Why underground petrol tank removal?
Underground petrol tanks, underground petroleum storage systems (UPSS) or underground storage tanks (UST) can exist on your site without you being aware of them. Petrol tanks that exist on your site must be removed when not in use. Fuel leaking from these petrol tanks can cause adverse effects on people, property and the environment and can cause spills, overfills or leaking, which may lead to fire, explosion or soil contamination and groundwater risks. It’s therefore crucial that such tanks or systems be investigated for leakage and managed effectively to reduce further harm.
We offer a service to properly identify, assess and, if necessary, remove any underground petrol tanks or underground storage tanks (UST) to ensure hazards are appropriately controlled and risks minimised, in line with Victorian state legislation.
What’s involved in underground petrol tank removal?
As part of our service, we provide:
- site inspection and potentially ground penetrating radar (GPR) to identify the size and number of petrol tanks, UST or UPSS
- identification of liquid (eg water, oils, petrol, diesel) contained within the UST, UPSS or petrol tank
- soil sample assessment from boreholes near the tank, bowsers and pipework
- removal of liquids and petrol tank, UST or UPSS in line with EPA hazardous waste removal process and transport to licensed facility
- remediation strategies for how to handle contaminated soil for offsite disposal
- soil validation and groundwater assessment to determine whether remediation works were performed to a satisfactory standard
- environmental management plans to monitor and control the environmental hazards, health and safety
We can also provide recommendations on how to be compliant with relevant legislation during decommissioning and redevelopment of sites with tanks. For example, if your petrol tank leaks and causes or could cause pollution, based on EPA requirements, you may have a:
- duty to notify Authority of a notifiable incident
- duty to take action to respond to harm caused by pollution incident.
For further information on UPSS, UST and petrol tank removal in Victoria, check out the Victorian Environment Protection Authority guidelines
