FUEL STORAGE TANKS

Biddinger Contracting is Maryland's storage tank specialist. We remove, install, abandon and test underground and aboveground storage tanks. Some of the types include: home heating oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, propane and waste oil.

RESIDENTAL UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK (UST) REMOVAL

• Did you know the average life of an underground storage tank is 20 years?

• Do you have a tank older than 20 years?

• Are you getting ready to sell your home and you have an UST?

• Has your mortgage company denied your purchase or refinance of a home because it still has an UST?

• Has your insurance company decided not to renew your policy because of your UST?

• Have you converted to natural gas or propane and still have an UST in your yard?

If you have an underground storage tank (UST) for heating your home then you have probably heard someone tell you a horror story about the process of removing an UST.

Before you panic! Call Biddinger Contracting. We have removed thousands of UST's in Maryland, and we guarantee that when we complete your UST removal, you will recommend us to your friends and family. We make this a no hassle and worry free project from start to finish.

After your initial phone call, we will come and look at your job, then send you a professional detailed proposal. Once you sign the contract, that's all you need to do, we take care of everything else. WE will make the phone calls, schedule inpectors if necessary, obtain permits, notify Miss Utility and schedule the work.

You will find our removal process in most all cases is complete in less than one day, and with very little disturbance to you yard.

We have a long work relationship with MDE, as well as the City of Annapolis and Baltimore County, which is where the majority of residential underground tanks in the Baltimore metro area are located.

The removal process is as follows: First, we would excavate down to the top and side of a tank, put the dirt on plastic and pump out the remaining oil and sludge. Then, we would remove the tank and clean the outside. We will take a soil sample from under than tank area to be sent for analysis. The tank will be loaded on our truck to be hauled away. We will backfull the excavatation with topsoil that we provide. The disturbed tank area is then cleaned up and raked for a professional finish.

After the project is complete you will receive a professional closure package with all the documentation and pictures of the entire process to prove you have removed your tank legally.

• The most common sizes of residential UST's are 550 and 1000 gallon

• MDE requirements state any underground storage tank has to be removed by a licensed tank remover

• Most plumbing companies are not licensed UST removers

• If a tank is no longer in use MDE says that tank should be removed within 180 days after it is taken out of service

• We work in coopperation with many of the areas largest home heating oil companies

• A leaking UST can contaminate your or your neighbors well water

RESIDENTIAL ABOVEGROUND STORAGE TANK (AST) REMOVAL

If you have an AST in your basement, crawlspace, garage or on the outside of your house that is more than 15 years old, your tank can still leak, get water or sludge buildup inside the tank, and can still cause problems with your furnace.

We can remove you old AST and install a brand new one in the same day, so you are not without heat or hot water.

The most common size of old, as well as newly installed aboveground residental tanks is 275 gallon.

If your tank has to be removed from your basement, we can pump out the tank and carry it outside. If it will not fit through your doors, we will pump it out, cut a hole in it, thoroughtly clean it out, and cut it up into small enough pieces to take it outside so you do not have to worry about ripping out door frames, or walls, and getting a carpenter to repair anything.

RESIDENTIAL UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK ABANDONMENT

In most cases it is better and cheaper to remove your UST, rather than abandoning it in place. Some counties (like Baltimore Co.) require approval from the inspector before a UST can be abandoned in place.

If curcumstances exist such as the tank is very close to your foundation, or there is a gas line running over top of your tank, or if you live in a county with no regulation on abandonment and it is your preference, than we would complete this in a similar manner to removal.

The differences being that we would dig down to the top of the tank and cut a hole in it. Then we would pump the oil out and our certified confined space entry technicial would enter the tank and thouroughly clean it. We will cut a hole in the tank bottom and take a soil sample to be sent for analysis. The tank will then be filled with an MDE approved material. The excavation will be backfilled and the area cleaned. As with the removal process, you will receive a closure package with everything you need to show the tank has been abandoned safely and legally.

• The abandonment process is also usually less than one day

• Small trees and bushes do not qualify for reason for an abandonment

• A UST removal that would possibly cause any structural issues does qualify for an abandonment

• Even if you have a UST under your house, addition or garage we can still properly and legally abandon your tank (don't worry, you do not have to tear anything down)

• There are many approved materials to fill a tank with during abandonment

• If you had a tank abandoned illegally many years ago, you could still be held responsible for removal of the tank and it is possible to still have a leaking tank.

Last Updated:Monday, October 09, 2006 10:53 AM