I got a call today from someone who needed advice. 
First of all I love it when someone calls and the first thing they say is I’m not selling my house right now. We are always here for our community to answer any and all questions HOUSE. Her question was,
” I am going to remove my oil tank but was wondering if we should abandon it or take it out?”
One company had told her that it was against the law to abandon it. Up front, it is NOT against the law to have it abandoned by a licensed company with all of the correct documentation. She wanted my advice. First of all you need to get your oil tanks out of the ground sooner than later. The only time you will run into trouble is when you go to SELL your home BUT the longer you leave it in the ground the more chance you have that it will leak. Removing or abandoning an oil tank is expensive but removing one that has leaked can be astronomical. The reason that it needs to be removed before selling is that insurance companies will not write NEW homeowners policies on homes with underground tanks. At some point it HAS to be done.
I just recently had a property listed that had had a leak. Not only did they have to have their own soil removed and taken to a toxic waste location, the spill had contaminated their neighbor’s property. It had contaminated the neighbors well and had ruined ALL of their appliance that dealt with water. Luckily, I guess, the house was near a town water line so the cost was less than if they had had to give the neighbor a new well. Add the cost of 4 new appliances, the water line hook up, the soil removal and the cost was over $50,000.
Abandonment is an option and a legal one. It is the last resort and costs as much, if not more, than taking the tank totally out of the ground. The oil is emptied out of the tank. The tank is cleaned and a hole is bored UNDER the tank where a soil sample is taken. If the soil sample is negative, the tank is cut in half and filled with sand. Sound complicated? It is. The ONLY time you would do this is if the tank was under an existing structure making it impossible to remove. If you think you might go this route KNOW that you have a real issue with future buyers who do not trust this solution. About 25% of Buyers will reject your hoe even IF it was abandoned correctly with all the necessary documentation. I have a listing right now that we are pulling an already abandoned tank for a buyer..double the original cost.
Final advice, make sure you keep all receipts, soil samples and documentation as any Buyer in the future is going to ask for them. Do not assume that they will be at the town hall or kept by the company that does the pull for you. Also make sure that the company removes, fill lines to the tank or going to the boiler as they raise questions in a buyers mind.
Feel free to call any of the McCaffrey Team to answer your house questions or if you are looking for a resource person for anything from estate sales, to divorce attorneys (hopefully not), to the best painter. We are here for you.