Improper Abandonment of an Underground Storage Tank

If an in-place abandonment of an underground storage tank is carried out without a proper assessment of whether or not the tank has leaked and contaminated the soils beneath the tank the property owner may be faced with significant liabilities and expenses when the property is to be sold.

A Case in Point

Here is a copy of a letter (with identification removed, a copy is in our files) received by a home owner after completion of an in-place abandonment of an underground storage tank by filling with foam. Notice that there is no mention at all of the soils beneath the tank, no mention of cleaning the tank and the specific mentioning of the fact that the activity does not represent an environmental assessment!

Put simply, this Certificate is virtually worthless and does nothing to relieve the home owner of their liability for the clean-up of contaminated soils beneath the underground storage tank.

What happened next?

Several years and two sales later, the now current home owner, having accepted that this certificate had finalised any liability or problem due to the tank leaking, is in the process of selling the home and moving interstate. The potential buyers requested that Cedar Rock Environmental investigate possible soil contamination due to leakage from the underground storage tank. Having located the tank Cedar Rock took soil samples from below the tank. The discoloration and strong odor of the soils indicated that significant soil contamination had occurred. The property owner now had to deal with this contamination before they could legally sell the property. To make matters worse the tank was located partly beneath the driveway!

During the subsequent tank removal several other things became obvious:

  • The tank was empty - it had not been filled with foam!
  • The fill line had not been removed or cut off as low as possible,and,
  • The only concrete was a small plug put in the fill line after removal of the filler cap.

Don't let it happen to you!

Never allow a tank to be abandoned in-place without a proper assessment, by a properly licensed person, of the condition of the underlying soils. If the soils are clean then ensure that any tank abandonment has been performed properly and that there is documentation relating to both the abandonment procedures and the assessment of any possible soil contamination. In general a tank may not be abandoned if there is contamination of the surrounding soils. A Cedar Rock site inspection usually confirms the presence/absence of soil contamination immediately.

A Cedar Rock tank abandonment will result in a thorough, professional abandonment of the tank and provide full documentation and photographic record of the procedure, signed and sealed by a NC Licensed Geologist. This will provide peace of mind and avoid any unexpected surprises in the future.

Return to tank abandonment page.