OIL TANK REMOVAL VANCOUVER
OIL TANK REMOVAL VANCOUVER
Many homes in Vancouver were heated by furnace oil particularly prior to natural gas becoming available which started in 1957. The furnace oil was stored in underground tanks initially because above ground tanks were not allowedin Vancouver. Most tanks were located in the back yards of residences with the tank sizes ranging from 300 gals to 1000 gals. As conversions to natural gas took place the oil tanks were commonly left in the ground sometimes havingbeen pumped out of any remaining oil, but not always.
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Eventually all tanks will corrode or rust out; any oil which may be remaining in the tank will leach into the ground. It is very common for the oil to find its way into the perimeter drainage system of the house whereby it will flow into the storm sump. When this happens a strong fuel oil odour will permeate the inside of the house. In worst case situations the oil will run into a neighbours drainage system causing the same odorous problem in the neighbours house.
It is strongly recommended that contractors who are experienced in tank removals be contracted to carry out the work. The tank should dipped to determine if there is any oil remaining in it; any oil that is still in the tank must be pumped out and taken to an approved disposal/recycling facility before the tank is removed. Following the tank removal a determination should be made on whether there is any soil or groundwater contamination.
The preliminary assessment can be accomplished using sight and smell. Obvious signs of contamination would be oil pooling in the excavation or oil which is floating on water which may have accumulated in the tank basin. Soil from the bottom sides and ends of the tank basin should be smelled to determine the presence of oil. Soil and groundwater that has been contaminated must be re-mediated.
This could mean removal of all soil that has been impacted. It may be necessary to have soil samples taken to a laboratory to confirm that there is no contaminated soil or groundwater left on the site. Oil that has entered the drainage system should be flushed by placing a hose down the nearest outside drain (usually where the drain from the gutters enters the ground) and allowing it to run fully open for an hour.
The oil which is flushed into the storm sump should be skimmed off and collected for disposal. The storm sump lid should be covered with plastic which is taped to the floor to stop the oil odour from entering the house. This flushing/skimming process will have to be repeated until there is no oil entering the sump.
The cost of an oil tank removal can be up to $50,000 in some cases. It is very important when buying and selling Real Estate in Vancouver to check and see if your property has an oil tank. During the purchase and sale process the responsibility of the oil tank and possible remediation needs to be delegated.
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Filed under: Developments, Home Inspectors
Great to know about Vancouver Oil Tank Removal Facts! I was looking for it. Thanks Buddy!
Hi Roland, I’m with Prudential Relocation in Ontario. I currently have a homeowner being relocated where we suspect that there may be an old buried oil tank. We don’t have 100% confirmation, it was just pointed out to us by a Home Inspector. My employee purchased the home in 1999. Would the previous owner have had to disclose to him the existence of an oil tank? As he is currently the owner of the property, it falls on him to remedy. Were the fire codes changed since 1999 which now make it mandatory for their removal if they exist?
Any insight into this problem is appreciated!
Thanks
Vera
Thank you for your question Vera.
Yes oil tanks are a very serious issue.
Generally the responsibility lies on the current owner of the property. The previous owner would have had to disclose that there was an oil tank “to the best of their knowledge” on the Property Disclosure Statement. A buyer purchasing a property without a property inspection runs the risk of inheriting an oil tank with the costs of its eventual removal and possible environmental clean up.
Each city/municipality has its own bylaws dealing with oil tanks.
If the oil tank is leaking underground, then this could be a further problem.
The current owner is primarily responsible for the removal and possible clean up.
I advise all my buyers to have an independent inspection for oil tank when purchasing
My sales contracts are always subject to the removal and clean up of the oil tank at the current owners expense.Thus, protecting my buyer from any possible problem.
Assuming either the Left Wing or the Right Wing gained control of the country, it would probably fly around in circles.
Many municipalities require fees for oil tank removal permits. Unfairness abounds. Here are the results of research I’ve done so far regarding the cost of oil tank removal permits:
Burnaby - $50
North Vancouver District - NO permit required
North Vancouver City - $72
Surrey - $15
New Westminster - $105
City of Vancouver - $300
Langley - NO oil tank removal program
West Vancouver (where I live) - a whopping $525
Not exactly fair!
Further, the quotes I got from oil tank removal companies vary by up to 100%.
Before this problem reaches rip-off proportions like the leaky condo crisis, government MUST intervene - if it is as concerned about the environment as it says it is.
The US has a trust fund established by Congress in 1986. However, many of the state oil cleanup programs do not work because some states have problems handling the funds which reached $2.16 billion in 2004.
In the US, here are some of the states which offer substantial financial assistance for residential oil tank removal and I haven’t finished my research yet:
New Jersey
Pennsylvania
Vermont
Maine
Maryland
New York
Alaska
New Hampshire
Wisconsin
The United Kingdom offers financial assistance for residential oil tank removal.
New Jersey’s criteria for financial assistance to remove one’s oil tank is that the homeowners combined income must not exceed $250,000. The value of the property doesn’t matter.
CANADA, BC, AND VANCOUVER MUNICIPALITIES OFFER NO FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE WHATSOEVER.
Further, to add insult to injury, those taxpayers who inherited property but are broke, ill, or a combination of the two, are being forced to sell a home to pay for oil tank removal but cannot sell the home until we remove the tank, while the property will remain uninsured because no insurance company will insure a property with an underground oil tank. WHAT THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO DO?
To just say, oh, call these companies and put a list endorsing your friends’ companies is easy and shallow.
To try for change requires vision, courage, honesty, ethics, and a sense of humanity and reality that many of you who earn much more than I do have no idea about. You are, indeed, living the high life at other people’s expense, literally. That’s capitalism for you. The weak get weaker and the strong pounce upon them and gather up their belongings the minute they die. Vultures, leeches, and vampires.
Did any of you ever do anything truly worthwhile?
A word of caution. Cleaning the oil from contaminated groundwater by far exceeds the cost of soil remediation. Your advice about running the spigot for an hour will partially disperse the oil, potentially impacting an area much larger than that originally impacted. Furthermore, oil fumes penetrate concrete, so if the oil is forced further beneath the house you may increase the incidence of vapor intrusion into the house. Cleaning up this mess could exceed $50,000.00
Mark Annis said, “… cleaning up this mess could exceed $50,000.00.” At what rate per hour? With who doing it? Oh, yah. These companies get people - no education, only brawn required - to clean up the site. They pay them maybe $25 per hour and the company makes 3 times that. They’re all men, of course. So it’s men ripping off everyone, yet again! The biggest con going. Well, I had my tank removed. The soil was analyzed and found to contain no contamination whatsoever! The environmental company guy was at the property for a maxium of 15 minutes. I can only imagine that it took him only an hour or so to analyze the soil. And for that he charged me $1500-2000. This entire thing is a complete scam. None of this need cost that much - it’s just a bunch of men taking advantage of a situation. Capitalism breeds greed.
Nobody has replied as to why West Vancouverites should pay $525 for a permit to have an oil tank removed whereas there is NO permit required in Langley, BC. Once again, need and capitalism = GREED! Playing on people’s fears and charging far too much for simple earth removal and analysis. GREED, GREED, GREED! Thankfully, I’m not the only West Vancouverite to complain to current mayor and council about this unfairness. West Vancouver’s mayor doesn’t give a rat’s ass about anyone so she did nothing about it. The self-appointed Queen of West Vancouver has her own totalitarian vision of West Vancouver and cares little about what her “subjects” have to say, especially the older and elderly ones!
I am an environmental engineering and have practiced in the contaminated sites field for over 15 years. Over the past 5 years, I have spent over 50% of my project work on residential sites. The tanks in the ground were placed at least 40 years ago, and were NEVER designed to be in place for this long. Several tanks have failed, leaked and caused environmental impairment. Very few homeowners took any responsibility in removing the hydrocarbons (oil) from the tank and now they have contaminated surrounding soils and watercourses. The Lower Mainland is full of natural watercourses which all groundwater leads too, and the environmental effect to aquatic life is devasting. More importantly than this, is human health. Many tanks are located directly adjacent to the residence, and leaks cause the oil to be released into the perimeter drains, foundation wall systems and drains which can have a direct impact on well being for the residents.
So, removal is imperative for the environmental and human health. The soil and groundwater is regulated by the Ministry of Environment NOT the municipalities. The Contaminated Sites Regulation is a provincial statute and legislates allowable limits for contamination based on land use and surrounding aquatic life. If homeowners have a problem with the environmental regulations, they need to address this with their MLAs not City Hall. City Hall (of the local Fire Department) is only issuing permits for the tank removal – but the more important factor is the proper, scientific evaluation of the surrounding soil and groundwater. This can only be done by adequately sampling the soil and submitting the samples to an independent accredited laboratory for analyses.
I will agree that the contracting side in unregulated and consumers should be armed with some knowledge prior to engaging any professional services. Shop around, ask questions and do not be led by fear. Hire a professional, such as a Registered Engineer, to monitor, evaluate and guide you through the process. I have heard numerous stories from property owners who have been ripped off by unsavory contracting techniques. A few hours of discussions with a Professional Engineer to gather the appropriate facts would have saved the homeowners thousands of dollars.
Remediation of soils on residential sites is a relatively EASY project. An excavator comes to the site, digs up soil and it is transported to a treatment centre. The costs should be similar to a regular excavation project PLUS an additional $20-$40/tonne in disposal fees.
Happy to address any further questions. lwilkinson@revelop.com
Also, as a response to Gail Leitch: The $1500 in consulting fees are reasonable if the site was evaluated by a Professional Engineer and stamped and sealed. At a minimum 5 soil samples should have been collected and submitted to an accrediated CAEL lab (which means they are independently analyzed by chemists). The minimum charge for each sample at the lab is $60+ (depending on how quickly the results are required). The standard engineering rate is $100-$150 hr - so with prep, travel, site time, interpretation time, lab correspondence there is likely between 4-6 hrs = $500-$700. The remaining $500 is the final report, which in West Vancouver MUST be submitted to the West Vancouver Fire Department, accepted and signed off, before your permit file is closed. The final report is a professional document that has professional liability associated with it. If the engineer has made the wrong conclusions (i.e. stated that site was cleaned and yet later it was found to be contaminated) the engineer would be sued. So, really given the amount of professional risk associated with the reports, the reporting costs are minimal. I have property owners that contact me several years after work was completed, because they have a copy of the final report. These reports live on and we must exercise professional care in producing them.
Please ensure that your report has been completed, signed by a professional and submitted to the permit holder.