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#1
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oil tank(with oil) in the back yard...
I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil
tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John |
#2
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In article ,
John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? I would try to cover up what you just did, and try to sell the thing to someone else is even more naive that you might have been. The problem with contamination like this is that you, as the owner, have unlimited liability. If this oil has leaked under the house, you may have to tear down the house and clean up the soil. If the oil has migrated to a neighboring property, you have to pay to clean that up, too. And if the oil has hit the water table, there isn't enough tea in China to pay what it is going to cost you. Now that you know about this problem, you have to disclose it. No one in their right mind would ever buy this due to the unlimited liability. You should look into this with an attorney. If the seller did not disclose it to you, and they knew about it, perhaps you can sue them and get out from under this dead fish. You also want to talk with an attorney before you notify anyone of the problem. Since you are likely to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on this fiasco, you are probably headed towards bankruptcy. You may want to try to plan this crash so you can save your household goods and maybe a car. There is one out for this problem that I know of. If you stop paying taxes, someone just might take over the property for the cost of back taxes. When they do this, they also take over the responsibility for the contamination. You have no need to disclose anything in this situation. This might be your best way out. -john- -- ================================================== ==================== John A. Weeks III 952-432-2708 Newave Communications http://www.johnweeks.com ================================================== ==================== |
#3
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John/Charleston wrote:
I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John Maybe start with a call to a local fuel oil supplier. Ask what local practice is. The co. may even offer a de-commissioning service or know who to call. |
#4
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"John A. Weeks III" wrote I would try to cover up what you just did, and try to sell the thing to someone else is even more naive that you might have been. The problem with contamination like this is that you, as the owner, have unlimited liability. If this oil has leaked under the house, you may have to tear down the house and clean up the soil. If the oil has migrated to a neighboring property, you have to pay to clean that up, too. And if the oil has hit the water table, there isn't enough tea in China to pay what it is going to cost you. Now that you know about this problem, you have to disclose it. No one in their right mind would ever buy this due to the unlimited liability. You should look into this with an attorney. If the seller did not disclose it to you, and they knew about it, perhaps you can sue them and get out from under this dead fish. You also want to talk with an attorney before you notify anyone of the problem. Since you are likely to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on this fiasco, you are probably headed towards bankruptcy. You may want to try to plan this crash so you can save your household goods and maybe a car. There is one out for this problem that I know of. If you stop paying taxes, someone just might take over the property for the cost of back taxes. When they do this, they also take over the responsibility for the contamination. You have no need to disclose anything in this situation. This might be your best way out. -john- LOL, Good Grief. Get a grip. |
#5
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In article ,
John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John I'd immediately fill out the paperwork to apply as a superfund site. |
#6
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On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 16:10:08 -0600, "John A. Weeks III"
wrote: In article , John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? I would try to cover up what you just did, and try to sell the thing to someone else is even more naive that you might have been. The problem with contamination like this is that you, as the owner, have unlimited liability. If this oil has leaked under the house, you may have to tear down the house and clean up the soil. If the oil has migrated to a neighboring property, you have to pay to clean that up, too. And if the oil has hit the water table, there isn't enough tea in China to pay what it is going to cost you. Now that you know about this problem, you have to disclose it. No one in their right mind would ever buy this due to the unlimited liability. You should look into this with an attorney. If the seller did not disclose it to you, and they knew about it, perhaps you can sue them and get out from under this dead fish. You also want to talk with an attorney before you notify anyone of the problem. Since you are likely to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars on this fiasco, you are probably headed towards bankruptcy. You may want to try to plan this crash so you can save your household goods and maybe a car. There is one out for this problem that I know of. If you stop paying taxes, someone just might take over the property for the cost of back taxes. When they do this, they also take over the responsibility for the contamination. You have no need to disclose anything in this situation. This might be your best way out. -john- Gee I think I'll just commit suicide right now! |
#7
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On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:15:37 -0500, Speedy Jim wrote:
John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John Maybe start with a call to a local fuel oil supplier. Ask what local practice is. The co. may even offer a de-commissioning service or know who to call. That's a good idea...there's got to be a simple way to pump whatever remaining oil out of the tank and dispose of it properly. I can't imagine I'm the only one with an oil tank in the backyard. Thanks again, John |
#8
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John/Charleston wrote: On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:15:37 -0500, Speedy Jim wrote: John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John Maybe start with a call to a local fuel oil supplier. Ask what local practice is. The co. may even offer a de-commissioning service or know who to call. That's a good idea...there's got to be a simple way to pump whatever remaining oil out of the tank and dispose of it properly. I can't imagine I'm the only one with an oil tank in the backyard. Thanks again, John You will find that you also have to decommission the tank. Just getting rid of the oil isn't enough. May have to dig it up or fill with some inert substance. Harry K |
#9
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On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 16:10:08 -0600, "John A. Weeks III"
wrote: I would try to cover up what you just did, and try to sell the thing to someone else is even more naive that you might have been. The problem with contamination like this is that you, as the owner, have unlimited liability. If this oil has leaked under the house, you may have to tear down the house and clean up the soil. If the oil has migrated to a neighboring property, you have to pay to clean that up, too. And if the oil has hit the water table, there isn't enough tea in China to pay what it is going to cost you. This whole story is bull****! This man is not EXXON sitting there in Charleston selling gasoline to the public...he is a homeowner with a fuel oil storage tank in his yard! These stupid assed horror stories are urban myths promulgated by angry former gasoline station owners who have had to clean up their property after leaking fuel into the ground for years and years selling gasoline to the public. Bill |
#10
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On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:15:37 -0500, Speedy Jim wrote:
John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John Maybe start with a call to a local fuel oil supplier. Ask what local practice is. The co. may even offer a de-commissioning service or know who to call. (I agree, this is a reasonable option...) Bill |
#11
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On 25 Feb 2005 18:41:38 -0800, "Harry K"
wrote: John/Charleston wrote: On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 17:15:37 -0500, Speedy Jim wrote: John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John Maybe start with a call to a local fuel oil supplier. Ask what local practice is. The co. may even offer a de-commissioning service or know who to call. That's a good idea...there's got to be a simple way to pump whatever remaining oil out of the tank and dispose of it properly. I can't imagine I'm the only one with an oil tank in the backyard. Thanks again, John You will find that you also have to decommission the tank. Just getting rid of the oil isn't enough. May have to dig it up or fill with some inert substance. Harry K In Charleston, the decommissioning was complete the day that homeowner decided to stop using the fuel oil in that tank. Now maybe in upstate New York, especially in the towns surrounding the Love Canal, I'll bet the local governments have created laws forcing homeowners to dispose of their old fuel oil storage tanks. Bill |
#12
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On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 13:23:13 -0500, John/Charleston
wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John Hey John! It just so happens that this person responding to your post, has been working in the construction industry...specifically fuel storage and dispensing for over ten years. I know the regulations regarding your tank! You are a homeowner with an underground fuel oil storage tank buried in your yard. You are not in business selling fuel to the public like a convenience store. Your tank does not fall under the same US Environmental Protection Agency or South Carolina DEHEC guidelines pertaining to underground fuel storage tanks. You don't have to do anything to your tank! If anybody tells you otherwise they are ignorant and they are just spouting out ignorance of the facts. Since the tank was originally installed in the late 50's, chances are good that alot of corrosion has been happening on the outside walls of your tank. There are probably pin hole leaks in the wall of the tank or it may have corroded to the point where it could begin to cave in. I would suggest you contact your local fuel storage and dispensing contractor and have him pump your tank dry just to satisfy you that no more fuel resides in the tank. If there are pin hole leaks in the tank wall, ground water could be seeping into the tank. That may be the case now. Maybe its just sitting there full of ground water. Are you worried about building something on top of the tank that could be undermined by the old tank...such as a patio or garage foundation being built...or putting in a swimming pool...if so you may want to dig it up. If not, and you don't like it sitting there full of ground water, you can have a company drop a hose down in the tank and fill the tank with liquid expanding foam insulation. That way the tank would not be sitting there full of water. Either way, you have a tank that was only used to store fuel oil for your house and it was not used in commerce, therefore you are not legally required to do anything to it. Regards, Bill |
#13
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"Bill" wrote in message ... This whole story is bull****! This man is not EXXON sitting there in Charleston selling gasoline to the public...he is a homeowner with a fuel oil storage tank in his yard! These stupid assed horror stories are urban myths promulgated by angry former gasoline station owners who have had to clean up their property after leaking fuel into the ground for years and years selling gasoline to the public. Bill You don't need to sell gasoline to the public or even have a large tank for it to be a problem. My buddy bought a small building for an office. There was a underground tank that was used only for heating oil just for the building. There were no other tanks or any sort of manufacturing done on the property. The tank was leaking and by the time he paid for all of the remediation expense he had spent ~$280,000. Often the previous owner can be held responsible but they were bankrupt so my buddy had to pay for everything. |
#14
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"Harry K" wrote in message ups.com... You will find that you also have to decommission the tank. Just getting rid of the oil isn't enough. May have to dig it up or fill with some inert substance. Harry K Tanks must be removed. It is no longer permissable to fill them (sand was commonly used). |
#15
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On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 12:29:01 -0500, someone wrote:
You don't need to sell gasoline to the public or even have a large tank for it to be a problem. My buddy bought a small building for an office. There was a underground tank that was used only for heating oil just for the building. There were no other tanks or any sort of manufacturing done on the property. The tank was leaking and by the time he paid for all of the remediation expense he had spent ~$280,000. While this stuff does happen ( a buddy of mine spent about $100k, also on a commerical property), it is also quite routine for tanks to be OK and taken out for a few thousand dollars, or only a little more costly if its the tank and a limited amount of nearby soil. An attempt to coverup will be criminal as well as still carrying civil liability. First find out how bad the problem is before trying to sue everybody, plan bankruptcy or suicide, etc. Get the contents pumped out and exploratory work done to get the tank removed, which will ID if it is anything more than a very limited problem .. Reply to NG only - this e.mail address goes to a kill file. |
#16
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On Sat, 26 Feb 2005 14:21:36 GMT, Bill
wrote: On Fri, 25 Feb 2005 13:23:13 -0500, John/Charleston wrote: I have a 1959 house that I'm fixing up and there seems to be an oil tank buried in the back yard. The house no longer has an oil furnace, but I poked a stick down the fill tube in the yard and it was coated with 12" or so of oil when I brought it back up. I have no idea of the capacity or shape of the tank so I don't know if this represents 20 or 200 gals of oil! What can I do with this? Do I need to call a toxic waste disposal co and pay big$$$ or should I apply for a federal grant as a superfund site? Located in Charleston, SC Thanks, John Hey John! It just so happens that this person responding to your post, has been working in the construction industry...specifically fuel storage and dispensing for over ten years. I know the regulations regarding your tank! You are a homeowner with an underground fuel oil storage tank buried in your yard. You are not in business selling fuel to the public like a convenience store. Your tank does not fall under the same US Environmental Protection Agency or South Carolina DEHEC guidelines pertaining to underground fuel storage tanks. You don't have to do anything to your tank! If anybody tells you otherwise they are ignorant and they are just spouting out ignorance of the facts. Since the tank was originally installed in the late 50's, chances are good that alot of corrosion has been happening on the outside walls of your tank. There are probably pin hole leaks in the wall of the tank or it may have corroded to the point where it could begin to cave in .Iwouldsuggestyoucontactyourlocalfuel storage and dispensing contractor and have him pump your tank dry just to satisfy you that no more fuel resides in the tank. If there are pin hole leaks in the tank wall, ground water could be seeping into the tank. That may be the case now. Maybe its just sitting there full of ground water. Are you worried about building something on top of the tank that could be undermined by the old tank...such as a patio or garage foundation being built...or putting in a swimming pool...if so you may want to dig it up. If not, and you don't like it sitting there full of ground water, you can have a company drop a hose down in the tank and fill the tank with liquid expanding foam insulation. That way the tank would not be sitting there full of water. Either way, you have a tank that was only used to store fuel oil for your house and it was not used in commerce, therefore you are not legally required to do anything to it. Regards, Bill Thanks Bill, that's good to know. I'd just as soon as pump whatever oil is left out of the tank rather than let it seep into the local aquifer but once that's done I'd just as soon leave the empty tank where it is. I've already built my new porch so there won't be anything else going on there. I could probably buy a simple pump with some aquarium tubing and pump it out but I'll call a heating oil co for suggestions. Thanks again, John |
#17
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In article ,
John/Charleston wrote: that's good to know. I'd just as soon as pump whatever oil is left out of the tank rather than let it seep into the local aquifer but once that's done I'd just as soon leave the empty tank where it is. I've already built my new porch so there won't be anything else going on there. I could probably buy a simple pump with some aquarium tubing and pump it out but I'll call a heating oil co for suggestions. Not a good idea to leave the empty tank there. It will eventually rust out and the back yard will collapse in, probably while someone (like you) is walking over it. After the oil is removed, look into filling the tank with foam or sand, or even better dig it up and remove it. -- Rich Greenberg Marietta, GA, USA richgr atsign panix.com + 1 770 321 6507 Eastern time. N6LRT I speak for myself & my dogs only. VM'er since CP-67 Canines:Val, Red & Shasta (RIP),Red, husky Owner:Chinook-L Atlanta Siberian Husky Rescue. www.panix.com/~richgr/ Asst Owner:Sibernet-L |
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