If you are a homeowner, a real estate professional, a builder, a home buyer, or are considering selling your home in the near future, health officials suggest that you attend one of the two programs
The Hopewell Township Health Department in partnership with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and Valley Oil (a private company based in Hopewell) will present "Understanding Underground Oil Tanks" on Dec. 7, from 2-3:30 p.m., and again from 7-8:30 p.m.
If you are a homeowner, a real estate professional, a builder, a home buyer, or are considering selling your home in the near future, health officials suggest that you attend one of the two programs.
Both afternoon and evening programs are exactly the same and will take place in the Hopewell Township Municipal Courtroom, 201 Washington Crossing-Pennington Road, Titusville.
Refreshments will be provided by the Pennington Quality Market.
Those planning to attend should register by calling 737-0120, ext.636. When calling, indicate whether you will be attending the afternoon or the evening session.
According to the U. S. Department of Energy, about 16 million American homes use a total of some 11 billion gallons of heating oil per year. That’s 700 gallons per year per household. And while many of these homes have their oil tanks tucked away in the basement, millions of others have them buried underground where, neglected, they can constitute a subterranean hazard.
Laws governing underground storage tanks (USTs) are complicated. Tanks of more than 1,100 gallons, such as those found at gas stations, marinas, and airports, are federally regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Smaller tanks for home use, mainly concentrated in the Northeast, are not. In a 1989 report to Congress the EPA concluded there were almost two million of these residential UST’s scattered across the United States. The report also concluded that they are just as likely to leak as regulated ones.
There are underground oil tanks in all parts of Hopewell Valley. Tanks that were installed 20 or 30 years ago are now beyond their supposed life span. Even newer homes with buried oil tanks have experienced problems with oil leaks. However, homes with tanks that are 50 or more years old pose the biggest liability. These older homes might have two or three buried tanks that no one even knows about.
Leaking underground tanks can cause environmental and health damage by contaminating wells and local aquifers, and can also cause great difficulty when homeowners decide to sell their homes. Tank leaks are frequently undetected until examined as part of a property transaction. Prior to closing, a buyer or a buyer’s mortgage or insurance company, may request an investigation and/or removal, making the work highly time-sensitive.

