As we enter into the new year (2025), we wanted to go over with you just a few basic, general tank tips and give a few bits of basic information as many of you may not have read some of our early blogs yet. So we wanted to give you some quick basic facts and tips and information. (We will go into a deeper dive on some of our upcoming blogs.)
Rule of Thumb: Old buried or aboveground Tanks last 20 years. Period. If the tank is older than that it is subject to start leaking at any point, or cause other problems.
Detail: Other Problems – Tanks can have excess sludge build up, can collect water, condensation & moisture, vent pipes can be blocked and rusted thru.
PRO TIP: The heating oil we burn today is not the same as it was 10 or 20 years ago. The oil today is more corrosive to the metal the tanks are made of. The steel that tanks are made of is also not the same as it was 20, 40 or 50 years ago. We have seen some newer tanks leak in as little as 10 years. (not all but a few cases have happened)
Rule of Thumb: For buried oil tanks there is a 99% chance the tank is older than 40+ years. And likely the tank is original to the house if the house.
Rule of Thumb: Homeowners will never know they have a leaking underground tank. Oil usage and history will NOT tell you.
Detail: Any way a homeowner will know they have a leaking tank is very bad and you don’t want that situation as it is much worse. So for the standard leaking tank we deal with every day the owner never had any idea the tank was leaking. They were shocked when we pulled it out of the ground and the tank looked like Swiss cheese.
PRO TIP: FOR HOME BUYERS – Do not expect your real estate agent, home inspector, insurance agent or your mortgage lender to tell you the buried oil tank at the house you are buying needs (and should) be removed and replaced BEFORE you close on the house. It is not necessarily their fault, they may just have not dealt with an oil tank before. Not all neighborhoods in Maryland have a lot of buried oil tanks. So that person may not have had experience with this before.
CODE: It is Maryland state law & MDE (Md Dept. of the Environment) code that ANY buried oil tank that is no longer in use MUST be removed or abandoned properly by a licensed tank remover(like Greentrax) within 6 months of being taken out of service.
TIP for ABOVEGROUND Tank owners: You as the owner, cannot tell just by looking at it, what kind of condition your tank is in. Tanks degrade from the inside out, your tank may look brand new but start to leak on the bottom.
MYTH: Your oil delivery company will tell you when you have a problem and need to replace your UST.(Underground Storage Tank). This is FALSE. The delivery company is just there to put oil in the tank and as long as the fill pipe is there and oil goes into the tank, and the Whistle/vent is working. Then that’s all they can do. Most of the time those pipes function normally even on leaking tanks.
Detail: Holes in the tank usually always start in the bottom or on the ends of the tanks. They(oil delivery co.) can tell you when there is a problem filling the tank, but that alone will not tell you if tank is leaking. The best way to determine if you need to have any tank removed and replaced is by age.
FACT: The only legal or proper method (in Maryland) for filling a UST in place, abandoning the tank or decommissioning the tank. Is to dig down to the top of the tank, cut it open, clean the tank out and sample the dirt from below the tank. You CANNOT just dump anything in the fill pipe, pump foam or slurry into the fill pipe or cut the pipes off and leave the tank there. The tank MUST be cleaned out first.
Rule of Thumb: If you do not know how old your tank is, then how long have you lived in the house? If its at least 20 years, or if you have lived in the house since the year 2000 and the Heating Oil tank was never replaced, then your oil tank is past its useful life and needs replaced.
PRO TIP: There are very few things to “repair” on oil tanks. Meaning if your UST or AST (underground/aboveground storage tank) has a problem it might be the tank telling you it needs removed and replaced. This is especially true for UST’s. Example – If the whistle is not working (this is part of the air vent system on the tank) the vent pipe is made of a thicker metal than the tank itself. So if the vent pipe has rusted thru and/or broken off. You can bet the tank has likely also rusted thru and is leaking. For AST’s there are a few problems that can be repaired. Corrosion, thinning, weeping or leakage are NOT any of the things that can or should be repaired.
FACT: As of this writing (Jan. 2025) Maryland does NOT have any reimbursement fund for homeowners with leaking oil tanks. There is a common misconception this program was a “grant” program. That terminology is not accurate. Also, the counties never had any programs like this. This was only a state run program. (It is possible the State legislature could bring the program back at some point in the future.) But the fact is the Governor Moore Administration & his MDE were the ones to recommend to terminate this 20 year successful program. How does someone claim to care about the environment and strive for Maryland to be an environmental leader. Yet take away a very good program that incentivizes people to do the right thing, that is good for the environment? If you didn’t know, this program used to reimburse owners with leaking oil tanks, their out-of-pocket costs to clean up and perform MDE required remediation. This program was funded NOT by tax payers, but by a small tax on state oil barrel importers.
MYTH: My county will have a record of when my buried heating oil tank was installed, or if the tank was decommissioned properly. This is FALSE. Counties do not have records of residential oil tank installations, especially not from 30 plus years ago and longer. The MDE also does not have records of homeowners oil tanks. The MDE only has records if the residential buried oil tank leaked and was reported to them. (commercial properties are different)
As we conclude for today we would like to thank all our customers, readers and curious individuals for giving us your time. We are here to help, so call us with any questions about your oil tank located in Maryland. Not all tank removal companies are the same. Greentrax specializes in residential oil tanks. So we have the knowledge & expertise to handle any situation. Call us today at 410-439-1085
