Removing oil tanks in private land

• The disposal obligation does not apply to tanks that were remediated (cleaned) by a Kiwa-approved company before January 1, 1999.
• The disposal requirement also does not apply to tanks remediated before March 1, 1993.

The municipality may still require you, the owner, to take additional measures. In fact, in the past, tanks were not always remediated thoroughly.

You report to the municipality that there is a tank in your soil.

• If you are not the owner of the land, but you are the tenant, you must notify the landlord. Always have a soil test done. If the soil is contaminated, have it cleaned up.
• If you no longer use the tank, ask a Kiwa-approved company to remove it. The addresses of these companies can be found at www.kiwa.nl. Only if there really is no other way, the tank may remain. The Kiwa-approved company will clean and disable the tank.
• If you are the owner and you are still using the tank, you should have the tank inspected every year. Health also make sure you have insurance against the consequences of soil contamination.

Sometimes it is difficult to determine if an oil tank is present.

• Clues in your yard include a manhole cover, a copper cap, a vent pipe or strange subsidence. Oil tanks are never more than 1 meter deep.
• In the basement or crawl space, an unused pipe indicates oil supply. Old oil lines are easy to spot: they are at least twice as thick as gas lines and about 6 inches in diameter.
• Sometimes your neighbors or former residents know if there is a tank in the yard.
• Oil dealers usually know which houses used to have oil fires.