For many of us the thought of an underground oil tank is a distant memory…or is it? There are many neighborhoods around King County that still use Oil as their heating source. What if you were going to sell your home and you still have an active oil tank? What if you bought your home and know there used to be an oil tank but you don’t believe it was ever decommissioned?
First as a protection for homeowners, you should register for the PLIA Heating Oil Pollution Liability Insurance Program. This Insurance Program will cover up to $60,000 to cleanup contamination, not covered by other insurance, on your property and/or a neighboring property. The contamination must come from a leak that has started after you registered the oil tank with PLIA (see registration form on PLIA). The tank can be underground, above-ground or in a basement. The tank must be registered in the current owner’s name. They will reimburse up to $1,500 to repair damages on neighboring property (third party coverage) such as landscaping, flooring, painting, etc. If you decide to sell your home you can have the new homeowner register once the property has transferred to the new owner’s name.
What if you’re a buyer for a home that has an oil tank and you want to make sure that you’re not getting into a situation where there could be contamination to the property. First I would ask the Seller if they are registered with PLIA. If they are then GREAT. If they are not, I would ask them to do one of two things. 1. Get registered. 2. Order a soil sample from SeattleTank.com. Seattle Tank will take 3 samples of soil, each costing $250.00 +tax to verify that you’re not getting into a bad situation. If the Seller was registered with PLIA and there is contamination found you do not have to pay for the soil samples and PLIA will need to be notified of a claim to clean up the soil and tank. If there is no evidence of soil contamination you can feel secure that you’ve had it properly inspected and that you can register the tank once you buy the home.
What if there happens to be an inactive oil tank on a property you’re looking to buy? First you’ll want to find out if there is a record of the tank being decommissioned. You can call your local Fire Marshall to see if they have record of it. If they do not, you can request to have it decommissioned by Seattle Tank. As far as pricing, I can tell you for Kirkland the cost to remove any remaining oil, rinse out the tank and cap it will run you $335 +tax and does not require any City permits. Each City has their own requirements for decommissioning but you can rest assured that the people over at Seattle Tank will have all of the information you’ll need and will be a wealth of information for you.
No longer are oil tanks a distant memory. Make sure you’re well informed when you’re looking to buy or sell a home that has an active or inactive oil tank. Does your Realtor know to ask those important questions to keep you safe? We’re here to help with the process.
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