Removing oil tanks on private land

An underground oil tank or fuel tank can rust or leak. This can cause soil contamination. If there is an underground oil tank or fuel tank in your garden, you must report this to the municipality.

  • If you no longer use the tank, you must have it removed by an acknowledged company. Always have a soil investigation carried out.
  • If you still use the tank, you must have it inspected every year.

How does it work?

  • The removal obligation does not apply to tanks that were remediated (cleaned) before 1 January 1999 by a Kiwa-acknowledged company.
  • The removal obligation also does not apply to tanks that were remediated before 1 March 1993.

As the owner, the municipality can still oblige you to take additional measures. In the past, tanks were not always remediated thoroughly.

What to do?

The West-Holland Environmental Service carries out a number of executive soil tasks for the municipality of Voorschoten

Extra information

Sometimes it is difficult to determine whether an oil tank is present.

  • Signs in your yard include a manhole cover, a brass cap, a vent pipe, or unusual sinkholes. Oil tanks are never buried deeper than 1, metre .
  • In the basement or crawl space, an unused pipe indicates an oil supply. Old oil pipes are easy to recognize: they are at least 2 times as thick as gas pipes and have a diameter of approximately 6 centimetre.
  • Sometimes your neighbours or the previous residents will know if there’s a tank in the yard.
  • Oil merchants usually know which houses used to have oil heating.

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