Removal & Abandonment

Oil Tank Removal

Advanced Environmental (AE) specializes in the removal of underground and above-ground oil tanks.

Advanced Environmental will excavate to the depth of your underground oil tank and expose its top to allow easy access by AE's tank specialists. The qualified technicians at AE will then use a vacuum truck to remove any and all remaining fuel or sludge that is still in your tank. After the vacuuming of your tank is complete, Hazardous Materials (Haz-Mat) technicians enter the tank to further clean the inside more thoroughly- making it completely oil-free before removing it from the ground.

The United States Department of Environmental Conservation (USDEC) requires that any oil tank that is to be removed or abandoned must first be completely cleaned. This regulation ensures that future oil leakage, either at your property or after disposal, will not occur and possibly damage the environment or surrounding ecology.

Once your tank has been properly cleaned by AE technicians, a mini-excavator is used to pull it out of the ground and load it onto a truck for proper disposal at a licensed facility. If your municipality has a local inspection requirement, the town inspector will look at the condition of the tank and view the soil from which it came to confirm that there was no soil contamination prior to the tank's removal. If no contamination is found, AE will backfill the excavation site with the clean dirt. The site is then restored to its original condition and, if appropriate, grass seed and protective hay are applied.

Before the job is considered complete, an official Certificate of Completion is issued to you by AE and all requisite reports are delivered to the appropriate municipal offices as required.

Oil Tank Abandonment:

Advanced Environmental does not recommend abandoning an out of service oil tank and feels if possible oil tanks should always be removed. Leaving an unused tank in-ground greatly increases the possibility for environmental damage to your property and economic loss for you, your family. (See Fire Codes)

Abandonment of an oil tank should be used only as a last resort. There are some circumstances that would justify abandonment of an unused tank. These would be situations where your oil tank is located in a place, that if the tank were to be removed, would dramatically disturb your home or business. (i.e. under the basement floor, or under a brand new deck or walkway).

AE highly recommends, wherever possible, that your oil tank be removed and replaced instead of abandoned. Some municipalities in Westchester County NY actually do not allow oil tank abandonment's at all, and if they do, it is required we take a soil sample from the bottom of the tank by cutting a hole in the tank floor.

If you must leave the tank in the ground, the tank must be thoroughly cleaned and completely filled with an inert material. AE provides three fill options: Sand, K-Crete (watered down concrete) or Foam. These options depend on local town codes and AE's preliminary site assessment.
Once a fill material has been established, an AE tank specialist will cut a hole in the tank, and a highly trained Haz-Mat technician will enter the tank to clean it. AE technicians closely inspect the tank condition, making sure that there are no holes or cracks. The abandoned tank is then filled to capacity with the desired inert material.

If your municipality requires an inspection, the town inspector will come out to the site after the tank has been cleaned and again after it has been filled to capacity to ensure all proper procedures have been followed.

AE will backfill the excavation with the clean dirt and restore the site to its original condition applying, if appropriate, grass seed and protective hay.

Before the job is considered complete, an official Certificate of Completion is issued to you by AE and all requisite reports are delivered to the appropriate municipal offices as required.

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