Basement and Above-Ground Oil Tank Removal

A 275 gallon tank is roughly five feet long and does not turn a rowhouse stair corner. Almost every basement removal in the city is therefore a cut-and-carry: the tank is drained, cleaned, purged and then cut down into sections small enough to bring up and out.

That is a controlled operation, not a demolition. Cutting into a tank that still holds vapor is the single most dangerous thing that can be done in this trade, which is why the cleaning step comes first and why the tank is confirmed clear before any tool touches it.

Where a house has a bilco door or an exterior basement entry, the route improves and the job gets shorter. That is worth mentioning at survey, because it changes the plan.

Above-ground tanks against an exterior wall, on a side path or in a rear yard are the easiest version. The tank is drained, cleaned and taken out whole, and the footings or pad it sat on come out with it if you want the ground back.

The one thing to check is what is underneath. An above-ground tank that has been weeping at a seam or a fitting for years leaves a stain on the ground beneath it, and that ground is soil. Where there is any sign of it, sampling is worth doing while everything is exposed rather than after the slab goes back down.

Heating oil that has stood for years is not usable fuel. It separates, takes on water and leaves a heavy sludge across the bottom of the tank. It is a disposal item, so nobody is going to credit you for it, and any quote that treats the contents as a bonus is a quote worth reading twice.

The residue is pumped, the tank is cleaned, and the petroleum is manifested and disposed of in accordance with Pennsylvania DEP requirements. The disposal record is part of what you keep.

A basement tank that has failed usually announces itself by smell long before anything is visible, because fuel oil vapor moves through a house through the same paths warm air does. A stained floor around the tank legs, a persistent odor in the finished part of the basement, or oil in a floor drain all mean the situation is different.

Oil that has reached a concrete floor may have gone through it, and a floor drain connects to something. At that point the question is no longer how to get the tank out but what has already left the building, which puts you into the same reporting position as a buried tank. The remediation page sets out what follows.

A basement tank feels like an interior job, and homeowners regularly assume the City is not involved. It is. Philadelphia requires a building permit to install or remove a hazardous material tank, and the work has to be carried out by a licensed contractor who is current on City taxes and holds current insurance on file with L&I.

The fee is $158 per tank, plus a $25 filing fee for a one or two family dwelling, a $3 City surcharge and a $4.50 State surcharge. Full detail is on the permit page.