Underground oil tank

[Sooyeon Kim]

Hi, Hope to get some help regarding my situation. I just got an accepted offer in jersey city and my inspector copper lines for oil tank in the basement. Oil tank is supposed to be in the front yard ((it's a brown stone building) but there is a pile of stones to see any fuel or vent pipes. The seller says that it was removed in late 70's or early 80's but cannot find the certificate. Requested to jersey city to find a record, but not sure if they keep the records this long. In this case, what should I do? Should I ask for the sweep test and if we can't find it, move forward? If it is removed more than 30 years ago, either we have a certificate or not, it's done deal, right? Would there be any chance in next 30 years that someone mandate the soil test even though there is no more tank left? Thanks and would appreciate any input. Soo

[Kevin K.]

From what you're saying, a tank sweep should cover you, but it's possible that the current owner or someone removed tanks in the past where soil may have been contaminated.  The current standard is that if a tank is being removed, the soil around it is tested.  If a leak is found, it is reported to the NJ state DEP.  The contractor then creates a remedial action plan and carries out the remediation, and then has the DEP review it to approve the remediation and ultimately issue a NFA letter.  In this case, it's possible a tank was removed 20-30 years ago, and no one tested the soil or perhaps standards didn't exist then for it (not sure...I'm not a LSRP and don't know the history of state regulations for environmental issues).  In which case, I think you'd probably be ok because if no tank exists then there should be no requirement to test soil in the future.  However, if there are any reported violations to the DEP in the past that haven't been closed, then that could come up on you later.

Here's an example of a deal I'm in contract on...tanks were removed in the past but no one told me when my offer was accepted.  A tank sweep showed no tanks but there were signs a tank existed at some point probably.  Research into building department records and DEP records confirmed tanks were removed a while back.  Only at that point did the seller (via her attorney) disclose that they were working on getting an NFA letter.  That made me wonder if they were trying to let it slip and have me close quickly.

A few tips to cover yourself when doing diligence on any property in NJ...submit OPRA requests with Jersey City building department and NJ state DEP.  It can all be done online and information can be emailed back to you.  It can take some time to complete though.  Jersey City also maintains some of the more recent building permits online so if there was any work done recently, the information can be viewed online.  I'm not sure when that system was implemented but it'll only have history for the last few years I believe.  Anything prior to that would have to be done via an OPRA request or a visit to the building department.

JC OPRA:
http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/cityclerk/

NJ state DEP:
http://www.nj.gov/dep/opra/

The NJ state DEP also maintains a very comprehensive database of environmental issues online via their dataminer.  It's a poorly organized database and interface though and can be hard to find what you want so an OPRA request can help cover anything you might miss researching on your own.

A lot of unsuspecting buyers don't know these types of information exist and are available for free to the public.  I've passed on deals where I see later that someone bought a property that had environmental issues that I uncovered.  It could've been bank owned and the seller really didn't know of issues.  The buyer clearly didn't do their diligence either, and the next buyer probably won't either.  NJ is full of environmental issues...the Bergen/Lafayette neighborhood is one of the oldest in JC and has an industrial past.  It's also a low lying neighborhood so got hit hard during Sandy...there may be some parts that are outside of flood zones though so not sure.  Commercial real estate deals have a higher burden of completing diligence on environmental issues (i.e. Phase 1) but residential doesn't so homes likely trade all the time among unsuspecting sellers/buyers.  Although the standard says sellers should disclose material facts, that's not always the case.  The burden of diligence is on the buyer.  Basically, do your homework.  Good luck!