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Thread: empty underground oil tank

  1. #1
    Boolit Master
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    empty underground oil tank

    my neighbor emptied his underground fuel oil tank and is switching to gas heat. is there something that can be used to fill the tank, to keep it from collapsing at some time??

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy
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    Sand

  3. #3
    Boolit Master



    MUSTANG's Avatar
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    Given the massive amounts of regulation in our society; be prepared somewhere along the way to be FORCED to dig it up and dispose of as Hazardous Waste. If you sell the house or...... it is probable that the Realtor will tend a form on it requiring disclosure; or a "Discovery" process in House Inspection/Turnover will result in same.
    Mustang

    "In the beginning... the patriot is a scarce man, and brave and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot." - Mark Twain.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master

    rancher1913's Avatar
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    tell him to fill it back up with oil, he will regret using gas down the road.
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Sand an why would he regret using gas?

  6. #6
    Boolit Master



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    Quote Originally Posted by tinsnips View Post
    Sand an why would he regret using gas?
    Ever increasing prices!

  7. #7
    Boolit Master



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    As of last Friday - Fuel oil $6.59/gallon in Springfield VT
    Being human is not for sissies.

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master
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    I did that in MI years ago. Sand did the trick.

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy
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    If PA is like Oklahoma, any unused or unregistered UST will have to come out. We just paid $13,000 to remove two 4,000 diesel tanks Dad had buried on the farm around 1980. He quit using them, also told Oklahoma Corporation Commission to FOAD. He had the opportunity to have them removed with Superfund money, but thought he might use them again sometime. He was always trying to be a prepper, and be ready for gas price hikes. He’d put 500 to 1000 gallons of gasoline in one, then leave it there for years. It went bad. When he passed, we paid $13,000 to have state approved people ( read, paid off people) jerk them out. We never told dad that we had convinced the OCC to wait until his ailments killed him. He always thought he beat them at their game.

    This was all over hydrocarbon leaching into groundwater. We could prove no usable groundwater for miles, but OCC didn’t care. It’s policy they say.
    Last edited by la5676; 05-08-2022 at 09:58 PM.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by BrassMagnet View Post
    Ever increasing prices!
    Natural gas will ALWAYS be cheaper to heat than with fuel oil. And immensely more convenient.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by tinsnips View Post
    Sand an why would he regret using gas?
    gas can be turned off, at least fuel oil you have until it is empty to get things in order. never ever rely on piped in services if you dont want to be sol a lot.
    if you are ever being chased by a taxidermist, don't play dead

  12. #12
    Boolit Master

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    I switched to coal about 15 years ago, best thing I ever did. Price has been pretty stable all that time. Last 5 ton load I got went up a little to cover trucking. I live in SE NYS, so the coal mines of PA are not too far away.

    Before that I heated with oil and had a 1000 gallon tank. Had a guy do some excavating for me, and while the machine was here, had him dig up the tank. After 38 years in the ground, it still was in good shape, but you never know when a pin hole leak might happen. Now I have piece of mind knowing that's not going to happen any more. I've heard of horror stories over leaking tanks, and when the DEC gets involved, it gets awful expensive!

  13. #13
    Boolit Master
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    Brothers father in law owned a gas station. Had 4 tanks of which he used 2. Very small station. When they inspected the station they told him either remove the tanks not in use or fill them with sand. While sand would have been cheaper he opted to have them removed. Proved to be a wise decision. The next gas station had leaking gas tanks. And they had to pay to have them pumped out, dug up and replace the hydrocarbon contaminated soil. Very expensive, since it was a name brand station the parent company had to foot the bill. We had one here in town that had leakers. Dug them up,replace the contaminated soil and had to put in fiberglass tanks. Frank

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master

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    Quote Originally Posted by rancher1913 View Post
    gas can be turned off, at least fuel oil you have until it is empty to get things in order. never ever rely on piped in services if you dont want to be sol a lot.
    Well, it’s only been 48 years, but I’m still waiting for the first time here. City water and gas. Maybe a lot means something different in Colorado.
    ”We know they are lying, they know they are lying, they know we know they are lying, we know they know we know they are lying, yet they are still lying.” –Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn

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  15. #15
    Boolit Master Shawlerbrook's Avatar
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    Here in NYS ( no surprise to anyone) underground oil tanks are a pita. Best thing to do is remove fill pipes and forget it was ever there and pray. Soil testing and then thousands of dollars of remediation.

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master bedbugbilly's Avatar
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    We had several smaller tanks pulled and it was a PIA. Soil samples had to be collected, sent in for testing, etc. for EPA.

    If he knows someone with a backhoe who will keep mum on it - if it were mine I'd pull it and dispose of it. If the property is ever sold - even years later - the tank will have to be disclosed in the sale. If it isn't, it can come back to bite the seller or Executor/Trustee if an Estate and cost more in a lawsuit than if it was just removed and done with.

    Sometimes it is better to jus shoot, shovel and shut-up if you get my drift.

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy

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    Rented a farm from my neighbor that had two, 1000 gal. underground tanks, used for gasoline, that were at two separate farmsteads. Both were unused for several years and had rusted through. Pumped the water out of one and had a neighbor dig it out with his backhoe. The second one started to cave in and had the same neighbor dig it out. Smashed them down to fit on a trailer and hauled them to the scrap yard. Backfilled the holes. End of story.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master

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    Superfund created the "legacy" owner's nightmare through the
    Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)...enacted in 1980...gave the federal government the ability to respond to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances, and to pursue polluters ("responsible parties") or potential polluters ("potentially responsible parties") for the cleanup of contaminated sites.
    Every record owner of a piece of property became responsible for its cleanup, solely and collectively, everybody goes to the courthouse. This includes every FUTURE owner. "Due Diligence" is required when purchasing property, particularly Commercial property. The EPA forced creation of the Environmental Site Assessment market.
    If it was easy, anybody could do it.

  19. #19
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    We removed an oil tank (NJ) and had to have it inspected for leaks before we were supposed to cut I up and remove (I kinda cut it before the inspector got there and blamed him for telling me to do it - got away with it - wink nod). They cut real easy with a Sawzall. If your neighbor is sure it does not leak and he will use it in the future, then leave it empty. Otherwise I would pull it before anyone can question it.

  20. #20
    Boolit Master

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    If the OP’s neighbor doesn’t plan to use the tank it would be best to remove it now. A steel tank sooner or later will develop a leak. Then, even a few gallons of residual fuel oil can contaminate a lot of soil. The EPA requires that contaminated soil be removed and placed in an expensive, certified, hazardous landfill or decontaminated by another approved method.
    If he can dig it up on the QT and scrap it, all the better. If not, he may as well bite the bullet now and have it legally removed. The EPA sure isn’t going to make the procedure any easier or less expensive in the future, it will only get worse.

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