Soil Remediation / Groundwater Investigation

• » Step 1 How to tell if there is a problem with the underground storage tank?

  1. If there is an unexpected increase in fuel oil consumption with no direct relation to the cold weather.

  2. If the underground storage tank (UST) and/or heating oil tank has a significant level of water inside instead of oil there could be a leak

• » Step 2 There are four key things to look for when determining if the underground storage tank has leaked once it has been removed:

  1. TS technicians and town inspectors will look to see if there are any corrosion holes in the tank.

  2. TS and town inspectors will look at the excavation area once the tank is removed; looking for soil discoloration.

  3. They will also look to see if there is any free product and/or strong oil odor in the excavation.

  4. The final indication of a leaking oil tank is if groundwater is present in the excavation and has an oily sheen.

• If any one or all of the above occur during the tank removal process and the Township Official fails the tank, we are required to contact the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) and get a case number for the property.

  Once a case number is called in, Tank Solutions will walk the customer through the next phase of work which is Soil Remediation. TS has on staff a Licensed Soil Remediation Professional (LSRP) who oversees the soil remediation project from field screening the contaminated soil on sight to determine how much soil will be removed and disposed of at a State Licensed Recycle Center. Once the soil is screened and determined to clean six soil samples will be collected from the excavation area and sent to a State Licensed Laboratory for Extractable Petroleum Hydrocarbons (EPH) as per the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Cleanup Standards and Regulations.

  Some contractors may talk you into testing or collecting soil samples prior to tank removal. Soil samples should only be collected if the underground storage tank is determined to be leaking once it is removed from the ground and the necessary steps are taken to clean up the soils from the excavation. The only sample that should be analyzed prior to soil remediation is the waste classification sample which is used for clearance into a State Licensed Recycle Center for disposal of contaminated soils.