blueman wrote:
....
I don't know whether it is EPA or local government, but the
Authorities here in the Northeast are equally strict.

We lived in a 25 unit condo and for years properties changed hands
without anybody even suspecting an underground tank. Then one buyer
had an inspector that followed some old pipes and claimed there was an
underground tank centered our backyard parking lot (which is about 100
ft x 400 feet)

Now this tank had not been used for probably 50 years and it was
surrounded by a sea of asphalt parking lot. Also, nobody in our town
has wells.

Yet, we ended up being forced to bring in some EPA-certified abatement
contractor who dug a huge hole in our parking lot. He was required to
keep removing dirt until his test kit could no longer detect any
traces of hydrocarbons.

Total cost was about $25K. All because of a nosy buyer/inspector. The
heartache of it all is that it is not even clear that the
"environment" is any better off for this...

From EPA web site at http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/faqs/heatoil.htm

Tanks used for the storage of heating oil for consumptive use on the
premises where stored are excluded from federal UST regulations.
However, state or territorial regulatory agencies may regulate these
tanks. You can view a map showing which states
regulate these tanks but note that this data is from the Petroleum
Equipment Institute Web site and may not be up-to-date. You should
contact your local regulatory agency for more information.

The map:
http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/graphics/heatoil1.gif

Mostly the NE, everything NE of VA/WVA w/ the exception of PA, NJ and VT

Only others are those around the Great Lakes (MI, IL, WI) and somewhat
surprisingly, in the Red States, KS, NE and MT.

The contact page--http://www.epa.gov/swerust1/states/statcon1.htm

HTH....