Welcome to Oil Tank Hunters - NJ Tank Sweep service provider
Providing oil tank inspections and location services in the State of New Jersey
What We Do
The Process
At Oil Tank Hunters, we will come inspect your home or property for signs of an existing abandoned oil tank. If we find one, we can help by giving you options and suggestions for beginning the removal and potential decontamination processes.
When our tech arrives on site, they will inspect key areas of the basement thoroughly, looking for signs of old, hidden oil lines. The tech will take pictures and document the entire inspection process. This step does not take very long, and can be done in about ten minutes.
Once that is complete, the tech will head outside with a metal detector and begin the tank sweep process around the property. They will start by looking in the most likely place a tank would be, then continue around the home and then the rest of the ground outside to ensure there are no other potential anomalies.
To make the inspection go smoothly and quickly, we'll need access to the home and the space near the walls in the basement should be cleared for a proper inspection.
Please ensure there are no cars, trailers, or large mobile metal structures around the property that could interfere with the sweep procedure.
Compliance
Although residential underground storage tanks containing heating oil are unregulated by federal and state laws, these tanks are a potential source of ground and surface water pollution.
The NJ DEP strongly recommends the removal of all out-of-service underground heating oil tanks even when there is no evidence the tank has leaked. Although tank abandonment is allowed, there has been an increase in previously abandoned tanks being removed.
These tank removals are driven by insurance and mortgage companies
that do not want the liability that these underground heating oil tanks may pose whether they were properly abandoned or not.
Peace Of Mind
Don't wait until you've purchased a home. Find out before you buy if the property you're after still has an oil tank in the ground, or worse, the soil is already contaminated. In the photo above, the homeowner had to remove stairs and a ramp to get to this tank.
It will cost a lot more money down the line if you find out you need an oil tank removed once you already own the property.
Leaking underground storage tanks are a serious threat to ground water supplies, especially if these tanks are located in sensitive ground water areas. Sensitive ground water areas are areas near public or private water supply wells and areas of aquifer recharge.
Problems resulting from leaking tanks can include: surface water contamination, surface and subsurface soil contamination and property damage. Property damage can include seepage into buildings and damage to buried telephone conduits. Vapor leakage from underground tanks depends upon soil and weather conditions. Leaking vapors can cause health problems ranging from nausea to respiratory distress. The potential for combustion and fire is a concern for tanks located next to buildings since vapors may leak into the building.