FAQs

Processing & submission of Local Township permit and utility mark-out prior to excavating is performed by Tank Solutions staff. Local construction/fire permits are typically required to be applied for before the tank can be removed. Once the local permits are approved the local inspector will need to be on site for all or a part of the removal activities.

New Jersey Townships are allowed 21 business days but in New Jersey you’ll find that most permits are approved within a week to 10 days for most oil tank removals.

Check out our 6 step process on “How to remove my oil tank?” or “How does the oil tank removal process work” info page which provides some more insight on how it works.

Discarding an empty oil tanks should only be taken to State Certified recycling center. Recycling Centers will only accept tanks that are fully drained of any oil, properly cleaned and in some cases need to be cut up into smaller pieces.

When you contact Tank Solutions for an oil tank removal in New Jersey and after we have contracted the work and the permit has been approved. We can generally get you on our schedule within 5 to 14 days.

No it is not necessary to do sampling, it is only required if you have a leaky underground oil tank.

The easiest way to identify a potential for an underground heating oil tank is to look for fill pipes and vent pipes at the exterior of your home. These pipes generally go down in to the ground and there also could be evidence of fuel oil lines in your basement on the exterior walls or your floors. We recommend a Tank Search to locate any underground storage tanks on your property.

Mortgages and USTs Buried oil tanks can leak over time, and their oil can pollute subsurface soil and also leach into underground water. Mortgage lenders are increasingly wary of residential buried oil tanks and may refuse to provide loans to purchase homes having them.

If the tank is buried, it needs to be removed, if a fuel oil tank is left buried especially with oil still in the tank, it could eventually leak. A leaking underground storage tank (UST) can contaminate the soil as well as the home, creating an environmental hazard that can escalate the cost of removals. Mortgage lenders and insurance companies are very risk adverse and many home buyers have a difficult time procuring a mortgage or home owners insurance.

A sand filled tank is the process of decommissioning an underground oil tank. This process does not involve removing the underground tank but rather completely filling it in place. The proper procedure for decommissioning an oil tank is: to pump out the oil; excavate to the top of the tank; properly clean the inside; and finally fill it with sand.

No there is no law or regulation that states you must remove an underground heating oil storage tank. However, the problem occurs when a buyer of home is under contract it will be very difficult if not almost impossible to procure a mortgage or even insurance, as most lenders and insurance carriers do not want to occur an environmental risk associated with a underground heating oil storage tank. Also, most attorneys will not allow a buyer to move forward with the transaction because they do not want their clients to take any environmental responsibility of the UST after closing, forcing you to remove the storage tank at your expense anyway.

While commercial-size tanks are regulated by the state Department of Environmental Protection, which requires inspection every three years, underground home heating oil tanks are ordinarily inspected only when taken out of use. A 1998 state law requires such tanks to be officially ”abandoned.

You are correct this was the proper way to decommission an underground heating oil storage tank at the time. However, generally speaking the life span of a metal UST is 30 years. Homebuyers do not want the environmental responsibility of underground heating oil storage tank.

Typically, an oil tank removal will entail one day of work. 90% of tank removal project entail 1 day of work on the subject site. Samples collected at time of removal are typically picked up by the laboratory on the next business day. Analysis takes 5 to 7 business days to complete.

An underground storage tank (UST) system is a tank (or a combination of tanks) and connected underground piping having at least 10 percent of their combined volume underground. The tank system includes the tank, underground connected piping, underground ancillary equipment, and any containment system. The federal UST regulations apply only to UST systems storing either petroleum or certain hazardous substances.