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You’ve just received the news no homeowner wants to hear; scans have verified that there is an underground oil tank located on your property. And what’s worse, soil testing indicates that the tank has leaked, and urgent soil remediation is required. It’s only natural for your thoughts to immediately turn to cost as the numbers start adding up in your head. To help put your mind at ease, this blog will break down some of the costs associated with oil tank removal and remediation services.
Before you can begin with soil remediation, you’ll need to have the oil tank removed. The cost of removal can vary significantly based on:
For example, if your oil tank was found partially buried under your driveway or home accessing the tank and restoring your property afterwards will be more expensive than a tank found in your yard. If the tank is in an accessible location and there are no other extenuating circumstances, a typical residential oil tank can cost between $2,000 and $3,000 for removal and disposal.
Sometimes, instead of professionally decommissioning an underground oil tank, they were simply left abandoned. Unfortunately, underground oil tanks have a finite life expectancy, and those that remain underground have now far exceeded their intended lifespan. If these tanks were not emptied, cleaned, and filled with inert material by a qualified professional, it’s possible that they would have started corroding and leaking oil remnants into the surrounding soil. This can create a potentially hazardous situation and because of the environmental danger the contaminated soil poses, it must be either treated in situ or removed and replaced completely.
There are a few ways to go about remediating contaminated soil, and the methods you choose will play a big role in the cost of the services. The extent of the contamination and volume of soil that needs to be treated or removed will also influence the final price.
The most common and most straightforward way to address contaminated soil remediation is to dig up all the affected soil and haul it away to a designated facility where they will properly treat and dispose of it. As far as planning and executing this solution, contractors can get to work quickly, and the results are immediate.
In terms of cost, removing the contaminated soil and restoring your property typically ranges from $5,000 to $15,000, depending on how widespread the contamination is, how much soil requires removal, and how easily the area can be accessed. This price typically includes excavation, soil disposal fees, backfilling the site with clean soil and restoring basic landscaping.
An increasingly popular alternative to the dig-and-dump method is chemical remediation, especially in areas where excavating large quantities of soil could be challenging or disruptive. This process involves injecting specialized chemicals into the ground which then break down and neutralize the contaminants on site.
While chemical remediation is less invasive than excavation, it often requires multiple treatments over an extended period and regular monitoring to ensure the chemicals are working, which will impact the cost of the services. On average, you can expect to spend anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000 on chemical remediation, depending on the severity, spread, and depth of the contamination.
Without a professional evaluation, it’s difficult to give a precise estimate on what oil tank removal and soil remediation services will cost, but most homeowners can expect to pay anywhere from a few thousand to several thousand dollars or more depending on the complexity and extent of the work required.