Massachusetts oil tank removal permit

Fee for Oil Burner, $20.00

Fee for Storage Tank Removal $30.00

Fee for Storage Tank Install $30.00

Checks may be dropped off in the drop box at the Station, 11 Pierce Street or mailed to Northborough Fire at 11 Pierce Street Northborough MA 01532.

Please make sure the following information is included with your payment:

Address of installation, Name of Oil Company

Professional workers. Careful and competent. Great guys! Highly recommended

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Replacing my oil tank. Loving my experience, this is great professional team, they keep you up to date with any changes and show up on time. Thanks commthank for coming out here in the middle of the snow storm 🙌!

Just had a new Roth oil tank installed. Customer service top notch. Francesco and Melvin came to my house on time. Clean neat installation. Wonderful work done by these to men. I recommend Commtank.

Used CommTank to replace our 30+ yr old tank. Work was done as promised, professionally and at a very good value. Highly recommend !

I am a novice at having to handle a new oil tank. I didn’t know it but my granby was 40 years old. Once I explained the situation, CommTank sent a salesman Dave, who was more than a salesman, who knew the product, and he and Jen from the office, helped me work through the product and the procedure. A 3 man crew (Francisco, Salvatore, and Manny)where professional, friendly, and hard workers. Who put up with my checking in with what they needed. And they cleaned up everything. A+

Sanny and Sergio just left the house, and I couldn’t be more pleased with the work. Two large oil tanks, installed 20 years ago, are gone and it is like they never happened: the place is immaculate and there’s not a drop of oil anywhere - the tanks were carrying over 500 gallons of oil.Throughout the work, they were professional and careful, and very respectful. And these guys are strong and seem to love the work. Especially noted when it can be hard to find smart, dedicated people, Comm Tank nailed it.

We had Comm Tank replace our aging inside tank with a new Roth outside tank. They were personable, professional, prompt and cleaned up completely.They took care of installing a concrete pad for the outside tank and removed the old tank.We are completely satisfied and will highly recommend them.

They were very professional. Showed up on time and did a very nice job. Left the place very clean. I'm very pleased and would definitely recommend them!

Had an emergency situation and they were able to help me out ASAP. Very happy with the service and the job they did. I had issues finding a company in the busiest time of year for an emergency and yet I was contacted and helped immediately. 5 stars for great service.

Good people,good place for employment

Had to have two tanks removed from my basement. Old bulkhead was not accessible and only egress had 27 inches. They arrived on time. Cut the tank to fit the opening. No mess left behind or to clean off walls, stairs or doors. Thank you for outstanding service.

While getting a quote and booking the service was less than easy, the service was great. They were easy to work with, clean, and prompt. They got in and got out with the oil tank the previous owner abandoned in place. I highly recommend their services.

This company just replaced an old oil tank for us. True to the contract you agreed to with no surprises. The company has amazing service from the first call to the technicians who replaced the tank. They are a truly professional organization. The installation was neat and organized. They left my property inside and outside clean from all debris. If you need an oil tank replacement this is the company to call!

They were subcontracted by my mechanical contractor to drain and remove my oil tank. They were courteous and fast and cleaned up after they were done

Manny and his team were fast, thorough and professional. They pulled an oil tank out of our basement quickly and easily in about 3 hours, and left the basement cleaner than when they found it. We will definitely call them again the next time we need help.

CommTank saved the day for us, I can home from work and walked into the dreaded smell of heating oil filling my house. I went downstairs to see where the smell was coming from and discovered that our recently filled oil tank was leaking. With one call to CommTank they had someone out in under 20 hours to access the situation, Gui put our fears to rest and got us on the schedule for a replacement. When the workers showed up to replace the tank they were extremely professional and tidy. They treated our home like it was theirs and protected our rugs and floors from the messy job of pulling out a 50 year old oil tank. The workmanship and attention to detail that went into the installation of the new tank exceeded my expectations. They refilled the new tank with all of the oil from our old tank after double filtering it to make sure none of the sludge and gunk went into the new tank. I can't say enough about how satisfied I am that we chose them for the job!

CommTank replaced our old steel 330 gallon of unknown age with a brand new Roth 275 (with the 30 year warranty and $2M insurance). The quoting process was simple and included everything, and the people who came by to do the work were punctual, friendly, and accommodating, and they left the place neater than when they arrived. They made sure everything was running just fine before they left.Give CommTank a call when you'd like to replace your old steel tank, especially if it's of questionable age and condition like ours was. Why take the chance? We like the warranty and insurance on the Roth, not to mention the extra space!

CommTank was an absolute lifesaver!We were faced with underground piping issues that needed repair and were told to bulldoze the rooms to remedy the situation.We were shocked thinking that this was our only solution.Fortunately, we contacted and hired CommTank. The crew excavated, repaired and replaced our underground plumbing with great efficiency and precision allowing us to return to our house in a short period of time. We highly recommend CommTank and are so thankful for a job well-done! They truly are miracle workers!!

Great overall, from Leury coming out to estimate, to timely installation by Francisco & Raphael. Tough job, we do not have bulkhead access. Neat, clean and efficient. Pitched fill pipes correctly. Thanks Again!

Amazing - came day after we called and removed an oil tank - Louis was amazing!!

Comm tank guys are great and a real Fast I recommend these guys. O and the oil tanks thay put in are cool

We were in need of getting a new oil tank after we had nursed ours for a couple of years. Call a couple of companies and had them come out and CommTank was truly the best! They were very proffesional, were timely and gave us more that one option of tank. Their price was good and every interactio I've had with anyone at the company has been amazing customer service. They came on time, worked swiftly and were done on time. And the bonus for us more floor space!!! Use CommTank if you need anything, they are great!!!

Our aging heating oil tank was need of replacement. So we did our due diligence and contacted (4) companies for quotes not estimates. (2) never called back. (2) responded. Leury from Comm Tank INC was the first to call us and we quickly setup appointment. Leury went over everything they were going to replace in great detail and answered all of my questions.The service crew showed up on time and were quick to remove and replace the tank and they were extremely clean and courteous.If I could give Comm Tank 10 stars I would. Not very often you find a company with this high of professionalism and caliber.So if you are looking for reputable companies to remove your old oil tank,I would recommend contacting Comm Tank INC first.

Fast, clean, professional, on time, and thorough. Not a job anybody really wants to do but they make it painless

I've hired these guys twice over the years. I had them replace an oil tank in a house that I was moving from in Framingham that was in a very tight spot in my garage. I was in the middle of selling my house and part of the inspection called for a new tank. They made an exception and came out right away, because of the circumstances; and replaced the tank with no mess and extremely fast and efficient. I was very pleased and so was my buyer. Thank you guys.My next experience with these guys was for a house in Marlborough. The house was built in 1959 and still had the original oil tank. Once again they came out did a great job replacing the oil tank, and its been working fine for 2 years now. I couldn't be happier. If you guys need an oil tank replaced I wouldn't go anywhere else. My only regret is that I didn't do this review earlier.See the pictures below. I only have one pic of the Framingham oil tank they replaced in my garage, and the rest are of the house in Marlborough. Note the neat job they did of installing the the oil feed line to my burner.

Everything about the experience with CommTank was awesome. The guy who did the estimate came in the evening so I didn’t have to miss work and the price was even a little less than I had expected( $2600 for new 330 gal. tank and removal of the old one/new burner line/new fill and vent pipes). On the day of my tank replacement the guys showed up on time and completed all the work in 3 1/2 hours and it looks GREAT!! Would definitely recommend to anyone.

Dealing with CommTank has been an absolute pleasure. Every employee I interacted with was professional, courteous, knowledgeable and helpful. They call when they say they will, show up early, and work efficiently. The work itself was meticulously done, and my basement was spotless when they left. Would 1000% recommend CommTank to anyone in need.

I just had my oil tank replaced by Comm Tank. The guys showed up on time, took out my old tank without any problems or mess. Installed new oil tank where we requested it saving us so much space for storage. Guys on the job were professional and respectful. Great job!! Highly recommend them to anyone needing a new oil tank. Thank you Kevin for fitting us into your busy schedule and getting this job done quickly.

Shaina who works there and her company are the best..They were on time and everyone who works there are outstanding .

CommTank did an amazingly professional, detailed, and incredibly neat job of removing our leaking 275 gallon oil tank from our basement, and installing a new one in our garage. We were so impressed with the non-stop emergency work Willy, Manuel, and Juan Francisco did for 6 hours straight into the wee hours of the night. They had a virtual workshop with them in their truck, and worked continuously under difficult circumstances drilling into cement to remove old, and then install new, pipes, and install bollards. They knew exactly what to do and how to do it, and when they were finished, they left the basement and the garage immaculately clean and beautiful. It was as if we'd never had the old leaking tank! We cannot recommend CommTank and these guys highly enough! This company gets 5 stars and then some....oh! And all this done for a very reasonable price!

5 stars for the quick, low-pressure sales process, as well as the workmanship. I took off 1 star because the crew that did the install didn't fully clean up the space and left a black mark on my otherwise pristine washing machine.

I needed to remove two oil tanks in my home and replace them. I contacted CommTank and they came out to review the job and provide a quote. After some review and shopping I found that CommTank was the best overall value and the most professional company.They showed up on-time, did an amazing job with the removal and installation of new Roth tank. The work was done extremely well and the area left clean.Thank you Kevin, Leury, Francisco and the entire team for a job well done!

Removed a 1000 gal in-ground Heating oil tank / and installed a 275 gal indoor tank. They did the whole job in 6 hours and at $3000 less than the other 4 Quotes I got.

Great work, very clean and well done. Very professional.

best company you could hire for tank removal.removed 3 6000 gallon under ground tanks. louis diaz was great to deal with. gave me a price and time line . crew showed on time and you could not ask for a better group of guys. everything went smooth and on time. i recommend this company 100%. dont bother looking any further. thanks again comm tank.

Comm Tank Inc. is 2nd to none I called them during a Christmas Holiday week as our waste water team discovered a damaged DAF tank. They cam out right away to inspect and put together cost and repair options for me. We were stuck... in this situation vendors normally try to mark up pricing. This was not the case with Comm Tank actually quoted a price and wound up working through the holiday and weekend to complete the task as promised after discovering it was worst than the original assessment. Kudos to these guys who were great to work with right through the entire process Kevin Hoag was very informative and knowledgeable and exercised great direction to his team. The guys that completed the onsite work provided great customer service. In all Comm Tank does what they say there going to do and stands behind there quality of work. They will be the 1st on my call list in the event we need a reactive repair like this in the future and also any preventative repairs as well. Thank you to everyone at Comm Tank INC.

Commonwealth Tank was recommended to me by the contractor that installed my new heating system. Their customer service/scheduling department was very friendly and able to easily work around my schedule. One the day of the removal, the team (2 men) arrived on time and were both very friendly. My basement was still pretty cluttered (recently moved into the house) and they were very careful when moving boxes out of the way. They were very professional and clean, and the job only took about an hour. When they finished, they had me look at the space to make sure I was happy with the work. The holes in the foundation from the fill pipe were removed and sealed neatly with cement, no oil had been spilled on the floor, and everything had been cleaned very thoroughly...they even used air freshener to remove the fuel oil odor. I highly recommend Comm Tank due to their on time arrival, quick yet thorough work, and good customer service.

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• Home Oil Tank Removal Services
• Fire Department Permit Fees for Oil Tank Removals
• How Much Does It Cost to Remove Oil Tanks?
• Information About Leaking Tanks
• Oil Tank Removal Frequently Asked Questions

CommTank’s oil tank removal service area includes all of Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Our home oil tank removal experts specialize in residential property oil tanks. Our company is only good as its people, and CommTank technicians have more than 25 years of oil tank removal and installation experience.

Our team of licensed, professional tank technicians are exceptionally skilled, prompt, courteous and willing to answer your questions. As one comprehensive team, we know your time is valuable, so we work quickly and diligently without missing details.

No property or service project is too large, too small, or too challenging for CommTank. We service all home ages and types, from ranch to mobile homes, to 200-year-old homes, or anything in between. More people use CommTank to gain safe, reliable and affordable heating oil tank removal.

"Your crew was prompt, courteous and professional" – Matt Burnstein, Roslindale, Ma.

The amount of information we provide about home heating systems and tanks helps property owners understand the process and what they need to know.  For example, why to use qualified professional people that are insured and trained in home heating systems. What’s more, our soil testing and cleanup service replaces soil and concrete impacted by a dripping oil filter.

Oil Tank Removal Process

CommTank technicians pump out the remaining oil from this oil tank.

• Obtain permits required by the local fire department
• Pump out any remaining oil
• Place polyethylene sheeting under tanks
• Cut tanks open
• Remove all oil and sludge
• Clean the inside using recyclable/biodegradable material
• Remove fill and vent pipes
• Patch all holes in the foundation with cement or siding with silicone caulk
• Remove the oil tank and associated piping; transport to a licensed scrap yard
• Submit oil tank removal permit to Fire Department

Area Permits for Removal of Oil Tanks

We work with each city and town to keep an updated list of permit fees. If your oil tank removal requires a permit then CommTank’s courier acquires it prior to the day of the project. When the job is completed, the signed document is mailed to the local Fire Department. The City of Boston also requires a hazardous waste manifest to track the generator of oil waste to the disposal site. Information in the table below includes examples of fees charged by cities and towns in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for the removal of residential aboveground storage tanks.

Fire Department Permit Fees for Oil Tank Removals

City/Town	Address	Phone Number	Example Tank Removal Permit Fee as of June 1, 2022
Boston, MA	1010 Mass. Ave 02118	617-343-3628	$110
Worcester, Ma	25 Meade St.	508-799-1822	$50
Cambridge, MA	491 Broadway 02139	617-349-4918	$104
Brockton, MA	42 Pleasant St. 02301	508-583-2933	$55
Malden, MA	1 Sprague St. 02148	781-397-7385	$50
Newton, MA	169 Jackson Rd 02459	617-796-2230	$75
Waltham, MA	175 Lexington St. 02452	781-314-3000	$52.50
Attleboro, MA	100 Union St. 02703	774-203-1922	$50
Quincy, MA	40 Quincy Ave. 02169	617-376-1015	$52.49
Danvers, MA	64 High St. 01923	978-774-2425	$50
New Bedford, MA	868 Pleasant Street 02740	508-991-6120	$75
Manchester, NH	Building Dept. City Hall Plaza	603-669-2256	$0
Nashua, NH	229 Main St. NH 03060	603-589-3460	$0
Concord, NH	115R North State St.	603-225-8651	$0

Technician cutting the oil tank before cleaning the interior

How Much Does It Cost to Remove Oil Tanks?

The cost of a residential oil tank removal in an easily accessible, unfinished basement is $425 within 25 miles of our Wakefield office. Restricted access, such as door openings that are smaller than 29” wide, crawl spaces or narrow stairways will incur an additional fee. Typically, $50.

"The price for such great service was very reasonable. Truly a good experience for me and my family." – Pat Goodrow, Marblehead, Ma.

If an oil tank has been removed by your plumbing/heating contractor and is outside, cleaned and disconnected then the removal fee is $325. In cases where the home does not have power (demolition or construction sites), CommTank can provide a portable generator for a fee of $75.

Recycling

CommTank recycles each tank and delivers the cleaned, crushed tank to a licensed recycling yard. It requires more trips and fuel to deliver whole or partially cut tanks than it does when they are compacted. That's why CommTank built a custom tank compactor or "tank crusher " as we like to call it. We can store 2 weeks' worth of scrap metal from tank removal service jobs in one roll-off container. You can watch a video of a technician crushing an oil tank to be recycled here. 

Abandonment

According to the Massachusetts Comprehensive Fire Safety Code 527 CMR 9.02, any tank that is permanently disconnected or not in use for a period of 24 months must be removed. An unused oil tank will be flagged as a code violation, during home sales or loan refinancing, by the mortgage company inspector.

Emergency Service

CommTank is on-call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to help with your oil tank needs. Our office staff will take the time to discuss any oil tank issues, then fully explain all of your service options. Because we take a proven step by step approach to every project, you can be confident that you’re getting efficient service at an affordable price that we’ll always stand behind.

"If only every service transaction could be this great!" – Noel Kelly, North Reading, Ma.

Switching from Oil to Gas 

We have excellent working relationships with plumbing, heating oil, and property management companies who rely on us to provide prompt reliable service to their clients.

Information About Leaking Tanks

How You Can Tell Your Heating Oil Tank Is Leaking

If you have an aboveground oil tank, you may not know there's anything wrong with it by looking at it. That's because aboveground storage tanks can corrode from the inside out, so problems aren't always visible. Even painting it doesn't protect it from leaks if the corrosion is on the inside surface.

How can you tell if your oil tank is leaking? If the tank is old, check for visible oil stains on the underbelly of the tank, which may be caused by loose fittings or by overfilling the tank. Some people try to patch or repair leaking tanks themselves. Unfortunately, a leak is a sign that the tank has outlived its usefulness and needs to be replaced before major problems develop. Often, removing the tank is the best solution.

Basement tank that is slowly dripping oil

Oil Tank Safety

When’s the last time you thought about your property’s oil tank? To keep buildings safe, it’s smart to check your tank regularly. So, here’s a quick checklist to help ensure that your property’s oil tank is functioning properly.

• Is your oil usage higher than normal?
• Can you smell oil near or around the tank?
• Is the fuel gauge missing or broken?
• Are there oil stains beneath the tank?
• Are the tank legs solid and stable?
• Can you see leakage around the vent or fill pipes?
• Are there signs of rust or pitting?
• Is oil dripping from the tank?

"Amazed that this level of customer service still exists in this day and age!!" – Marc Prettenhofer, Jamaica Plain, Ma.

You can find examples of our work at our residential projects page or watch us perform an oil tank removal on the PBS series 'This Old House'.

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Oil Tank Removal Frequently Asked Questions

Oil Tank Removal FAQs

CommTank offers an oil tank pump-out service. This is a practical choice for homeowners that have a large heating oil tank (330 to 1,000-gallon capacity) that is full and prefer to transfer fuel to a new tank or a neighboring home. Most residential basement oil tanks have a 275-gallon capacity. We don’t recommend transferring oil below the 1/3 level of the tank because of sediment that accumulates near the tank bottom. This sediment will clog fuel filters quickly and require extra service calls to clear the lines and restart the oil burner. If you compare the value of the remaining oil to the cost of transferring the fuel, the transfer could be cost-prohibitive. Our crew must perform an inspection of the tank they will transfer the oil to, and ensure the tank is up to code. This step is important because CommTank takes on the liability when delivering to a different location. Time must be added to the project due to the fuel transfer, as well as the distance traveled to deliver the fuel.

We typically use Rosin paper to cover areas that customers are concerned about. A small charge is added depending upon the area that needs to be covered. Our crews can cover hardwood floors, carpeted stairs, and hallways.

Yes. We cut the vent and fill pipes and remove them from the outside wall or foundation. If the pipe passed through a concrete wall, we patch the wall with cement. If the pipes passed through an external wooden wall, we fill the holes with silicone to seal the openings. For wood walls, we urge homeowners to hire a carpenter to replace the shingles or siding to seal it permanently.

No. Our technicians prepare the area around the tank with a sheet of poly. Oil drips from the tank during the cutting process are captured on the poly so that oil never touches your basement floor.

If your basement door is smaller than 28” then CommTank technicians need to make extra cuts to remove your oil tank. This is typically an issue when a tank is installed in a crawl space or behind a finished partition. Our technicians have seen all types of basement configurations and they can remove doorway trim or cut wallboard if it’s needed. Old houses have smaller than standard doors. 25-26” The tank also bows in the middle after one cut.

Our technicians can evaluate stains and the risk of leaving them in place. We offer soil testing and cleanup services to replace concrete and soil that may have been impacted by the dripping oil filter. Environmentally friendly concrete cleaners are available through Amazon but we have not evaluated the effectiveness of these products. Cleaning a concrete surface does not mean the underlying soil is clean. We try to clean up the stain as best we can. If we feel there is a future contamination risk but the customer prefers to leave the stained concrete/soil in place, we ask these customers to sign a stain sheet acknowledging the potential of contamination under the concrete.

CommTank brings the tank back to our facility where we crush it and store it in a recycling container until we have enough metal to deliver to a licensed recycling yard. Minimizing trips to the recycler reduces truck wear and fuel consumption. Watch a heating oil tank being recycled in this video.

CommTank removes all oil from the lines before removing your oil tank. The lines are then cut and crimped. We will patch the floor with concrete and push the line under before patching.

Oil that has been pumped into a residential oil tank is no longer “virgin oil” and cannot be taken back by the oil delivery company. Trace elements of metal and rust leach into oil and affects the viscosity. Condensation collects at the tank bottom and can lead to microbial growth. The oil is pumped into our truck and brought back to our facility to be recycled.

The tank removal process takes less than an hour. Our technicians pump the oil from the tank, cut it in half, clean the insides using sawdust and oil absorbent pads, then take the cut sections out of your home. It’s rare to have residual smells from the process. We recommend airing out the house for 2 hours after an oil tank removal.