Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Underground Fuel Tanks

This is how I got started collecting pumps. I worked for an environmental engineering company that specialized in tank removal, it took off in the mid 80's. I started my own company in 91 to help myself as well as the small folks too who couldn't afford to pay the ridiculous prices involved.
The long and short of it is it can be relatively cheap or it can bankrupt you.
If the station has not been used for many years that could be good, gas does degrade over time. Groundwater is the biggest issue, being that gas floats (somewhat) it tends to spread, even beyond your property line leaving you open to lawsuits by neighbors. Gas consists mailny of Benzene, Ethyl Benzene, Toluene and Xylene. Other stuff too but this is the stuff you need to worry about, Benzene is somewhat water soluable forcing you into a pump and treat situation, easy but expensive and long term. Check with the local agencies re: groundwater levels, seasonal highs etc.Soil contamination is the easiest as far as labor but not knowing your area I don't know what your local regulations are as far as burnng the soil to release hydrocarbons, surface treatment (baking it in the sun on a liner) etc.
EPA generally stays out of local remediations unless they get very large.
If you're not sure if there's tanks there start with the local historical society looking for pics. Look for vent pipes, usually up against a building, probably an inch and a half to two inches. You can rent an inductive metal locator and send a signal down the vent line to the tank(s), also works from the island piping. Remember, not all tanks leaked but all had overspill and if you get some yahoo who wants to sample near the fill they will find contamination.

I bought a derelict station from the county, did the cleanup and still made huge money when I sold it. If you're careful who you hire you can make it work but a site assesment is imperative before you jump into anything. One other thing to keep in mind there has been legal precedence established holding oil companies partially to fully liable for former sites that were branded by them, not necessarliy owned by them. The theory being they profited so they should share the cost of clean up. Good luck!