Homeowners not using an old petroleum tank must consider the best way to decommission the petroleum tank: removal or abandonment.
Petroleum tank abandonment requires multiple steps, such as:
- Removing any oil left in the tank
- Uncovering the tank top with a backhoe; hand-digging may be necessary in hard to reach places
- Cutting away the top layer of metal on the abandoned oil tank
- Sludge is removed from the abandoned tank bottom
- Transferring oil tank liquids to another fuel storage tank for transportation
- Filling the remaining structure is filled with sand or pea gravel
- Disconnecting vent and fill pipes
- Backfilling any holes left in the ground
- Transporting water and sludge removed from the abandoned oil tank to a licensed facility for disposal
In most cases, it is more cost effective to have petroleum tank removal in Northern Virginia. The Commonwealth’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has a fund for petroleum tank removal that will reimburse most of those costs.
Removing an oil tank will get rid of the entire structure from the ground which means there will be no question as to whether the oil tank was abandoned properly. This is especially important if you plan to sell your property in the future. Most mortgage lenders will not issue a mortgage for a home with an abandoned petroleum tank. Buyers are hesitant to buy homes with an abandoned petroleum tank, and because of that homes with abandoned petroleum tanks usually sell for much less than those that had petroleum tank removal in Northern Virginia.
For more information on petroleum tank removal in Northern Virginia or to discuss other solutions to an oil tank on your property including petroleum tank removal, please contact SES. Serving Northern Virginia and Washington DC residential and commercial markets since 1987, SES specializes in testing and safely removing above- and below-ground petroleum tanks.