Oregon first started regulating the clean-up of leaks from buried oil tanks in 2001.  The key word here is LEAKS.  If your oil tank has never leaked, DEQ has no jurisdiction.

I recently had a past client call me about her buried oil tank that was supposedly ‘decommissioned’ in Nov. 2001.  Since we had no paperwork and DEQ’s on-line data base had no record of a decommison at that address, we called Soil Solutions to come out and take soil samples.  While they were there they checked the tank and found that is was filled with sand but some of the old oil was never removed. DEQ regulations require an oil tank to be cleaned prior to filling it with sand.  Because the tank decommission could not be DEQ Certified (oil mixed with sand)  in it’s present condition, they quoted $2500. to remove the tank completely. 

A couple of days later the soil samples came back from the lab and showed no trace of oil. In other words, the tank had never leaked. Soil Solutions still wanted to remove the tank but according to DEQ there was no requirement for the homeowner to do so.  Remember, DEQ only gets involved if there is oil in the dirt, and in this case there was none.  I saved the homeowner $2500. by calling DEQ to confirm that having clean soil sample was sufficient.

FACTS: If a home heating oil tank has leaked, it must be decommissioned per DEQ specifications and a report filed with DEQ  for the database.

If a home heating oil tank has not leaked, the homeowner has no requirement to do anything. Of course if there is oil left in the tank and it leaks in the future, a DEQ Decommission would be required.  A homeowner is responsible for making sure oil never leaks into the soil.