Older oil tanks can be major liability for homeowners

If you're heating your home with oil, you'd better pay attention to what shape your tank is in.

That's because a leaking tank can be a major liability, with potentially massive clean up costs andinsurance companies won't necessarily cover them.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) says homeownerscanbe 100 per centresponsible for clean up costs, which could be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Current standards requirehomeowners to have a double-walled tank witha inner liner of plastic and a solid concrete pad. The tank has to be bolted down in case ofan earthquake.

And real estate agents often encourage homeownerstoreplace their tanks as part of selling ahome.

"A lot of people don't realize the biggest [surprise] right now,if you're selling a property, chances are that real estate will want you to replace the tank as part of the deal," says Peter Kennedy, aburner mechanic for Griffiths Heating & Sheet Metal in Whitehorse.

He says somepeople get "sticker shock"when they realize that selling their house meansreplacing the oil tank.

"Most replacement tanks in the Yukon can cost upwards of $5,000 to replace. Insurance companies are making all the rules," says Kennedy.

He says the price of a new oil tank has been steadily going up in recent years. And sometimes there are also additional costs associated with replacing an aging tank.

"I even found out this morning from a customerthat insurance companies would like to have soil samples taken before the pad is poured and that could run you $1,000, plus a new tank," Kennedy said.

"It's extremely important that people maintain and inspect their tanks on a regular basis to be preventing any type of loss or damage," says Rob de Pruisofthe Insurance Bureau of Canada.

"So it's in your best interest to make sure that you're properly inspecting and maintaining your fuel oil tank."

He says insurance policies don't typically cover the cost of a fuel oil spill on one's property.

Collin Remillard,manager of environmental compliance andinspections for theYukon government, has seen his fair share of fuel tank oil spills in the Yukon.

"Some insurance companies will sell oil damage insurance to your property, but you must have a certified oil tank for that to happen," Remillard said.

"We've heard people's experiences where they've actually had to re-mortgage their homes to clean up these spills, that's how serious this is."

Remillard says there weremore than 100 differentspills last year in Whitehorse, and about 13 per cent of themwere from aging and defective home heating oil tanks.

"We have heard of examples where a fuel tank had been leaking for many years. It was discovered that it was a leak, and when the owner hired a consultant to remediate the property, we have examples where people had to lift their whole house up, dig, remove the foundation."

According to Kennedy, many Griffiths customers are opting fordifferent home heating methods once they find out what a new tank will cost.A new electric or propane furnace might cost only afew thousand dollars more.

"Out of every 20 estimates I do, probably half of them are going propane or electric," saidKennedy.

Protecting the city's aquifer

Beyond individual properties, leaking oil tanks can have a major impact on the environment.

The City of Whitehorse says oil spilled from aging tanks could eventually migrate into the city's water, and that's a concernespecially in the Riverdaleneighbourhood.

"There is a lot of old houses there,"Kennedy said.

"Most of our drinking water comes from Riverdale. You don't want oil seeping into the ground."

According to the IBC, only onelitre of oil can contaminate amillion litres of fresh water. Most home heating oil tanks hold 1,000 litres.

Collin Remillardof the Yukon government, who's onthe front line dealing with oil spills, says homeowners need to pay serious attention to their home fuel tanks.

"These tanks don't last forever ...they have a life span and you have to look after them," he said.