In an article by the Woodstock Times, the hamlet of Bearsville in Woodstock, New York has recently removed most of the 14 underground oil tanks in their area. The local council said that, if left untouched, the tanks might leak oil and contaminate the town’s water supply, thus forcing them to take action by hiring private contractors. So far their efforts have made Bearsville relatively safer, although there are still three tanks left to deal with.
Bearsville’s sentiment regarding underground tanks is the same thing felt by many people from New Jersey and they always make it clear to call NJ oil tank removal companies, like NJ Tank Removal, whenever they discover one. These companies have the necessary equipment and expertise to handle the removal process seamlessly and with as little damage to property as possible. Removing buried storage tanks is not always a pleasant job, but the inconvenience of some excavation work pales in comparison to the damage that these tanks can cause.
Most oil tanks that Americans usually stumble across in their basements or when digging in their lawns are 275-gallon steel tanks that are likely to be several decades old. These are not designed to last for more than 20 years and can therefore rupture because of rust; leaking their contents to the soil. In the case of Bearsville, the council feared that these long-forgotten tanks will poison the town’s aquifer and network of underground wells.
The likelihood of this happening in New Jersey is arguably much higher because there are about 14,000 underground tanks scattered throughout the state, according to a September 2012 report by the Environmental Protection Agency. Unfortunately, state laws impede the process of getting these tanks removed. For instance, the state of New York can only handle the removal of tanks that have a minimum capacity of 1,100 gallons; leaving Bearsville residents to fend for themselves to remove the smaller ones they find underground.
This is why it is important to work with NJ oil tank sweep companies like NJ Tank Removal. Not only are they capable of removing old tanks that state laws can’t touch, these companies can also inspect residences for any traces of a buried oil tank that homeowners are usually unaware of. They use state-of-the-art technology and procedures like soil testing and low-psi tank pressure tests.
After all, prevention is much better than cure. While Bearsville was lucky to have dealt with their storage tank problem early on, some people in New Jersey may not be as much. Therefore, action must be taken immediately.
