Hot Environmental Topics

Should I get a mold inspection?

Mold inspections are commonly performed as part of many  residential real estate transactions.  Mold inspections are typically driven by the buyer as opposed  to a requirement  of the mortgage approval process.  There are three main factors that are attributable to the increase in Mold inspections.   The primary driver is consumers being more educated about mold (thank the internet).  The aging housing stock allows for degraded building infrastructure (deferred maintenance) which provides  opportunities for mold to grow.   the reverse of degraded materials is better building techniques and home improvements that create tighter building envelopes that help retain moisture in the built environment, which in turn fuels mold growth.  

The photo below represents deferred maintenance that allowed mold to grow.   To know the exact reason, you would have to speak to one of our environmental managers.

There are a few situations that should make you look for a mold problem.  Mold inspections should be completed on homes that  have been unoccupied for extended periods of time. If a house has been closed up and unoccupied for months or years, humidity most likely has built up inside and caused mold to grow.  All bank owned properties should have a mold inspection performed due to the humidity concerns mentioned above.  Homes that have been flipped or rehabbed should have a mold inspection performed because these homes have a high probability of growth (Most were bank owned) and we have found that often times the mold has been covered over or ignored by the real estate investor.  Flipped homes should have mold inspections with air testing to search for hidden mold.

The piece of furniture in the photo below, has mold growing on it.  The mold manifested itself over a period of weeks after moving into an older rehab home.  Curren found mold behind the newly finished walls and water entry from the foundation wall that was not properly water proofed prior to sheetrock.

 Home inspections typically do not cover mold inspections and most home inspectors are not experienced with mold.

The photo below was flagged for having mold, a part of the photo has mold and  apart is not mold.  Do you know which is which?

Mold inspections should be performed on homes where water damage has occurred either one time or when chronic water issues are present.  Basements and crawlspaces are target rich environments for mold growth.

What affects the cost of a mold inspection?

Two main factors determine the cost of a mold inspection.  Mold inspection costs are based on the time it takes to complete the inspections, simply put larger homes take longer to inspect than smaller homes. If mold testing is needed it will add to the inspection cost as you now have laboratory analysis to pay for and time for the mold professional to interpret the data.

The best mold inspections are professionals that have experience in both mold inspection and remediation.  Finding mold during a mold inspection and following the project through to remediation provides the firm a 360 degree view of the mold problem.  We have completed thousands of mold inspections and remediation and while they all have similarities there are nuisances to each project.  

 Do I need to inspect a  new home for mold? 

New homes should have mold inspection because there is actually a term we use called new home mold.  Mold can grow during the home construction process, the crews working on a new home don't have the experience with mold and accordingly are not aware that growth has occurred.

Why performing a Tank Sweep?

There are many inspections performed when buying a home, and most are cursory visual inspections of the HVAC system, soffits, chimneys, foundation, plumbing, sidewalks, decks, swimming pools, etc.  These building components are commonly evaluated as part of your home inspection.  What is missed by many buyers is the environmental liability aspect of purchasing a home. Environmental can be asbestos, radon, mold, lead paint and oil tanks.  Of all these environmental liabilities, oil tanks represent the biggest risk relative to remedial cost.  A hidden underground oil tank can cost a couple thousands of dollars to a new homeowner if it's not caught during the inspection process.  Worse is when an oil tank leaks, which can lead to costs into the tens of thousands of dollars.

When people are on the fence about doing a tank sweep, all I tell them is not to be surprised that when they sell the home in the future and a tank sweep is performed by that buyer.

Over the past 20 years oil tank sweeps, oil tank scans and/or oil tank inspections have become a common part of the home buying process.

Why perform an oil tank sweep?

Oil tanks belong to a property and if you buy a home with an oil tank you bought all the costs associated with the tank, meaning tank removal, soil testing and most expensive remediation (if required). 

The photo below is a remediation of a leaking oil tank.

Oil heat was popular in the Northeastern United States from the 1930's to the mid 1980's, this time frame encompasses a large part of the homes in the Northeast, meaning chances are the home you are looking to purchase utilized oil heat in the past.  Also homes built before 1930, most likely had oil heat. since coal was phased out as soon  as a homeowner had a chance to switch, since coal required physical feeding the furnace several times a day during the heating season.

More info on Tank Sweeps

What percentage of tank sweeps find prior oil heat?

With over 20 years experience with oil tanks, we have crunched the numbers and find an average of about 75% of the tank sweeps find evidence of prior oil heat.  That number should not be that surprising since natural gas really only became popular in the 1970's.

Who pays for a tank sweep?

Buyers typically pay for the tank sweep as it is part of their due diligence.  Due diligence is what a reasonable person would do to investigate a property for problems prior to ownership.

Do property owners ever do tank sweeps?

Most property owners do not perform tank sweeps as they do not want to find an oil tank.

The photo below shows a tank found by Curren during a GPR scan.   Home built 1978, sold in 2016, with no  tank sweep.

Tank scan with Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) or metal detector?

You should use both GPR and a metal detector to be thorough when performing a tank scan or tank sweep. Rely on GPR the most as it is what commercial sites use, metal detectors are more to prove that the object found by GPR is metallic.  Remember, the best equipment is the most expensive, an $800.00 metal detector on Amazon.com should not be relied upon.

Metal detectors beep if they find iron sand (a real thing), buried pipes, get too close to a metal fence or a structure with metal (yes homes have metal) or simply encounter buried metallic trash.   GPR uses a screen so the geophysical technician can see the graphical image detected by the GPR antenna.     Larger signals are tanks, smaller signals are usually pipes.

Do you need a Ground Penetrating Radar/ Tank Scan?  Call Curren Environmental Today.

What is the process of the Notification of Requirements when an Underground Oil Tank Leaks (Discharges)?

There are many conflicting concerns regarding who makes the phone call for the notification of discharge to the NJDEP (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) when an Underground Oil Tank in the state of New Jersey is found to be leaking.  Is it the homeowner, or contractor who removed the tank?  Could it be the nosy neighbor watching from kitchen window in the next yard over?

Historically, the reporting of a discharge was the responsibility of a knowledgeable party.  Meaning if you knew you were supposed to report a leak, you were the individual who should do it.

The NJDEP amended and updated their Heating Oil Tank System Remediation Rules on August 6, 2018. According to those rules, "Upon discovery of discharge, the owner shall immediately notify the Department by calling the Department hotline at 1-877-WARNDEP (1-877-927-6337)".  The owner of the property where the underground oil tank is located, and where the leak (discharge) was discovered is legally required to call in the discharge to the NJDEP at time of discovery of the discharge. (7:26F-1.6 Notification Requirements).

There are other processes and concerns as well. That nosy neighbor may be concerned if your property is leaking oil onto theirs which is highly unlikely.  But the NJDEP has rules and regulations and in 7:26C-1.7 Notification and public outreach - "Immediately after discharges commences a person or persons responsible for a discharge who knows or should know of a discharge shall IMMEDIATELY notify the Department".  It is also noted that the person responsible for providing the remediation will notify the NJDEP if any of the of the following is identifiable on the site:

1. Contamination caused by a discharge that has not been already known to Department
2. An immediate environmental concern
3. Contamination, that was previously reported to Department has been determined to have migrated onto the site from another site.

(If the discharge occurred from an historic fill site the person is not required to notify the department regarding b and c above.)

What the NJDEP amended regulations are providing, is the owner of the underground oil tank, if the tank is to discharge oversees making the phone to the NJDEP (New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection) and providing the Department with the proper information regarding their tank and the discharge of the oil into the soil.

So when a property owner finds a leak that has occurred on their property, the leak should be reported by the owner. If you are buying a property and do testing and find contamination the contamination must be made aware to the owner so it can be reported. 

Bottom line discharges are required to be reported, if you know of a discharge and that it is not reported you need to report the discharge. 

Please don't hesitate to call Curren Environmental

 and we will answer any questions you may have regarding your Underground Oil Tanks.

Curren Environmental is a professional environmental consulting firm, follow our top environmentally friendly “Green” changes that you can make to help the environment.

Stop using plastic water bottles.

Plastic from single use water bottles end up in landfills and our bodies of water.  Trillions of pieces of plastic are estimated to be in our oceans.  Fish will consume this plastic and pass it along to humans.

Bottom line: There are many reusable waters bottles you can use to quench your thirst and more than likely your tap water is as pure if not purer than what is in a plastic water bottle.

Start using your reusable shopping bags.

Clearly when states ban plastic bags or charge a tax to use them you know there is a serious issue.   Consumer use of reusable bags is well below 50%.

Bottom Line:   When you go to the store bring your bags and put you phone in a reusable bag.  You won’t forget your phone when you go into the store and now you won’t forget your reusable bag.

LED bulbs are finally affordable. Swap out incandescent bulbs with LEDs

Bottom Line:  LED bulbs use 95% of energy to convert to light so only 5% is wasted.  LED bulbs are on average 80% more efficient that incandescent.  Where can you get an 80% improvement?

Use cold or warm water in your laundry.

Laundry detergent manufacturers have reformulated their products to be as efficient in cold and warm water, hot water is not required.     

Bottom line: Hot water consumes energy and is not necessary for cleaning clothing

Lock all windows.

Bottom Line: Windows are drafty and most windows that are unlocked allow cold air to infiltrate into your home. Drafty homes cause furnaces to work harder costing you more money.

Wrap your hot water heater.

Bottom Line: Layers keep you warm, and although hot water heaters have insulation built in, another layer of insulation will increase the efficiency of your hot water heater, which is used every day.

Fact: Mold needs water to grow.

“There is always some mold everywhere – in the air and on many surfaces. Molds have been on the Earth for millions of years. Mold grows where there is moisture”

From CDC (Center for Disease Control)

When you see mold, it indicates water issues - water is the fuel that propels mold growth.

Fiction: The leak just went away.

No, the leak didn’t just “go away” it was diverted and is leaking into a different part of your home. The leak could also happen when certain conditions are met, such as rain from a Northeastern direction or when your guests are using the spare bathroom. Take care of any leak be it  roof, bathroom or basement right away before it can turn into mold growth.

Promptly fixing leaky roofs, windows, and pipes will save you from mold. Mold growth can begin to occur 48 to 72 hours after water/moisture appears on organic surfaces.

Fact: Mold comes in many different colors, green, yellow, black, white…etc. 

Fiction: Black mold is the bad toxic mold.

Black toxic mold is a myth. There is a mold of color that is black but there is no such mold as the “black toxic mold”. There are thousands of mold spores that have different colors and have different health effects. Find out more at Types of Mold. 

Fact: Mold growth can occur due to excess humidity.

When your home does not have the proper (habitable) humidity and temperature inside, mold growth can occur, without any water leaks. American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHREA), recommends 30 to 60% RH (Relative Humidity) indoors. (Read more here).

Fiction: Houses do not need gutters.

When you don’t have any gutters, rain water falls directly adjacent to the dwelling foundation. This water can cause damage to foundation and find a pathway into your home. In the image, no gutters were installed and water drained into  the crawl space, causing mold growth. The HVAC system was located in the crawl space, where airborne mold spores were brought into the HVAC from the crawl space and distributed throughout the entire house. This caused a musty smell, and after air sampling, showed high levels of mold spores.

There are many horror stories regarding pipes freezing. Pipes freezing can lead to bigger problems. Don’t let this be your story…

Before vacation a family prepped the house for departure - they closed and locked all doors, left some lights on and turned down the heat (50 degrees). The family even called a local friend to keep an eye on the home. But what they didn't pay attention to was that that the temperatures plummeted to below freezing. The family forgot to turn off their outside plumbing hose bibs.  The pipes froze to the outdoors. Two days later the temperature rose to above freezing and the pipes burst. Water poured into the basement. The water stayed there for more than 48 to 72 hours allowing for mold growth. Don’t let this happen to your home.

11 Tips for keeping your pipes from freezing during the colder months:

• Disconnect and drain garden hoses from the outdoor faucets (NOW).
• Turn off water inside the home to these bibs.
• Insulate your pipes. Insulate all hot and cold water pipes located in the crawlspace as well as under your house and in in the basement, attic, and exterior walls (if accessible) with snap-on foam insulation https://www.lowes.com/pd/Frost-King-0-75-in-x-6-ft-Foam-Plumbing-Tubular-Pipe-Insulation/3133245. Make sure foam insulation fits tightly without gaps.
• Secure the basement doors and close and weather strip the exterior basement windows and doors.
• When you leave your home in winter, drip both your hot and your cold water faucets in the kitchen and bathrooms. This helps keep water moving through the pipes and relieves built-up water pressure in the pipes if they should freeze. Pay particular attention to the pipes running in the outside walls.
• Turn off your sprinkler system and make sure you blow out compressed air through the irrigation lines to ensure the water is drained (October or November) If the water is not drained it can freeze inside the lines damaging your expensive water system.
• In your laundry room, turn off the water valves to the washer and dryer.  The hoses hold pressure which builds up the longer the washer and dryer are not used.  
• Open up the cabinet doors under the sinks in the kitchen and bath if they are on exterior walls to allow heat to flow through to the interior pipes.
• Wrap your water heater with an approved manufacturer’s blanket.
• Don’t set thermostat lower than 55 degrees when traveling. Ask a neighbor to check on your house during below freezing temperatures.
• Keep your garage doors closed during extreme cold weather.

Remember don’t let the temperature in your house get too low. If you have a second home and you do not turn off the water make sure the heat is turned on at a temperature of 55 or higher. Make sure you use the tips above…since you are not at that location all of the time and if the pipes burst/thaw and you will have a water problem. If that water problems sits for more than 48 to 72 hours than your problem becomes more than a water problem. It becomes a mold problem.

What do you do if your pipes freeze? Locate the main cut-off valve and have the water cut-off key handy before attempting to thaw out the frozen pipes. Open the faucet the pipe runs to before actually thawing the frozen pipe to allow water to flow through the pipe and relieve any built up pressure in the pipe. You could also use a hair dryer, heat lamp or a portable space heather to thaw out the frozen pipes to help with any pressure built up in the pipe

Whether you are home or away, don’t let your pipes burst - make sure you follow the above 10 tips to keep your pipes from freezing.

How to remove an oil tank.

The northeast United States has a long history of oil heat. Oil tanks were commonly used starting in the early 1900s until the 1980s The EPA was not formed until 1970, so oil tanks and environmental regulations did not grow up together.  Today the liability of oil tank leaks is well known and both buyers and sellers

The concern regarding an oil tank is any tank has a chance to leak. If a tank leaks, there can be a cleanup expense involved. This expense falls upon the owner of the property at the time of discovery. Try selling a house with an oil tank and learn that the buyers want a home not an oil tank leak. The fact is a new tank today has a 10-year warranty (yes there are tanks with longer warranties, but those are quite expensive), so nearly all tanks in use today have reached what would be considered a reasonable life expectancy. Couple that with the fact that if your tank is leaking, it most commonly happens along the very bottom of the tank where the most corrosion occurs, so you would never actually detect that the tank is leaking. Quite frankly, no tank owner is going to miss drips of oil from a tank.

So, you have an old tank, a house you want to sell and a dilemma, do you remove the tank like a proactive reasonable person would do, or do you stick your feet in the sand and sell the house as is? Well rest assured your buyer has read this web site, or their attorney, or realtor has and they know the issues with oil tanks. We find a sale has to fall through 3 times or the house has to be on the market for 6 months or more before the seller accepts the fact that an oil tank is not as appealing as walk in closets and an open floor plan, buyers will take a hard pass.

So now the tank owner is looking to have the tank removed. A little internet search or a reference from someone leads them to a company happy to remove the tank. Cheapest price, absolutely that is what they want. Does the removal company even discuss the possible outcomes of the tank leaking? No they don't, they don't want to scare you and quite frankly you don't want to be scared, you're a tank expert, you know your tank isn't leaking and hey oil comes from the ground and you're pretty good about recycling so you're a green person.

Let me point out some pitfalls about removing your oil tank.

The cheapest price includes the worst service and you will wind up paying more in the end, 90% of the time. The cheap person wants to find a leaking tank because that is where the big costs are. Read the tank contract, it will be brief, but it needs to include the following and most will not.  We know this as we get many phone calls from people complaining about the firm that removed their oil tank.

Soil Sampling

You think you do not want it, but the buyer wants to know if the tank leaked how you know 100% is via soil testing. Like cholesterol, you do not know the levels unless you test.

You should always include sample acquisition and analysis with a tank removal. Samples on average cost $120.00 each or $240.00 on most tank removal sites. This is cheaper to do when you are on site to remove the tank. If you have to go back to the site and drill to obtain soil samples expect it to cost thousands. Sampling is even more important when a tank sweep is performed and a tank is found on a site, meaning, a tank that was not in use and not known to exist.

Hole found in the tank

Let us agree that things are not made to last forever, things wear out, is it really a shock to remove an oil tank that is 20, 30, 40, 50 years old and find a hole in it. I mean is that out of the realm of possibility? If you were not informed of this possibility, be prepared to be taken advantage of, tank leaks, not all of them but some. To manage expectations the company that removes your tank should explain what will happen if your tank does or does not leak. To be clear if there are holes in the tank, the local construction office will flag the tank as leaking and have you report the leak to the state. The reason being a hole in a tank is reasonable cause to believe that the tank leaked. So now, you are tasked with proving it did not leak or does not need remediation. In the meantime, the tank removal company will be giving you a quote that is many times more expensive to remediate the leak.

The tank had holes and you are told you must remediate.

If a tank leak is found you MUST test to see if levels are above or below standard.  If you do not test than it is going to be assumed you must remediate, prepare to open your checkbook.

If you have a tank leak and you test and oil levels are so high that you need to remediate then your next real step is to define the area requiring remediation, this is called delineation.

Delineation is meant to define the area of contamination (and verify that contamination exists). Smaller areas are faster and less expensive to define, larger areas take longer. Larger areas can extend across property boundaries and below structures, which can require overcoming access issues regarding sampling these areas. The first step which maybe the only step required is sampling immediately around the tank area.

Tank Closure Report

Did you know that commercial tanks all require a report to be submitted to the state to document the work? Why, the state wants to know if the tank leaked. Therefore, every company is used to completing reports of tank removal work. Clearly, any tank raises questions with owners/purchasers of a property, so why wouldn't you want a report of removal? You do and you should have a report, when contract. These reports explain the work in laymans terms regarding the tank work and if there was a leak, it will also outline why you do or do not need remediation. Having a report documenting that a removed tank did not leak is an important document to have.

Bottom line, every tank needs a report documenting removal. Be it a leaking tank or a non leaker, if your contract makes no reference to any report,  I wouldn't sign it.

Curren has completed thousands of tanks, one month we completed closure on 129 tanks. That said, we do not remove every tank in the tri-state area, but we get calls from property owners who hired someone else to remove their tank and they feel like they are being treated unfairly. Meaning they were unprepared to find that the tank leaked. In practice, I don't expect a property owner who has never removed an oil tank and never will again to be all knowing about the tank removals and tank leaks, but I expect the company performing the work to know and to clearly explain the process and the scenarios you can encounter.

The follow exert is from a tank removal contact from a company I would have run away from. Give it a quick read:

• Obtain necessary permit from municipality
• Phone in utility mark out to NJ One Call
• Excavate to expose tank
• Remove overburden soil covering UST
• Remove and dispose of concrete adjacent to UST.
• Saw cut the UST to allow for hand cleaning
• Properly clean the UST interior
• Remove the UST, and dispose of at a properly facility

This scope assumes the tank is not leaking. Bottom line the scope they gave was not meant to really satisfy you if the tank leaked, which was clearly a possibility. They don't even include soil sampling or a report so if the tank doesn't leak you don't get a report saying so. If the tank did leak, no sampling is include, which is so wrong, you need to test as every state allows a permissible amount of oil to remain, like cholesterol there are good and bad levels.  How else do you know if you need to remediate?

We can only hope you are reading this before you get your tank removed. If so, call our office you will walk away a lot more informed and better prepared to manage this project. If you are calling after your tank was removed and it leaked, call us, we can discuss your options. Most leaking tanks will require the contamination to be delineated, which we do. We can define your problem, develop costs to remediate as well as data to you that you can solicit other quotes for remediation.

Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm   888-301-1050

Residential heating oil tanks are regulated in New Jersey by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). 

On August 6, 2018, the NJDEP adopted new rules governing the administrative and technical requirements for the remediation of a discharge of heating oil from Heating Oil Tank Systems (HOTS) (N.J.A.C. 7:26F). These proposed rule changes have been in the works for years. The old program was called UHOT, the new program is called HOTS.  Tank that fall into the NJDEP HOTS regulations are:

Residential Aboveground heating oil tanks (ASTs). 

Small Aboveground non-residential heating oil tank systems.

Underground Heating Oil Tank System (2,000 gallons or less in capacity).

Generally speaking most HOTS tanks are residential sites.

The idea behind a system for residential sites is to be able to expedite leaks associated with these tanks, as issues with leaking oil tanks arise during real estate transactions.  Ultimately following the HOTS program for a leaking tank will provide the RP (responsible party) typically the owner with a No Further Action  letter (NFA).

The main changes in the UHOT to HOTS regulations are as follows:

• When soils are present above NJDEP standards beneath a residential structure, up to 15 cubic yards can remain in place, which would require a HOTS deed notice. In short, the presence of the contamination would be noted on the deed.  Some buyers may be turned off by this contamination remaining which could affect the value of the property.
• Remedial excavation bottom samples are now determined by the size of the tank as opposed as to the size of the excavation. Previously the number of bottom samples was based on the excavation size J.A.C. 7:26F-3.4(a)2i(1) “ Collect one sample for every six feet of tank length or fraction thereof.  For a 550 gallon oil tank you would take four sidewalls and one bottom.  You would need additional bottom samples if the tank is longer than 6 feet.
• If a remedial excavation extends to within two feet of groundwater or bedrock, a ground water investigation is required;
• If groundwater is not encountered to a depth of 35 into bedrock after 24 hours, no further groundwater remediation is required.
• Confirmatory groundwater sampling is not required if initial ground water results are below the NJDEP Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS) upon completion of the remediation.

Curren has completed thousands of tank projects, both simple tank removals and remediations.  If you have a HOTS question, contact our office, we offer a free initial consultation.

Monday to Friday 8 AM to 5 PM

888-301-1050

Is my residential heating oil tank regulated in New Jersey?

Heating oil tanks are unregulated by the NJDEP in New Jersey as they used to be called UHOTs (Unregulated heating oil tanks).   Work performed on abandoning an oil tank is governed by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Bulletin No.: 95-1B. Discharges or leaks from these tanks are regulated by the  Department of Environmental Protection’s Unregulated Heating Oil Tank (UHOT) Program.

Let us not get ahead of ourselves.  First, to work on a heating oil tank in New Jersey you must be licensed by the NJDEP. The NJDEP certifies individuals and firms that perform services on unregulated heating oil tanks.  To be technical, N.J.A.C. 7:14B defines unregulated heating oil tanks as, “any one or combination of tanks, including appurtenant pipes, lines, fixtures, and other related equipment, used to contain an accumulation of heating oil for on-site consumption in a residential building, or those tanks with a capacity of 2,000 gallons or less used to store heating oil for on-site consumption in a nonresidential building.”

To say it in English and following a federal definition, an underground storage tank is defined as a tank the volume of which, including the volume of the appurtenant pipes, lines, fixtures and other related equipment, is 10 percent or more below the ground.

It is generally recommended that if you own out-of-service underground heating oil tank, it is a good practice to remove the tank.   Takes removed from service such as during gas conversions, rarely ever get placed back into service.   Tanks older than 20 to 30 years are also recommended to be removed as nothing lasts forever. Although tank abandonment is allowed, there has been an increase in previously abandoned tanks being removed. These tank removals are driven by insurance and mortgage companies that do not want the liability associated with underground heating oil tanks, as these tanks can leak and remediation can be thousands of dollars.   

New Jersey has construction codes and The Uniform Construction Code (UCC) covers oil tanks, but this code is not a retrofit code, and therefore, it does not deal with tanks that have been abandoned for extended periods of time. The UCC applies when a tank is taken out of service as part of a construction project or when the tank has become unsafe. If a project results in an underground tank being out of service for a period of one year, (such as an oil to gas conversion), as per Section 5704.2.13.1.3 of the International Fire Code (IFC), the tank must be removed from the ground in accordance with Section 5704.2.14 of the IFC or abandoned in place in accordance with Section 5704.2.13.1.4 of the IFC. If an aboveground tank is out of service for a period of one year, as per Section 5704.13.2.3 of the IFC, the tank shall be removed in accordance with Section 5704.2.14 of the code.

An oil to gas conversion is an example where a construction activity can trigger the need to address the oil tank.  In this case, the local code officials must ensure that the tank is properly removed or abandoned in connection with the conversion.*

* The only exception to this would be where the owner can demonstrate a legitimate continued use of the tank.

The removal or abandonment of a tank requires an application for and the issuance of a demolition permit regardless of whether it is in connection with other related work. In short, if you are removing or abandoning an oil tank you need a permit.

Oil tank removal and abandonment inspections are the responsibility of the of the fire sub-code official as per the IFC, Section 5704.2.13, fuel oil storage systems, as referenced by the International Mechanical Code (Section 1301.5) and the International Residential Code (Section M2201.7). Per N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.4.

Proper Abandonment Procedures are detailed in the International Fire Code, Section 5704.2.13.1.4, the American Petroleum Institute (API) Bulletin 1604, and National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 30 Annex C relating to the abandonment of underground storage tanks. These documents, which detail procedures for tank abandonment are followed by New Jersey’s applicable regulation as listed in N.J.A.C. 5:23-3.6.

Tank Leak Assessment

The construction regulations are not clear regarding who, what, when or how the assessment of a tank for leaks is performed as it is generally not considered a construction activity.  The construction regulations do define that WHEN contamination is found it is to be reported to the NJDEP hotline at 877-927-6337 (877-WARN-DEP).  This is the bear trap owners of tanks face when a tank is removed.  NJDEP regulations chapter 26F HEATING OIL TANK SYSTEM REMEDIATION RULES  Statutory Authority N.J.S.A. 13:1D-9, 58:10-23.11 et seq., 58:10A-1 et seq., 58:10A-21 et seq., 58:10A-37.1 et seq., 58:10B-1 et seq., and 58:10C-1 et seq.  Date last amended August 6, 2018, state that:

"Upon discovery of a discharge, the owner shall immediately notify the Department by calling the Department Hotline at 1-877-WARNDEP (1-877-927-6337)."

Therefore, under the NJDEP requirements the owner upon discovering a tank leak must notify the NJDEP spill hotline.

Construction Permit Approval

The most misunderstood part of the tank closure process is the sign off from the local municipality.  As per the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Bulletin No.: 95-1B after tank has been removed and properly disposed of, and the excavation is filled with certified clean material, a certificate of approval can be issued by the local construction office and the permit can be closed out.    So once you follow the construction procedures the township can close the permit, if the tank leaked or not.  Again once, you remove and backfill the tank, the municipality is done with their job. Any remediation activity, including the removal of contaminated soil, will then proceed through the Department of Environmental Protection’s Unregulated Heating Oil Tank (UHOT) Program.

Does all this sound confusing?  It should not but it does and the layperson should not be expected to know these procedures or regulations but they are subject to them.

If you want clear-cut answers, call Curren we have been performing tank closures for over 20 years.   Thousands of completed tank projects have made us de facto experts on tanks.

• Use your central air conditioning with a higher number MERV filter. MERV stands for Minimum Efficiency Rating Value. The higher the MERV, the better the filter will perform at removing smaller particle sizes. MERV 1 through 4 are designed to remove large particles. MERV 5 through 16 filters remove finer particles. The average particle size efficiency has three ranges: E1 (0.3 to 1 micron), E2 (1 to 3 micron) and E3 (3 to 10 micron) will determine MERV for these products. High MERV filters can help trap the mold spores that are naturally present.
• Lower your indoor humidity. If your humidity is above 50 percent, then fungi will thrive. Try to keep your humidity at 35 percent.
• Open doors within your home so air flow is fluent within the space.
• Use your dehumidifier in your basement and crawl space. Make sure the bucket is being continually emptied, either into a sink or sump pump. The dehumidifier constantly keeps humidity lower in your home.
• Keep your stove exhaust fan running when you cook, this will stop moisture from being added to the indoor air.
• Always use your bathroom fan, this grabs the moisture and brings it (hopefully and not to your attic) to the outside.