Buyers in this situation should test the soil surrounding the tank before closing on the property and ultimately decommission the tank.   If the buyer waits until after the real estate closing, the buyer may not be protected by the tank insurance policy.  Often, tank insurance policies will not cover for environmental damage discovered as part of the tank decommissioning process.  A soil test performed as part of the real estate inspection period will identify petroleum contamination in the soil without interfering with insurance policy exclusion for "tank decommissioning".

A tank test or soil test performed before the closing date,  will evaluate the integrity of the underground tank and identify any petroleum contamination of the soil.  If there is a tank test failure or the soil test identifies significant  contamination, the homeowner must assume the financial responsibility to correct the condition.  Many times, the state will require the homeowner to pay to decommission the tank and take it out of service.

Don't delay! If you intend to take the tank out of service, begin the tank decommissioning process immediately!  Remember, a buried steel tank can start leaking at any time without any warning signs. Soil testing and tank testing can only provide a "snap shot" of the condition of tank and soil at the time of testing.  These evaluations cannot predict the tank's future reliability.  Any delay will increase the risk of an environmental hazard.