Leaking oil tanks lead to water, air problems

The cold hard facts are that winter is coming and this is Maine. What’s the old saying? – “If you can’t take the winters, then you don’t deserve the summers.”

The message this week, as it is every time this year, is short and simple – oil tank spill prevention. Leaking above-ground home heating oil tanks may lead to groundwater contamination and indoor air quality problems.

Department of Environmental Protection spill statistics show that nearly 10 percent of the total home heating oil tank spills are the result of physical damage, such as falling ice and snow. So if your tank is in the glide path of one of those January thaw roof avalanches, then beware – you may become a statistic this year.

What to do? A fairly simple and inexpensive solution is to call your professional licensed oil heat technician and ask that he or she bring along a filter protector, which sits over the fuel filter like a mini A-frame.

Or get the heating oil tank system gussied up to meet state codes required by the Oil and Solid Fuel Board in the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation. This includes replacing any unprotected underslab or buried piping, installing the tank on a firm foundation, and protecting outside tanks from overhead dangers.

For a short spill prevention checklist of your tank system, call the Maine DEP at (800) 452-1942 and ask for the pamphlet, “Is Your Tank in Shape?” Visit www.mainedep.com to see the checklist, pictures of filter protectors and the Oil and Solid Fuel Board rules.

E-mail environmental questions to infodep@

maine.gov or write: In Our Back Yard, Maine DEP, 17 State House Station, Augusta 04333.