What Buster the Dog has to say about your Home Heating Oil Tank

Buster's worried. He knows that about 100,000 single-family-home, above-ground outside storage tanks in Maine don't meet new 2003 safety rules. He's going all around everywhere to find outside oil tanks without a good foundation ... or that don't have the filter protected. When he finds one, Buster barks to let the owners know, so they can have their oilman fix or replace the tank.

Corrective measures to meet these standards, short of replacing the tank, include remounting on a stable cement slab foundation atop a well-drained, six-inch gravel or stone base and using an approved filter cover. Other standards include a maximum height of 12 inches for tank legs, with flanges on the feet. 

The cement slab can be installed at the time of your annual oil burner cleaning by most major oil dealers. They prepare the gravel bed, deliver a pre-made slab to your home, empty your tank, place and refill your tank, all for an average estimated cost of $500. Average estimated cost for a filter cover is $50. Estimated cost for a new tank, slab and filter cover is $1000. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has contracted with the Community Action Agency to help low income families enrolled in the L.I.H.E.A.P. program (fuel assistance) properly replace sub-standard exterior oil tanks.

For more information, call the Maine DEP at 207-287-2651 or 1-800-452-1942.