Typically these tanks are constructed of steel and can range in size from 50 gallons to 20 000 gallons.
Buried oil tanks.
First if your oil tank sprouts a leak the cost of cleaning the contaminated soil and water can stretch into thousands of dollars.
The only way to eliminate the hazards that come with an underground oil tank is to remove the tank from your property.
The buried oil tank risk.
Underground heating oil tanks.
There are two basic types of home heating oil tanks above ground storage tanks ast and underground storage tanks ust.
Risks of buried oil tanks.
A home buyer s guide to buried oil tanks the risk of oil leaks means risk of major cleanup costs.
Most home heating oil tanks are not regulated by new york state s petroleum bulk storage pbs regulations because they have a capacity of less than 1 100 gallons see the pbs registration fee worksheet pdf 11 65 kb for more information.
This is not always true with ust s.
Insurance may only cover a portion of these costs further increasing your risk.
The risks of an underground oil tank range from environmental and legal to financial and health related.
Remove the underground oil tank.
In some cases a residential mortgage lender may make a residential buried oil tank s removal a.
For those that use oil heat this means replacing it with an above ground tank.
However some delegated counties have regulations that do apply.
Many homebuyers refuse to purchase homes with buried oil tanks until those tanks are removed.