accidental filling of empty abandoned tanks or leaks from pipes no longer connected to tanks!).
• 1164.5 of the UFPBC, in section 40
• CFR part 280.7 of the federal Underground Storage Tank (UST) regulations
• subdivision 6 NYCRR Part 613.9 (b) of the DEC's Petroleum Bulk Storage (PBS) regulations.
• Also see this NY State DOH advice on avoiding spills and leaks from abandoned heating oil pipes:

  ABANDONED OIL TANK FILL PIPE LEAK HAZARD [PDF] (At NYS DOH Website) NYS DOH, New York State Department of Heatlth, retrieved 2025/01/23 - local backup saved as Abandoned-Oil-Pipe-Spills-NYSDOH.pdf

• Other states using significant amounts of oil for residential heating may have similar regulations. See TANK REGULATIONS.

Regulations addressing reporting of oil tank leaks and oil tank abandonment of oil tanks written various state and federal authorities are discussed in detail

at OIL TANK LEAK & ABANDONMENT REGULATIONS - "Buried Tank and Above Ground Oil Tank Leak Reporting & Tank Abandonment Regulations"

Avoid Oil Storage Tank CAVE-INs When Abandoning Oil Tanks

There are proper methods of "abandoning" old unused buried tanks without actually excavating and removing them (provided there is not evidence of leakage).

Photo: an unusual spherical buried oil tank being removed from a homesite, courtesy of professional home inspector David Grudzinski.

In order to avoid cave-ins, all of these regulations require that tanks either be removed or filled in-place with a solid, inert material, using good engineering practices.

Such fill material is also required to prevent the tank from surfacing after closure, should the ground water table rise, and to completely seal the tank and associated piping from future use as a tank system.

Acceptable solid, inert materials for closing a tank include sand, concrete slurry, and even some foams. When the tank eventually corrodes and collapses, this solid material inside the tank will keep the ground from caving in.

David Grudzinski, Advantage Home Inspections, ASHI cert # 249089, HUD cert# H-145, is a professional home inspector who contributes on various topics including structural matters.
David Grudzinski, Cranston RI serving both Rhode Island and Eastern Connecticut can be reached at 401-935-6547 fax- 401-490-0607 or by email to Davidgrudzinski@aol.com

Reader Questions Retaining Wall Damaged by nearby Underground Oil Tank

An InspectApedia reader writes:

My neighbor has an abandoned oil tank that has a certificate saying it was done right. I question this.

The big problem is the tank sets behind a retaining wall that is 6 inchs from my property line and is collapsing and has been failed by a engineer. My lawyer says they have been notified with the report and we really can't do anything.

I am going to check for soil contamination the tank is from 1964 and the tank was abandon in 1992.and is still in the ground and has a sink hole developing above it. can i do anything? - 21 January 2015 mike rose

- This question appeared originally at RETAINING WALL DAMAGE and is shown in the FAQs section of that article. - Ed.

Advice from Moderator

Mike

Watch out: If an "abandoned" buried oil storage tank is collapsing that is certainly a potential hazard in several regards and it has not been properly abandoned. I have myself seen collapses, damage to nearby building foundation walls from water collecting at the buried oil tank (UST) location, and even heating oil leaks through the foundation wall off an adjacent building.

Details about proper oil storage tank abandonment, regulations, and safety or environmental concerns are found in this article series - see MORE READING at the end of this article.

I suspect that what your neighbor might have is a document stating that there was no evidence of leakage - which would have permitted the tank to be abandoned in place. But that abandonment, properly conducted, would have included cleaning the tank and filling it with sand or another suitable material.

To check for soil contamination one would need to collect soil samples close to the tank and to a depth of the tank's bottom.

Watch out: If there is a sink hole risk the area should be roped-off and protected until proper investigation and repairs can be made:

If those steps have not been taken already, notify the owner and building authorities of a small but potentially dangerous local sink hole condition as a child or possibly even an adult falling into such an opening could be very serious, even fatal.

Watch out also for further damage to your foundation wall by movement of heavy equipment on the higher level near the wall itself, or by excavation in that area (for example should detection of an oil spill require tank and soil excavation).

Removing old fuel from underground oil tanks

The UFPBC also requires that underground petroleum tanks to be closed in-place shall be made safe by removing flammable or combustible liquids from the tank and connecting lines; disconnecting the suction inlet, gauge and vent lines; and capping the remaining piping.

All storage tanks removed from their location must also have flammable or combustible liquids removed, have the same lines disconnected; have sections of connecting lines not to be used further removed, and have inlets, outlets, and any leaks capped or plugged. The basic procedures for meeting these requirements are defined in the State and federal regulatory programs.

In addition to requiring the same basic procedures as the State regulations, the federal UST regulations require that a site assessment be performed by the owner/operator when a tank is closed. (Heating oil tanks, and farm and residential tanks storing less than 1,100 gallons of motor fuel are exempt from these regulations.)

See INDOOR OIL TANK ABANDONMENT for some suggestions for using up heating oil or removing it from an oil tank to be abandoned.

For a detailed description of the steps required for proper tank abandonment or for more information on site assessments and permanent tank closure, contact your state department of environmental conservation. In New York inspectors can contact the author or the Bulk-Storage help-line 800-242-3451.

How to Use Up Heating Oil Before Removing or Replacing an Oil Tank

Oil to Gas Heat Conversion Advice - using up heating oil fuel

If you are going to convert to gas or another heating source but you first want to use up the heating oil in your oil storage tank,

and provided that your oil fired heating equipment (oil fired boiler, furnace, or water heater) is good operating condition, you can choose to simply let the old, to-be-abandoned oil fired equipment keep running until you run out of oil ... almost. There are a few problems to watch out for:

If your oil tank piping lines come off of the top of the oil tank 

and are properly installed the lines won't pick up the sludge, water, and last few inches of oil in the tank, so you'll probably be fine just running your oil fired equipment until you run out of oil.

If your oil tank piping lines come off of the bottom of the oil tank 

and you run it out there is the risk of pulling sludge and crud into the oil filter, oil burner, and losing heat if those components clog. If the oil burner shuts off in that manner, it'll indeed be shut off firmly until it's repaired, so don't try this if you're still depending on the oil heat to keep working (say to avoid freezing).

Your gas heat or other new source of heating should be hooked up and ready 

to run. Thus you can run the oil heat until it runs out or fails on clogging without risking leaving the building with no heat source - risking frozen pipes, water damage, mold contamination, etc.

The heating service technicians will not want to remove old oil-fired heating equipment until it is completely cold. That's because they don't want to deal with hot water, burns, etc.

The old oil tank may still need to be pumped out

 if there's oil remaining in it - lest you get a messy leak and spill later.

Chimney safety warning on heating fuel conversion from oil to gas

If you are converting fuel from oil to gas and intend to continue to use the same chimney that vented your oil fired heating equipment be sure to have the chimney cleaned and inspected for safety. The draft characteristics of these fuels differ, so chimney repairs or changes could be needed for safety.

Be SURE that the tank filler and vent are totally removed lest you get an un-wanted oil delivery. Don't laugh, it happens.

Who removes the old oil fill and vent piping on an oil-to-gas conversion?

When switching from oil heat to gas heat, who is responsible for removing the tank filler and vent? The oil company or the gas company? Or do I have to hire a additional contractor? I've heard stories about unwanted oil deliveries. They are heartbreaking. - Laura

Answer: nobody wants to do the whole job - the "Peanut Butter theory of construction: just skim the cream of profit"

Laura just removing the oil tank filler and vent are simple plumbing disconnections that can be performed by a plumber or general contractor. I agree that removing the abandoned filler is critical.

It is too common that some (not all) contractors in all building trades "just do their job" and leave parts of it incomplete, pointing to you or other contractors to finish the job. I call this the "peanut butter" approach to business. "Just buy some stuff and smear it on the house and get paid" - you don't care if the actual problem is really solved or the need fulfilled, or the job is complete and functional.

At a recent building project in Dutchess County NY we hired the top, most expert, and most expensive chimney company in the Hudson Valley to install a new metal chimney for an oil fired heating boiler. For years I had recommended that company to our clients.

In my case their work was very disappointing: During installation we had to do our own framing and our own sealing of the new chimney base at the roof line.

And the new chimney installation work was of poor quality: dented metal chimney sections, floppy inadequate support brackets that left the chimney wobbling side to side, a crushed leaky chimney cap, damaged roof drip edge, even a small puncture in the rubber roof where the workers dropped something.

And the chimney installation job was incomplete: the contractor left all of the old chimney and parts for us to remove separately at our own expense.The company "skimmed the cream" of profit from the job , got in and out fast, and didn't care about the success of the whole project.

When I complained, my long time but disappointing friend Bill, the owner said "Dan we've always done it that way, in thousands of jobs. That's just the way we do it."

It appeared that the company felt we were just being picky. And indeed their contract spelled out quite clearly that they would not remove old components nor perform any framing. But what is often not made clear to the customer is that those tasks are absolutely necessary and that additional trouble and expense will be involved in their completion.

It's up to you the homeowner to ask about, and then discuss these details with the contractors ahead of time and be sure that all the needed tasks are done. Now after the fact you can try asking them to come back and do more work, but once paid, the contractor may be reluctant to return - for free.

Don't pay for work that is unsatisfactory or incomplete. Or to have added out-of-contract-scope work performed, pay the contractor to return and do it. Or hire someone else.

I discussed the abandoned oil fill pipe question recently with a New York heating oil delivery truck driver as we recounted horror stories of oil deliveries into building basements.

The driver said if he finds a filler that has been duct-taped over he would not remove it to deliver oil. I said that I know of cases of less experienced drivers doing stunning things like removing plywood nailed over the filler pipe, turning an upside down filler right side up and pumping oil into the open basement of a home.

I claim the old oil fill and vent pipes should be removed promptly and that there is no major cost involved except in very odd cases. The risk is not worth wasting time arguing over.

You should also notify your oil company both by telephone and in writing that the oil tank has been removed and that they should remove you from automatic oil delivery immediately.

How to Document a Buried Oil Tank Abandoned Long Ago

If my oil tank was abandoned long ago, and I'm missing paperwork, how do I obtain documentation & supporting testing?

I have someone interested in buying my home. The oil tank on the property was abandoned properly years ago and signed off by the EPA.

But his was done before records were kept on computers, The buyers just want verification that the tank was abandoned, not a soil test.

I’m wondering how much this will cost me? And how this is done?

Reply:

• First choice:
  
  contact the company who performed the original oil tank abandonment and any supporting inspections and testing and ask for a copy of their documentation.
  
  By the way, I'd be careful to be very accurate in speaking to your buyer, in order to avoid any possible misunderstanding. Contrary to what you wrote, the U.S. EPA does not "sign off" on residential oil storage tank abandonments or removals nor on oil tank leak testing.
  
  Nor does your state DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) or DEC (Department of Environmental Conservation) "sign off" on oil tank abandonments.
  
  In fact in many states residential oil tanks of smaller size, such as under 1100 gallons, are not registered with the state.
  
  Generally, when an oil storage tank is removed or abandoned, the service company performing the work (and the property owner) are required in most U.S. states to notify their DEP or DEC if there is evidence that there has been an oil leak or spill. And the state will typically have guidelines on how an oil tank should be abandoned, such as a requirement to fill the tank.
• For a heating oil tank that was abandoned (emptied, filled, left in place),
  
  it should be easy to locate the tank and perform a soil test at a depth chosen by the expert - usually at the depth of the tank bottom.
  
  If necessary, the top of the tank (that won't be deep) can be excavated and fittings opened to confirm that the tank was properly filled - avoiding a potentially dangerous future collapse at the site.
• If the oil tank was actually removed
  
  years ago, once a buried oil tank is long gone, and if there is no documentation about its removal, a responsible home buyer might ask to perform a site inspection and soil testing.
  
  If evidence or concern justified further inspection for actual buried tanks, there are ground scanning radar and other methods that can be used to scan a property - a costly step that one would not ordinarily perform in the case you describe. DEP or DEC if there is evidence that there has been an oil leak or spill.
• To contact a company
  
  who can perform a site inspection and soil testing you can use this link:
  
  OIL TANK TESTING COs where we list companies offering soil and tank leak testing services - or just ask your heating oil company for a referral or check your local telephone directory.
  
  Typically the oil tank testing company will inspect and perform one or more soil tests in the area and at the depth where the oil tank was previously located. And an astute inspector would notice the presence or absence of piping or tubing associated with buried oil tanks and that would not be expected to be present if a tank was removed, vs. abandoned in place.
• Really? But in my OPINION you should NOT have these tests performed yourself, since doing so puts you in a position of potential liability. Rather, if you agree to do so, just give the buyer an allowance and have them order and pay for the test directly - to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest.