Leaking Oil or Gasoline Tanks
Selling, buying or listing an older property?
Soil contamination from a leaking storage tank must be reported to the State of North Carolina.
Protect against possible future liabilities and delays to the sale of a property. Call (336) 684-2734 to schedule an inspection of your property of interest.
Homeowners are often unaware of the presence of old underground oil tanks on their properties. During a site inspection, Cedar Rock will attempt to locate underground oil or gasoline tanks and determine whether they have leaked.
Regulatory Requirements
If a tank has leaked and caused soil contamination, Cedar Rock can then advise and assist you in meeting North Carolina regulatory requirements. In addition to reporting petroleum leakage to the State, a “Notice of Residual Petroleum” (NRP) must be filed with the county Register of Deeds before the property is conveyed. A filed NRP is required before the State will issue a “No Further Action” (NFA) letter for a contaminated site.
A filed NRP and the NFA letter are usually sufficient for buyers, lenders and insurers, but in some cases they may require environmental assessment and/or cleanup of the site beyond the requirements of the State.
In many cases, current legislation does not require the removal or abandonment of a leaking residential underground oil tank or cleanup of the contaminated soil, but Cedar Rock recommends proper abandonment or removal of an underground oil tank, whether or not it has already leaked, to prevent the kind of expensive situation pictured below.
Heavy rainfall flooded the oil out of this old underground oil tank. Removing contaminated soil is expensive and disruptive to the landscape. Properly abandoning or removing old oil tanks prevents situations like this.
Aboveground Tank Leaks
Environmental assessment may be required.
State regulations require the removal of leaking aboveground storage tanks, and soil cleanup or assessment. If the soil cannot be cleaned up to the required standards, further environmental assessment work may be required by the State, and a filed NRP will be required before the property is conveyed.
Aboveground oil tanks are often located in crawlspaces or basements, which makes removal of contaminated soil difficult and expensive. Vapors from oil leaks in these areas may enter the living space of the house and become a significant health issue.
View of corrosion holes in an underground oil tank after removal.
Experienced Oil Tank Services
Since 1994, Cedar Rock has offered oil tank removal, abandonment, and environmental assessment services throughout North Carolina. Our fully documented tank abandonments ensure that underground oil tanks will not cause any further environmental issues and provide proof that the work was completed.
If oil tank removal is preferred or required in your situation, Cedar Rock will perform the necessary work with the least possible disturbance of the landscape.
Soil and environmental assessments must be performed by a NC licensed geologist or engineer. A company offering geological services must also be licensed to practice geology in North Carolina.
Site Inspections Essential
Protect your investment!
Before you buy, sell, or list a property, schedule an inspection to attempt to locate any oil tanks, determine whether they have leaked, and assess other relevant factors that can impact the application of the regulations to the property. Cedar Rock will then explain the regulatory requirements that apply to your situation and outline possible courses of action. This will provide the necessary information to help protect you from the problems and expense that can result from the purchase of a property with a leaking oil tank, or from the delay or loss of a sale. Read the site inspections page for more information about site inspections.
Call (336) 684-2734 to set up a site inspection, or use our online contact form.