cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

I need to remove our oil tank because I want to extend our house. How do I go about it? Have the oil in it pumped out? Then have it filled with foam to stableize it before being dug up? Anyone know? Also, what should it cost? Thanks.

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

i called 5 places last week
I got prices ranging from 2300-3400

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

My job sometimes involves overseeing residential tank removals - typically, an excavator will come out, remove the soil that is over the tank and put it on the side, have a vacuum truck come out to pump out any oil / sludge in the tank, then they'll cut the top open and clean it out. They'll then use the excavator to pull out the tank and then they'll inspect the tank and the base of the excavation for any evidence of leakage.

Of course, your experience could be different depending on the company you use and your yard's layout.

I usually don't see the prices that companies charge homeowners outside of insurance claims, so I'm not really sure how much it would cost. I would assume it would be $2000+ though.

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

If the contractor does find evidence of contamination to the soil or groundwater, they are required by law to report the spill to the NYSDEC.

At that point, check your homeowner's insurance to see what coverage you have for a leaking oil tank because the remediation will cost usually at least $5,000 and I've seen it go up to over $100,000+.

Chances are, your insurance company will have someone from an environmental company come out (this is what I do) to inspect the tank, assess the impact to the soil or groundwater, and possibly take a soil sample for age dating to determine if the spill began during the policy period. The insurance company that we do work for began issuing new endorsement policies a few years ago that began excluding some underground tank spills - basically, if your new endorsement policy took effect in 2004 and the age dating comes back as 2005, you will not be covered.

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

my gf who sold her house (babylon) just did this and it was $2500.

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

$2000-3000

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

Thanks for responding, everyone. I am getting a better idea. Now I need to locate companies that do that sort of work, but who don't charge an arm and a leg.

Any suggestions?

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

I called 5 companies last week
I was told by ALL of them, not to test the tank or soil

#! if you do a pressure test, it can cause a leak
#2 if you do any test and there is a leak they are mandated to report it

they all recommended abandoning the tank and getting a new one without testing and opening a can of worms

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

Yeah, there could be some sludge that's at the bottom of the tank that is creating a temporary plug in a hole and a pressure test could blow that out of the way.

And that is also correct - if it fails a pressure test but contamination is not yet visible, it does have to be reported to the DEC.

The one issue with abandoning the tank is that down the road, you may want to sell the house and you'll likely be required to remove the tank anyway. Many potential buyers will require that the tank is removed prior to buying so that they have no liability. Of course, down the road, there's a good chance that the law will change since underground petroleum tank restrictions are getting tougher and you'd have to remove it anyway.

Re: cost to dig up and remove 25 yr old oil tank

I have to remove mine. I can't abandon it as I had planned before, because I am planning an addition and it would be in the way.

I do think that down the road we are all going to have to remove them, so it may as well be now. I have one price, now I hope to get a few more.