Oregon Heating Oil Tank (HOT) Program

The Heating Oil Tank (HOT) Program of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) handles tanks that store fuel oil, typically Number 1 and 2 diesel oil, to heat buildings for human habitation. DEQ says the program covers the voluntary decommissioning of these tanks, the reporting of releases and the cleanup of soil and groundwater contamination, and the rules for the contractors who do the work.

In a Phase I ESA

ASTM E1527-21 does not name heating oil tank records among its standard record sources. In Oregon they overlap one that it does name: DEQ's UST Cleanup List includes reported releases from home heating oil tanks. The general reading of a leaking tank listing is on the LUST page. Six details shape the search.

• Two records, in two places. DEQ says Your DEQ Online's public project records are where to find information on a heating oil tank leak, and its permit, licensing and certification records are where to find clean decommissioning information.
• The decommissioning register starts in March 2000. DEQ says clean decommissioning registration began in March 2000, and that tanks decommissioned in 1999 and earlier are not included unless they have been shown to meet all decommissioning rules, including soil testing, and a report is filed with DEQ. Do not read a missing record as a missing tank.
• Emptied is not decommissioned. Oregon Revised Statute 466.878 requires the owner to pump out all heating oil from an abandoned underground heating oil tank when it is no longer used as a heating source, when it has been replaced, or when the home or business is sold. DEQ says a tank that has only been emptied has not been decommissioned, and that decommissioning itself is voluntary.
• A contractor certifies and DEQ registers. DEQ describes sites that received a No Further Action letter from DEQ before February 17, 2000, and sites certified as meeting standards by a contractor after that date. A contractor, or a homeowner decommissioning their own tank, submits a certified report; DEQ registers it and sends a letter. DEQ audits certifications and can reject one, so check the file for a rejection letter.
• Earlier determinations hold on three conditions. DEQ advises that an earlier determination remains valid if no evidence suggests a new release, new site assessment data is consistent with the data relied on before, and DEQ has not challenged the earlier data through an enforcement action. Where an active tank remains in the ground, it advises relying on site assessment samples for no more than 90 days.
• The buyer inherits. DEQ says the current owner is responsible for any necessary cleanup even if the leak happened before that owner bought the property. It cites Oregon Revised Statute 105.464 for the seller's disclosure statement on underground storage tanks and contaminated soil or water.

For the program's purposes a heating oil tank is an underground tank; DEQ says aboveground heating oil tanks are not regulated by DEQ. The rules it lists include Oregon Administrative Rules Chapter 340, Division 177, Residential Heating Oil Underground Storage Tanks. OAR 340-177-0055(1) requires the licensed service provider or supervisor to report a confirmed release within 72 hours after it is identified.

What the record shows

DEQ charges a report filing fee by project type, and the type is a first clue to whether oil was left in place. The fees below took effect April 16, 2024.

Under the Generic Remedy, approved on January 24, 2000, DEQ says soil with up to 10,000 parts per million of total petroleum hydrocarbons may be left in place under at least three feet of clean soil, within limits on the volume left and on benzene, ethylbenzene and naphthalene.

Where to look a site up

• The Your DEQ Online Public Records Portal. DEQ says that if a project started after April 3, 2024, the majority of the records will be there, and that for earlier projects additional records may not be online.
• The All Sites Report, for a list of leaking heating oil tank projects.
• The HOT Clean Decommissioning Report, for a list of clean decommissioning sites.
• The program is at 503-229-6170 and hotsupport@deq.oregon.gov. DEQ's Buying or Selling page gives a toll-free line for reporting a leak, 1-800-742-7878. Its Petroleum Release Reporting page says that as of April 3, 2024 its online release reporting system was replaced by Your DEQ Online, where the release submittal covers regulated, unregulated and heating oil tank systems.

Getting the file

DEQ says information in Your DEQ Online is not comprehensive for old projects and that there may be older records in a physical file. If the record is not online, it says to submit a public records request. The route is described on the Your DEQ Online and public records requests page.

Sources

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality pages, read October 7, 2026, no modified date shown:

• Heating Oil Tanks
• Buying or Selling a Home with a Heating Oil Tank
• Frequently Asked Questions about Decommissioning, Cleanup Costs and Laws
• Generic Remedy Guidance and Cleanup Options
• Petroleum Release Reporting
• Records, Operating Certificates and Facility Lists