What Do I Do If My Oil Tank Has Leaked?
                     What Do I Do If My Oil Tank Has Leaked?
This is a very important question for anyone who 
has an oil tank.
Especially if you are planning on removing it.
You will want to be asking this question to yourself 
when you are shopping around for oil tank removal 
contractors. If you do not, you will be making a 
mistake. Contractors are not always created the 
same and you will want a contractor that is honest 
about what needs to be done on your property. You 
will want to hear the scenarios given to you by 
these different contractors with the hypothetical 
problem that your tank is leaking. There are three 
scenarios that could play out.
1. Once the tank is out of the ground, Simple Tank can 
have it inspected by a township official. This official is 
going to inspect the tank for holes and stained soil. 
Let’s just say that when the tank is removed, you can 
see oil in the ground. If you have that happening, you 
have to do remediation. Simple Tank would 
recommend a remediation.
2. Simple Tank could pull the tank. The official comes 
and holes are found to be present. There are visual 
signs of contaminated soil, such as stains. Simple Tank 
will tank a sample from the worst noticeable area 
where the leak has occurred. Simple Tank then sends 
that sample to a lab for testing. This process takes five 
days to get the results. The results will determine what 
the next steps are that are taken. The 
The DEP has a threshold of 5,100 parts per million. If it 
is higher than 5,100, you will have to do remediation. 
You may have options to drill and extract samples to 
prove to the DEP that all samples are below the 5,100 
mark. Simple Tank can also go out and remove a little 
bit of soil and make sure you are getting clean samples.
3. Simple tank could pull the tank and there could be 
noticeable holes, but no contamination. That would 
bring us to our third scenario. If your contractor calls 
the DEP and gets a case number without proving to you 
that there is contamination that is not the proper thing 
to do. This will cost you extra unneeded money. Simple 
Tank will take three centre line samples from the 
excavation and sending them to the lab. If those 
samples come back as no detect, the results go to the 
town official.
Now, you know the steps that are to be taken if 
holes are found in your oil take upon removal. 
Clients have to be careful when choosing a 
contractor. Clients should be asking themselves and 
their contractors, “What will happen if my oil tank is 
found to be leaking and what options do I have”. 
You do not want to stick with a contractor who is 
going to make you go through unnecessary 
remediation. You are now equipped with the 
knowledge you need to hire a skilled experienced 
contractor who will provide you with a quality 
inspection.