Maryland Oil Tank Removal

So you need to have your underground heating fuel tank removed, and you live in Maryland? Well you have come to the right place, first thing you need to know is don’t bother calling anyone else but GreenTRAX, Inc. They are the Maryland oil tank removal experts. 410-439-1085.

They are THE residential (homeowner) buried heating oil tank removal specialists. They are the Tankmasters & they smoke the competition. You see, they have been doing this for almost 30 years. No matter where your tank is located, they can help you take care of it properly & legally. 

It doesn’t matter if your buried fuel tank is:

• in the front yard
• backyard
• side yard
• close to the foundation
• in a crawlspace
• under the garage
• driveway
• patio
• your house
• out under the street!

GreenTRAX has seen and done it all. They remove tanks from places other companies say is impossible. So when you hire GreenTRAX for your tank job, you can rest assured you are getting THE Very Best!

MARYLAND OIL TANK REMOVAL: QUICK FACTS

1. The tanks only last 20 years, so if your tank is older than that, just remove it….. period.
2. It is cheaper to remove the tank than filling it in place.
3. Most buried tanks are near the foundation, but don’t worry about foundation damage.
4. Your tank is most likely well over 20 years old. It is NOT worth testing the soil or the tank. That is throwing good money after bad. Just remove the tank or abandon it in place.
5. If your tank is broken (i.e. non functioning whistle, broken vent pipe, leaking supply line, rusted fill pipe), it is time to remove the tank. Don’t try and fix it.
6. Tanks HAVE to be removed or abandoned in place by an MDE licensed tank removal contractor. Do not call a general contractor, a plumber, an oil company – MDE licensed!
7. If your tank is no longer in use, it HAS to removed or abandoned in place.
8. If your tank is leaking, it will cost extra money to have this work completed, but cleanup must be undertaken.
9. The State of Maryland has a reimbursement fund for you to get money back.
10. If you are selling the house or planning on selling, you will have to remove the tank. Don’t wait – just do it now. Call GreenTRAX now 410-439-1085.
11. It doesn’t take days to remove a buried oil tank, only a few hours or less.
12. Buried tanks are bare steel that have been in the ground rusting for decades.
13. You will never be able to tell if their tank is leaking just by the oil usage. Let me repeat that, the homeowner will never know the tank is leaking just by looking at oil usage.
14. If you “had the tank filled in and abandoned years ago,” but don’t have the required paperwork to prove the soil is clean, the tank will need to be removed now. Without proof, it’s considered to have been done illegally.
15. After the tank is removed or properly abandoned in place, you as the owner MUST get a closure report package from the contractor. This includes pictures of job stages, soil sample tests from a laboratory, certificate of tank destruction, a manifest that says what happened to the leftover oil and sludge that was removed, and a write up of the exact work that was done on the property.
16. If you are still using your old buried tank, we can install a new aboveground tank the same day as the removal.
17. Most people switch from a buried tank to an aboveground tank.
18. The most common size of buried tank is 550 gallon.
19. The most common size of aboveground tank is 275 gallon.
20. If you have underground electric wires close to the buried oil tank, then the chances of the tank already having holes and leaking is more than double.
21. The well HAS to be tested if you have well water on the property and the tank is leaking, (no, this isn’t the same test or same lab as your well service company does – they do NOT check for oil!).
22. If your tank is leaking and it is close to foundation, the risk is that the oil leaks through the wall into the basement. Or, the oil can get into the French drain around the foundation or under your basement slab, and then into your sump pump basin.
23. It is NOT legal to pump foam into the tank and leave it, or to dump sand or gravel into the fill pipe. That does nothing but cause more problems and is not code compliant.
24. The only way to do a LEGAL tank abandonment in place is to get into the tank, clean it out, and test the dirt below the bottom of the tank to see if it is clean.
25. If you try to cut off the fill pipe and hide the fact the tank is there this WILL come back to bite you. When you knowingly sell the house like that you are liable.
26. If you leave a leaking tank in place, it can contaminate your well water, your neighbors’ well water, or your basement or your neighbors’ basement. Groundwater doesn’t care if the tank is in the back and the well is in the front, or that the surface slopes away from the well. Groundwater is down deep and flows how it wants

Many of the same rules apply even if you have an old gasoline tank on the property, except if the gas tank leaks it can much more easily contaminate well water. 

GreenTRAX: Maryland Oil Tank Removal Experts

If you got this far into this blog then you either probably have a tank, or are thinking of buying a property with a tank. So to get more information on the process and cost, call GreenTRAX. We are here to help you navigate this entire thing. We will answer all your questions and provide a quote, many times the same day. And we usually do not even have to come to the property to see the job – you can just send us photos. No need to take off work and wait around for a service window like a cable company…