Underground Oil Tank Locating Westchester County

Underground oil tank locating or searches are important when property changes ownership. An ever increasing number of home buyers, banks and realtors are coming across homes with unknown or improper documentation regarding the removal of underground oil tanks. It is important to determine if an underground tank still exists or of it was removed or decommissioned properly. Without such knowledge petroleum contaminated soil and groundwater could be present.  Most municipalities in Westchester and Putnam County require permits and may have the documents on file. If a previous oil spill or release has occurred the information may be available in the  New York State Department of Environmental Conservation‘s spill database.

BUYERS-

Buyers should protect themselves from purchasing a property that may have an unidentified underground oil tank. They also should determine if, when and how previous tanks were removed, abandoned or decommissioned. Underground heating oil tanks can fail to cause oil to leak into the surrounding soils, requiring costly cleanups.

SELLERS-

As a seller, you should understand that buyers, real estate agents, attorneys, and lenders are concerned about the risks associated with the underground oil tanks. Even the homeowners insurance companies can be reluctant to insure a house which has an underground oil tank or missing paperwork regarding the proper removal.

5 Tips For Buyers And Sellers:

-Acquire paperwork regarding the removal or decommission (including permits, manifests and soil samples)

-Call local the local municipality to determine if permits were required or obtained

-If no paperwork exists, scan the property for possible underground oil tanks using ground penetrating radar and locate any underground oil tanks

-If a tank was removed and no soil samples were collected collect soil or ground water samples (7-9feet below grade)

-Using certified laboratory analyze soil or groundwater for petroleum compounds

Sometimes buyers are comfortable with buying a house with an oil tank if it passes tank tests. This is becoming more uncommon in Westchester, Putnam and Rockland County. Many other areas replace underground tanks with above ground heating oil tanks prior to selling a home.
Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) is one of the most accurate tools used in determining if underground heating oil tanks exist at a property. Another technology is Electromagnetic Detection (ED). We at Barrier Contracting uses both of these technologies to identify and locate any previous and in use underground heating oil tanks or associated piping.

So, Just call us to locate Underground Oil tank in your property.