Government environmental agencies consider removing a storage tank as remediation, because storage tanks are known to rust and leak petroleum, which can contaminate soil and groundwater. Know that the government views storage tanks as an environmental liability. In real estate transactions, attorneys, buyers, mortgage companies, and insurance companies also view tanks as a liability and want them removed. Many tanks can be readily removed and tested, but some tanks require an excessive amount of effort to remove, which can exponentially increase the cost. In these situations, tanks can be closed in place, with testing, as testing will confirm whether the tank did or did not leak. Now we deal with parties that have their own opinion regarding what is or is not possible. Curren is licensed in three states for tank work and has completed tens of thousands of tank closures. We are experienced in what is feasible and budget-friendly for clients.
Take this crawlspace tank. It looks like an AST, but the federal definition says it's a UST as more than 10% of the tank volume is buried below the ground. The client said it could not be removed, Curren said it was cheaper to remove than filling the tank in place.
Filling the tank in place would have taken more labor which would have cost more. You can see how the area looks after removal, the concave area of the tank grave.
Cutting the tank into manageable pieces allowed the tank to be removed from the space.
This project is in contrast to the next property, where a tank had a sunroom built on top of the tank. I am sure that when this was done, the owners never thought the buried tank would be an issue.
- The subject 1000 gallon tank is right through the sliding glass doors.
- The tank is 1000 gallons and is about 11' long.
- The top of the tank is 3' deep.
- You would have to support the sunroom to remove the tank, which does not make financial sense.
The fill pipe is pretty far from the door to the room, further complicating matters.
84" inches deep
48" diameter tank
84 - 48 = 36" or 3' deep.
For this tank, removal could be done with some engineering, but it would cost significantly more than simple cleaning, testing, and filling the tank in place. Of course, you could also demolish the sunroom and remove the tank, but that would also cost more, and you would lose a sunroom.
In this circumstance, you cut an area of the floor out, hand dig to the tank top, 3' deep, enter and clean the tank, cut coupons, holes in the bottom of the tank, and acquire soil samples for laboratory analysis, backfill, and restore the floor. Everything is documented in a report.
Expert Tank Advice 888-301-1050
