Pennsylvania
Residential heating oil tanks
Pennsylvania residential heating oil tanks
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) describes residential heating oil tanks as tanks that store fuel oil for space heating on a property used primarily as a dwelling. They may be aboveground, outside or in a basement, or buried. DEP says home heating oil tanks are not regulated by the Storage Tank and Spill Prevention Act, so they sit outside both of DEP's tank lists.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name heating oil tank records among its standard record sources. The Pennsylvania point is what the standard tank records leave out.
- Not in the registration searches. DEP says home heating oil tanks are not regulated and are not part of its registered tank list. See storage tank registrations.
- Not in the release list. DEP says releases from home heating oil tanks are not part of its Storage Tank Cleanup Program incident list. A clean search of both lists says nothing about a heating oil tank, so ask the owner and look for the tank on the site visit.
- Releases go to the regional office. DEP asks that any heating oil release that may have contaminated groundwater or surface water be reported to the local DEP office, and recommends reporting all heating oil spills because the risk to water is hard to assess. When an underground tank is removed and contamination is observed or suspected, DEP says to notify the regional office, which gives information on response and sampling.
- A removed tank leaves signs. DEP advises owners, after a tank is removed, to have it inspected for holes and corrosion, to look for staining or vapors in the excavation, and to make sure the fill pipe and vent line are removed or grouted. Ask the owner for the removal contractor's paperwork and any sampling results.
The reimbursement program
DEP runs an Underground Heating Oil Tank Cleanup Reimbursement Program, which helps tank owners with eligible cleanup costs after a release of heating oil from an underground tank. Its eligibility rules:
- the applicant is or was the tank owner;
- the tank was underground, with a capacity of 3,000 gallons or less;
- the tank stored fuel used for heating on the premises;
- heating oil was released to the environment from the tank or its lines, or from a spill or overfill caused by a failure of the tank system;
- the release occurred or was discovered on or after January 30, 1998;
- an environmental cleanup has been completed or is in progress.
Aboveground tanks are not eligible, and DEP counts a tank on or above the floor of a basement or cellar as aboveground. The tank owner pays the first $1,000 of eligible costs and may be reimbursed for remaining eligible costs up to $4,000, per tank.
Two points follow for a records review. The eligible costs include preparing tank closure and environmental cleanup reports that are submitted to DEP, so a reimbursed cleanup may have left reports at DEP. And the application requires itemized contractor invoices and proof of payment, so an owner who applied should have those papers. Ask for both.
Where to look a site up
The pages read name no search tool or public list for heating oil tanks or heating oil releases. For questions, DEP gives the Storage Tank Cleanup Program at 717-787-0886 and tankcleanup@pa.gov, and the regional offices. The environmental emergency number is 1-800-541-2050.
Getting the file
The pages read do not say how DEP files heating oil release reports. DEP's general route to its records is an Informal File Review, requested on an electronic form and scheduled with the regional office, or a request under the Right-to-Know Law. Both are on the Informal File Review and Right-to-Know requests page.
Sources
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection pages, read October 1, 2026, no modified date shown: