HOMEOWNER OIL SPILL CLEANUP GUIDE Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection Fall 2002 HAMPSHIRE LAW LIBRARY NORTHAMPTON, MAOIOGO - DATE DU —— 1 MASS KFM 2754 .H65 2002 Massachusetts. Dept. of Environmental Protection Homeowner oil spill cleanup quide This 1Boo^k May Be Kept DAYS *| ONLY Cannot Be Renewed Or Transf^err It (413) 586-2297 COMMONWEALTHOFMASSACHUSETTS HAMPSHIRE LAWLIBRARY COURTHOUSE-99 MAIN STREET NORTHAMPTON, MASS. 01060 HomeownerOil Spill Cleanup Guide Fall 2002 READ THIS HOMEOWNER OIL SPILL CLEANUP GUIDE YOU ARE INTERESTED IF IN: • Maintaining your property value • Minimizing the disruption to you and your family • Protecting against lawsuits • Minimizing your compliance fees • Minimizing your cleanup costs by acting quickly • Addressing your problem before gets worse it • Complying with Massachusetts environmental laws But most importantly • Protecting your health, your drinking water and the environment This Guide provides you with the information you need to know to clean up an oil spill properly. Tips to save time and money are also included. Be Aware of High Cleanup Costs In 2001, DEP conducted a survey of 510 homeowners who had experienced a home heating system oil spill. Questions included how long the cleanup had taken, the costs involved, and whether soil and/or groundwater were affected. Cost data were provided by 159 homeowners. Costs were significantly lowerwhen homeowners cleaned up spills quickly and prevented impacts to groundwater. Prompt cleanups also minimized disruption and reduced the potential for exposure of family members or neighbors to the oil. Survey data indicated that spills that had time to spread to groundwater were significantly more expensive to clean up. • Most cleanups completed in four months or less: $20,000 or less. • Typical cleanup cost range: $20,000 to $50,000. • Average cleanup costs involving both soil and groundwater: $90,000. On the high end, DEP survey results showed some cleanup costs exceeded $300,000. While the survey answers were not detailed enough to show all the factors that caused costs to escalate to this level, impact to groundwaterwas a factor. i 1 HomeownerOil Spill Cleanup Guide Fall 2002 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page BE AWARE OF HIGH CLEANUP COSTS i INTRODUCTION/ABBREVIATIONS 1 PART I: IMMEDIATE STEPS TO TAKE AFTER AN OIL RELEASE 2 WEB ADDRESSES 4 PART II: OIL RELEASE CLEANUP IS A STEP-BY-STEP PROCESS 5 PART III: HIRING AND MANAGING AN LSP AND CLEANUP CONTRACTOR 7 PART IV: OVERVIEW OF THE PRIVATIZED MCP STATE CLEANUP PROCESS 9 PART V: UNDERSTANDING ASSESSMENT 1 PART VI: CLEANUP OPTIONS 13 PART VII: HELPFUL HINTS AND SHORTCUTS 15 PART VIII: OVERVIEW OF YOUR LEGAL RESPONSIBILITIES 16 PART IX: FINANCIAL HELP: WHAT ARE THE ALTERNATIVES? 18 ATTACHMENT A: A TYPICAL HOME HEATING OIL SYSTEM AND HOW CAN LEAK IT ATTACHMENT B: TIPS FOR MAINTAINING YOUR HOME HEATING SYSTEM: PREVENT HEATING OIL LEAKS AND SPILLS ATTACHMENT C: INFORMATION TO RETAIN IN YOUR HEATING OIL CLEANUP NOTEBOOK ATTACHMENT SUGGESTED EMERGENCY PROCEDURES D: FOR HOME HEATING OIL SPILLS ii HomeownerOil Spill Cleanup Guide Fall2002 INTRODUCTION Most properly maintained home heating oil systems never experience a release or spill. When a leak, spill or other release of heating oil occurs at your home, you may not know what to do. To assist you, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has written this Homeowner Oil Spill Cleanup Guideon how to assess and clean up a home heating oil release. What is a release of heating oil? A release into the environment ofheating oil includes any kind of spill or leak from your oil tank, oil delivery line or other part of your heating system. DEP refers to all types of spills, leaks and other contamination by the term release. he guide should help you understand the Commonwealth's requirements and step-by-step procedures for cleaning up a heating oil release in a mannerthat protects yourfamily, neighbors, property and the environment. The cleanup requirements are contained in the Massachusetts Contingency Plan or MCP (310 CMR 40.0000). The guide will help you understand the basics ofassessing and cleaning up an oil release and work through the regulatory and legal requirements of the MCP. Tips on hiring professional assistance and financing your cleanup are also provided. The guide touches on key topics involved in cleaning up a release. It is meant only to be an introduction to the terminology and an overview of the information you will need to complete a cleanup. Attachments A and B are fact sheets that depict a typical home heating oil system and how it can leak and, once the cleanup is completed, tips on preventing leaks and spills. Attachment C is a list of important information to retain about your cleanup. Attachment D describes emergency procedures for an oil spill. If you need more detailed information, the guide will be available with additional reference information on DEP's web site at www.mass.qov/dep/bwsc . The guide provides answers to the following common questions: WHO: Who do I call? Who is responsible? Who will clean it up? Who will pay forthe cleanup? WHAT: What should I do first? What is the next step? What caused the release? WHEN: When did the release happen? When will the cleanup begin? When will it be completed? WHERE: Where did the release occur? (inside or outside the house) HOW: How will the oil release be cleaned up? How will it be paid for? WHY: Why do I have to clean up the oil release? ABBREVIATIONS DEP has attempted to minimize use of bureaucratic terms, abbreviations, and acronyms. However, a few abbreviations are so common when dealing with an oil cleanup that we use them in this guide: AST Above-ground Storage Tank AUL Activity and Use Limitation BOL Bill of Lading DEP Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection IRA Immediate Response Action LRA Limited Removal Action LSP Licensed Site Professional MCP Massachusetts Contingency Plan NAPL Non-Aqueous Phase Liquid NOR Notice of Responsibility PRP Potentially Responsible Party RAM Release Abatement Measure RAO Response Action Outcome RTN Release Tracking Number UST Underground Storage Tank Each abbreviation and term will be explained the first time it is used. 1 Digitized by tine Internet Arcliive 2015 in littps://arcliive.org/details/liomeowneroilspilOOmass HomeownerOil Spill Cleanup Guide Fall2002 PARTI WHO DO CALL?- WHAT DO DO? I I IMMEDIATE STEPS TO TAKE AFTER AN OIL RELEASE A. NOTIFY YOUR LOCAL FIRE DEPARTMENT AND DEP IMMEDIATELY Contact the local Fire Department (911) and the regional DEP office as soon as a heating oil release is discovered. Use the 24-hour DEP release reporting line (1-888-304-1133) to make an initial oil release notification. Also call your oil company, which will usually have 24-hour service technicians available to help you shut offvalves to stop the oil release. What is heating oil? Heating oil refers to all types of liquid home heating fuel, including kerosene and #2 fuel oil. This term does not include propane, natural gas or other gaseous fuels. These gaseous fuels are highly explosive and dangerous, so contact your Fire Department immediately if you suspect a leak. Heating oil is combustible, but it is not explosive. Ifyou are unsure whetheryour situation requires notification to DEP orthe Fire Department- call them both. Informing DEP and the Fire Department as soon as possible can minimize the risks posed to you, yourfamily and the environment. The Fire Department will routinely respond and address any immediate fire hazards and public safety issues. Early involvement by DEP is not only a good idea - - it is the law. DEP must be notified within two hours of the discovery of a sudden release of ten or more gallons of oil and of some other types ofoil releases. For more information, see DEP's web site at www.mass.aov/dep/bwsc. DEP's primary role is to ensure that the people who are legally responsible for oil releases clean them up in a manner that protects people and the environment. DEP will provide assistance over the telephone, and whenever possible, at your home. DEP is committed to providing as much guidance and assistance to homeowners as possible throughout the cleanup process; however, given limitations on DEP's resources, DEP cannot always have staff assigned to each homeowner spill. This guide is intended to answer the most common questions posed by homeowners to allow them to move forward more quickly on the cleanup, even if no DEP staff person is assigned to their release. B. PROTECT YOUR FAMILY: REDUCING POTENTIAL HEALTH RISKS After you have made the initial phone calls to the Fire Department and DEP, limit your own and your family's potential exposure to the heating oil and its vapors. High concentrations of oil vapors can cause a numberofshort-and long-term health effects. Provide good ventilation throughout any area where you smell oil odors. If possible, open windows and set up fans to increase airflow through the area. Venting is more difficult in the winter and precautions must be taken to prevent water pipes from freezing. Try to close off the area where the oil release occurred (such as the basement) from the main living areas. How do you know if you are experiencing health effects or are at risk of health effects? Although heating oil is less toxic than other types of petroleum products, exposure to heating oil can cause some short- or long-term health effects if the volume or concentration of heating oil is great enough. Common symptoms associated with acute (short-term) exposure to heating oil are: eye irritation, headache, nausea, dizziness, drowsiness, euphoria, loss of coordination and disorientation. Prolonged or widespread contact with the skin may cause severe irritation, redness and swelling. Chronic (long-term) exposure to heating oil may produce serious health impacts. Ifsymptoms are severe or persist, consult a doctor. 2