Davidsonville, MD is a mostly rural community in Anne Arundel county. Davidsonville’s zip code is 21035. It is a less densely populated community with around 8,000 residents.
Still, at 30 square miles it’s a fairly good-sized city. Inhabitants have been living in this area for hundreds of years.
One of its defining features is its waterways, smaller creeks, and streams that feed either into the Patuxent River or the South River.
Interestingly, Davidsonville does not have many, if any, homes served by public water, sewer, or natural gas lines. That means most homes have to be self-sufficient for water via a well, sewer via a septic system, and heat via an oil tank.
Did you know many homes still use oil heat in this area? That’s correct. While some homeowners have switched to all-electric heat, propane, or geothermal, many still have underground and aboveground oil tanks.
There is nothing wrong with oil heat. It is actually a great source of heat. As a homeowner you also have control over how large of a tank or tanks you have. This helps to give you peace of mind that you won’t run out of heating oil, whether in times of bitter cold or because of world events that lead to disruptions in supply chains.
Have questions about heating oil tanks? As the owner of GreenTRAX, it’s my pleasure to share some answers to some of the most frequently asked questions about heating oil tanks in Davidsonville.
Frequently Asked Questions About Heating Oil Tanks
Q1: Do I have to remove my buried oil tank?
Yes. If your tank is older than its lifespan of 20 years, it should be removed. The MD Department of the Environment requires all very old or no longer in use oil tanks to be removed or legally abandoned in place. This work has to be done by a licensed tank removal company like GreenTrax.
Q2: Can GreenTrax install a new tank for me?
Of course – we will remove your old tank and install a new aboveground tank the same day. We can install it outside, in the basement, or in the garage.
We can also install a new underground tank if you’d like.
Q3: What happens if my underground tank leaks?
That’s no problem. We deal with that every day. We will remove the contaminated soil and backfill the hole the same day, spreading grass and straw over the disturbed area when we finish.
Q4: Will I get any money back from the state after a tank removal?
If your tank is clean and not leaking, then NO.
If your tank is leaking and we dig out contaminated soil, then YES, you will get some of your money back from the state of MD.
Q5: Will this cost me fifty thousand dollars or more?
No, the typical leaking tank cleanup job we deal with on a weekly basis doesn’t cost anywhere near that. In fact, most jobs are under ten thousand dollars with some even coming in under five thousand.
Q6: Will this destroy my yard?
No, if the tank is clean the disturbance is very small and the job is quick. If the tank is leaking, there is some disturbance but the majority of it is right around the tank area.
There may also be a path back to the street or driveway area, but we will spread grass seed and straw over the area when complete.
Q7: Will I lose all the oil I paid for in the underground tank?
Nope – we transfer all that we can into the new tank.
Depending on how much you have left in the tank and what size tank(s) you are having installed, we can fill them up. There will be sludge in the bottom of the old tank that you do NOT want in the new tank, so we’ll haul that away for you.
Q8: What size new tank can I get?
We offer various heating oil tank sizes. The most common sizes are 275 gallons and 330 gallons. For those of you wanting larger tanks, we can offer 400, 500 & 1000 gallons. We can also install more than 1 smaller tank.
Q9: Is the new tank ugly?
Think of a new tank like your air conditioner unit: it’s not artwork, it’s a necessity.
Still, we understand aesthetics are important. We offer tanks in various colors, as well as tanks that can be painted onsite, tanks made of galvanized steel, and new underground tanks as well. Plus, we can offer tanks in various forms, too, including tanks that are skinny and tall as well as tanks that are short and stocky.
There are lots of ways to easily hide these tanks. Popular options include putting them behind bushes or using fencing, a lattice, a small shed, or tall grasses to obscure it. One of our favorite choices for helping disguise your tank is a dense bush that stays green all year.
Q10: My old, buried tank is under my concrete patio. What should I do?
No problem, we can still remove or properly abandon the tank in place.
Either way, a piece of the concrete has to be sawcut and broken up. If we abandon the tank, then we only need a small hole that’s approximately 4 ft by 4 ft. After, the concrete is easily patched after we are done.
FYI – it is not legal in Maryland for the homeowner or anyone to dump anything down the fill pipe to try to abandon the tank themselves. The tank HAS to be cleaned first and soil samples taken to make sure the tank is not leaking.
Q11: I have a 1000-gallon buried tank. I cannot switch to a 275-gallon tank, can I?
This is a common worry. Let me guess, your oil company only fills your 1000-gallon tank once a year and they don’t even put 1000 gallons in it.
If this is you, then you will be fine with a 275- or 330-gallon tank. The only difference is the oil company comes more than once per year to fill the tank. Don’t worry, though – they don’t charge more for that.
Plus, you could even save money if oil is cheaper the 2nd or 3rd time they come to fill it.
So you know, the tanks that were installed in the 1950s, 1960s, or 1970s were cheaper. Most everyone had a larger tank underground than the new tanks we install aboveground today.
These larger tanks were especially popular during the 70s gas crunch because everyone wanted to have plenty of heating oil so they didn’t run out. The result was putting in a much bigger tank than what people actually needed.
Q12: My underground storage tank (UST) is only a 275-gallon tank. Is that better?
Unfortunately not. You see, the 275-gallon tanks were never meant to be buried, as they are aboveground tanks. Due to the thickness of steel used to build the tank, they tend to leak more, faster, and worse than some of the larger tanks.
Q13: So I learned a lot more about tanks than I ever thought (or wanted to know! LOL). What do I do now?
Call GreenTrax, Inc. of course! We are the experts in both underground oil tanks and aboveground oil tanks. Anything we didn’t talk about here, we can discuss on the phone with you. In most cases, we can also provide you a proposal the same day you call.
For help with your home’s heating oil tank removal, GreenTRAX is here to help.
Call us today at (410) 439-1085.
