Well, if the theft of heating oil could expose me to this kind of
liability it would certainly be of concern to me. My friends are now
estranged from their neighbours (it didn't do much for their own
marriage either), their property and that of their neighbours has been
torn-up to remove the contaminated soil, they're out of pocket a
considerable amount of money, they can no longer get homeowner's
insurance and they can't sell this property because the Department of
Environment won't sign off on the clean-up (apparently they're still
detecting traces of oil). It's just one big mess.

Be it related to theft as in this case, a leaking tank or falling ice
damaging the supply line, the consequences of a fuel oil spill are
pretty grim no matter how you look at it.

Generally speaking, an inside tank is your best choice. That said,
thirty years ago, my mother's oil tank, which was in located inside a
finished basement, began leaking while she was away on holidays. The
stench when she returned was unbelievable and all the carpets on the
lower level had to be replaced. They brought in big fans to try to
clear the smell but it lingered on for months; when you walked through
the door, you just wanted to gag.

My home is Toronto is all gas (heat, hot water, cooktop, wall ovens,
fireplaces, dryer, patio heater and BBQ) and, quiet honestly, if
natural gas were available here in Halifax, I would be pushing my way
to the front of the line.

Cheers,
Paul

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 22:56:45 GMT, "Pete C."
wrote:

I'm not sure you can conclude much of anything from an incident that
resulted from criminal activity.

Pete C.