Aboveground Oil Tank Removal
No DEQ Decommissioning Report required · 275-gallon Granby is the standard Eugene basement tank · Most jobs complete in a single half-day visit
Pump, cut, and recycle indoor and outdoor aboveground oil tanks (ASTs): basement tanks, garage tanks, exterior pad-mounted tanks. No DEQ filing required, but the disposal manifest and tank-removal letter still belong in the property file.
Quote this service
Tank size, depth, access, contamination risk. Site survey is free.
What this service covers
An aboveground tank decommissioning is a fundamentally different job from a buried tank. There is no soil exposure, no DEQ filing, and no Decommissioning Report. What you need is a contractor who can disconnect the burner without dropping live oil onto a basement floor, pump and remove residual product safely, cut the tank into pieces small enough to come up the basement stairs, and dispose of the residual fuel and sludge under proper Oregon used-oil and waste manifests.
Most Eugene-area ASTs we work are 275-gallon Granby cylinders sitting on lally-column legs in a basement, garage, or crawl space. The pre-war Whiteaker and Jefferson Westside houses often have the tank in a partially finished basement reached by a steep, narrow staircase, which is why we cut on site rather than try to muscle a 275 up unbroken. Houses in the post-war South Hills tracts and 1950s Bethel subdivisions tend to have the tank in a garage or attached storage room with easier access.
Where AST work goes wrong is at the disposal end. Oregon tracks used heating oil and tank bottoms as regulated waste streams, and improperly manifested loads can come back to the property owner months later as a paperwork problem. We carry the manifests on the truck, you sign them in real time, and copies stay in your file.
How we run this service
Same-day completion is the norm
For a clean 275-gallon basement tank with the burner already disconnected, the typical job is 3–5 hours from arrival to broom-clean basement. Larger or more complex installations occasionally run a full day, which we tell you in the quote.
No DEQ paperwork waiting
AST removal does not generate a Decommissioning Report or a DEQ closeout letter. We provide a tank-removal letter for your records (useful at sale, insurance renewal, or estate accounting) and copies of the disposal manifests.
Door-and-stair-friendly cutting
Plasma- or saber-cut into sections sized for your specific doorway. Sealed cutting shrouds keep cuttings contained; vapor monitor runs through the cut. Trim, handrails, and finished floors stay where they are.
Used oil hauled, not pumped onto your driveway
Residual oil goes into a sealed transfer drum on the truck. No open buckets, no driveway transfer. Bottoms and sludge tracked to a permitted Lane County or Linn County disposal facility.
Specific situations we handle
Basement 275-gallon Granby removal
The Eugene standard. Half-day visit, one crew, basement broom-clean by lunch on most jobs.
Crawl-space tank removal
Tighter clearances and lower headroom; we bring smaller cutting equipment and a low-profile transfer pump.
Outdoor pad-mounted tank removal
500- and 1,000-gallon exterior tanks on concrete pads, common on the older Bethel-area lots and rural Lane County parcels.
Leaking AST containment and removal
When the tank is actively weeping, we contain the spill, remove the tank, and clean the impacted concrete or soil before the truck leaves.
Burner-and-line disconnect only
For homeowners who want the equipment out of service but the tank physically left in place for now. A stand-alone service that documents the disconnection for insurance.
Estate and probate cleanouts
Coordinated with executors, attorneys, and property managers. Direct billing available to the estate.
Who this service fits
AST removal is the right call when:
- i.You converted to an EWEB-rebated heat pump or NW Natural gas service and the basement tank has been sitting empty since. There is no reason to let it occupy a corner of the basement another year.
- j.You bought a Eugene home with a tank still in the basement and the inspection report flagged it as a buyer's ask.
- k.The tank shows pinhole weeping at the bottom seam, an oil halo on the concrete pad, or rust pitting through the bottom. A leaking AST is a hazardous-materials issue, not just a clutter issue.
- l.You are renovating a basement, garage, or storage room and the contractor needs the tank gone before framing, electrical, or floor work can proceed.
- m.You are an estate executor or property manager closing out a vacant house and the insurer flagged the unused tank during policy review.
How a job runs, start to finish
Phone quote
Tank size, location (basement, crawl, garage, exterior pad), residual fuel volume, and access (door widths, stair counts) are usually enough for a fixed quote over the phone, especially with a couple of photos.
Disconnect and pump
Burner shutdown, oil-line cap, residual oil pumped into a sealed drum, bottom squeegeed for sludge.
Cut and haul
Cut into sections sized for your access path. Steel goes to a Lane County scrap recycler. Drum and sludge go under manifest to a permitted facility.
Cleanup and paperwork
Slab swept, area broom-clean, copies of the disposal manifest and a tank-removal letter emailed before we leave.
What this service includes
A typical aboveground tank job includes the burner shutdown and oil-line cap, residual product transfer to a sealed drum, sludge and tank-bottom squeegee, vapor monitoring through any cutting, plasma or saber-cut sectioning sized for the doorway or stair access, scrap-steel haul to a Lane County recycler, and manifested disposal of used oil and bottoms tracked from your address to a permitted facility. Burner-and-line-only disconnects for homeowners who want the equipment retired but the tank physically left in place are part of the scope, as is leaking-AST containment when pinhole weeping has reached the slab. Estate and property-management cleanouts use the same workflow with billing routed to the executor, attorney, or LLC instead of the homeowner.
Underground Oil Tank Removal
Excavate, decommission, and document buried heating oil tanks across Eugene-Springfield under the Oregon DEQ HOT program. Closes with an ORELAP-tested soil sample panel and a Decommissioning Report filed at the Eugene DEQ office.
View service →Aboveground Oil Tank Removal: Common questions
I converted to an EWEB heat pump in 1998. The basement tank has been sitting empty since. Do I still need to remove it?+
There is no Oregon law forcing removal of an out-of-service AST that is not leaking. But three groups will eventually ask: a buyer's home inspector at sale, a homeowner's insurance carrier on policy renewal, and the executor of an estate. The cheapest moment to remove a 275-gallon Granby is now (clean, broom-swept, half-day visit). Letting it sit costs nothing immediately and a few hundred dollars when somebody insists on it later.
Will you handle the residual oil and the bottoms?+
Yes. We pump usable oil into a sealed drum (you keep it if you have another use for it; otherwise it goes to a registered used-oil processor under manifest), and the sludge and tank bottoms are tracked from your address to a permitted disposal facility. You receive copies of both manifests for your records.
Can you remove the tank without dismantling the basement door frame?+
Almost always. A 275-gallon basement tank cuts cleanly into 4 to 6 sections small enough for a 30-inch doorway. We use a saber saw with sealed shrouding so cuttings stay contained, and we run a vapor monitor through the work; same standard as a buried tank cut.
Ready to talk about your specific tank?
Free site survey. Fixed-price quote. Decommissioning Report filed at the Eugene DEQ office.