Home Heating Oil Storage....The What If's

[FastPauly]

What if there was a several hundred gallon fuel oil spill in your basement that occurred during a fill from your supplier...who is liable for the cost of cleanup and repairs to damaged property? Lets also say that there was no proven wrong doing by the company that was performing the delivery.....but rather a case of a tank/plumbing failure due to age of the system so the delivery company is claiming zero responsibility.

Keep in mind that with floor drains and/or sump pumps that are in the basements of a lot of homes can quickly allow the spill to find its way into waterways and/or municipal sewer systems. At that point, the problem escalates into a full blown environmental issue with the involvement of state licensed response teams called in to deal with the situation. The cost now can be well beyond what a homeowner can possibly cope with.

Also keep in mind that a spill can occur without a delivery taking place. The supports for tanks (metal legs rusting, etc) can fail at any time causing a tank to tip resulting in rupturing of the drain line.

Will your homeowners insurance pick up this cost for damage/cleanup? You may want to present a scenario such as this to your agent to find out...I think you may find that the majority of policies will not cover this as written.

The mass switchover to fuel oil as a heating source occurred back in what...the late fifties to early sixties? It is projected that catastrophic tank/plumping failures are going to be on the rise due to the age of this equipment.

Another cause for failure is that remodeling of an older home can require that the system be re-configured (fill/vent piping re-routed to accommodate an
addition to the house perhaps). Is this work being properly done by the contractor or DIY'r?

Save yourself from what could turn out to be the biggest financial burden in your life....make the call to your insurance agent and ask the question.:thumbsup:

 

[20 20]

Good post and another reason I've gone with wood furnace and pellet heat, ripped out the oil furnace.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I own my tank, so if the oil delivery guy or gal put it in the right fill pipe, then I guess the rest is my responsibility. My tank is inside, so the condition after 13 yrs is as good as new. Also, it's a 275 gal tank, so if it did leak, it would make a mess, but it wouldn't reach the outside world, would just be a mess for me to clean. Currently I keep less than 50 gal in the tank, I haven't filled it all the way in a few yrs. There is no way my tank could upset, especially with all the piping attached to it. In my case, I think the situations mentioned would be slim to none, however, if you have an old tank, especially outside, or buried, then there would be more concern. Maybe someone who has had an incident will share.
I moved my tank when I added on to my house, no big deal in moving the pipes or the tank.

 

[Chilly807]

Generally speaking the tanks rot out from the inside due to condensation and water/acids in the fuel oil. A full tank is less prone to this (less space for condensate to form) I'll never own another heating oil tank as long as I live (spent 15 years with one).

Sean

 

[20 20]

Chilly807; you beat me to the same statement I was going to direct toward Buckeyefarmer condensation can go undetected until it's to late.

I'd also like to add most cellars around here do have some type of sump pump to help keep water out if any gets in. It would be my quess if the tank were to leak then the pump would send___ amount of gals out into the enviro. It also seems to me if the house were close to a water way then the oil would find its way there. In the spring it is nothing to see hoses strung accross lawns shooting into a ditch comming from flooded cellars.

 

[PILOON]

An incident occurred at a nearby lake whereby a 250 gal tank rusted out spilling entire contents into the lake and shoreline.

Hazard crews placed booms along shoreline, backhoes dug out contaminated soil and replaced with new, roadbed was replaced on and on.
Contaminated soil was trucked to a special site over 2 hrs drive away.
Crews spent weeks on site, all sorts of men walking/standing around in nice shiney hard hats watching workers.
The rumor is that this was a a half million $$ cleanup deal.

I knew someone that knew the owner.

The house was a new purchase and the tank was a rented unit installed by an oil company that was later bought out by the folks that filled that tank.

Bet that that will be in the courts still 5 years from now.
Hope the owner's liability insurance was adequate.
Also here in Quebec the seller is liable for 'hidden defects' which should further complicate things.

 

[wjmst]

I had the double walled Roth tanks installed in my basement when I built my house. They weren't cheap, but I don't worry about them leaking everywhere. I think they also have $1 million worth of coverage for leakage for the life of the tank. Looking at their website now it says $5 million for 10 years.

 

[clemsonfor]

This looks like it was copy and pasted from some other website, consumer organization or insurance agency. Anyway i have fueloil at my second property, the farm. I try not to keep much fuel in it as i only use it when im there in the winter, say 2 days at a time mostly during this time of year to hunt. So i may use 5 gallons a weekend at most on a cold one. I figure i have about 50 gallons in there now and i have another 50 in a 55 gallon barrel that i just bought speculatin on increased prices here soon. My tank sits out side so im sure to have condenstion in it. It also sits on a metal stand. Since i do not keep it filled the weight is down but condensation will be more of a problem than anything, but say the legs were to rust and it tumble, knocking off the valve or busting the copper line. The only one to know would be me and the giant dead spot on the lawn. More of a concern would be the well located within 40 feet of this location. The well is well over 200 maybe 600 feet deep, i cant remember. We go here on the weekends like i said so if it happens i think it will filter out long before the well, but i would test the water and if bad would just keep gallon jugs for cooking and drinking and only bath and use it in the toilet etc.

To be honest i am more worried about someone stealing the deisel out of it than it leaking or the house catching on fire etc.

 

[grnspot110]

From a 'retired' Firefighter's point of view, I would never put a fuel tank in a basement! I have worked house fires with basement tanks, not a good situation! ~~ grnspot110

 

[NuBota]

My MIL had this happen a few years ago - her oil tank was underground. After two - back-to-back - 200Gal fill-ups she got suspicious. The oil company came out and found it was leaking. They drained it, cleaned it and backfilled it in - then called the EPA....

Luckily the EPA determined it was well enough contained and cleaned up - but I think the MIL was looking at a potentially large sum of $$$ if found out otherwise - not sure HO insurance was going to cover - but didn't have to test it.

Back when I did basement water proofing - we were in a middle of a job. Customer had the oil tank moved so we could dig the perimeter trench and notified the oil company to stop deliveries. We had the system done except for laying the concrete and installing the pump - left for the day. When we returned the next day, the oil company had come by to fill the "tank" - ~ 150 gallons all over the place - huge mess. Luckily they took responsibility for the clean-up, which included us removing all the gravel - cleaning the perimeter trench and sump - and re-doing it. Luckily hard clay in our area, so we only had to dig down a few extra inches to remove the affected soil. But, I will never forget the fumes! I always wonder how long the odor would linger afterwards

Even if insurance covers it - this is a mess you don't want to deal with