Oil Tank Removal Cost In Rhode Island
Two parts of this price are fixed by the state and everything else is site work. The fixed parts are $75 per tank for the closure application and another $75 for a tank that was never registered.
The rest is decided by where the tank is, what is on top of it, and whether anyone has to look at the soil.
Last reviewed August 22, 2026.
Oil Tank Removal Cost Bands In Rhode Island
Local companies publish $1,500 to $3,500 for a straightforward buried residential tank, around $600 for an aboveground tank near Providence, and $2,500 to $5,000 for a basement tank with confined access. Remediation where oil has reached the soil is published from $10,000 upward.
Those are their figures, read in August 2026. One of the publishers gives $1,500 to $3,000 on its Rhode Island service page and $900 to $3,500 on its own blog, which is a fair indication of how firm the market numbers are.
The Two Fixed State Charges
$75 per tank for the DEM permanent closure application, and a further $75 per tank for any tank that was never registered with the UST program. Both are paid to the State of Rhode Island rather than to a contractor.
The second one catches people. A 1950s residential tank was never registered, and whether the second $75 applies is a question worth asking before the quote is compared.
Instructions for Permanent Closure Application for Underground Storage Tank(s). Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management. Read August 22, 2026. Read from a municipal mirror that still cites the pre-RICR rule numbers, so the form revision is old. The fee, the ten business day notice and the fire department signature all match the current section 1.15 text. Confirm the current form with the DEM UST Section before relying on the fee.
What Moves The Number In Rhode Island
Access first: gate width, driveway surface, and whether a machine can reach the tank without going through the yard twice. Then depth, then what the fill and vent lines run under, then reinstatement of whatever the machine stood on.
Tank size matters least. A 275 and a 550 come out of the same hole.
The Soil Testing Line That Should Not Be There
Several published Rhode Island quotes carry $500 to $1,500 of soil testing as a standard item. Section 1.15(A) exempts tanks storing fuel oil consumed on site solely for heating from the closure assessment, so that is not a state requirement on a residential removal.
Testing is a real cost when there is a real reason for it, or when a buyer asks for it. Priced in by default it is somebody covering their own risk with your money.
250-RICR-140-25-1.15, closure. Cornell Legal Information Institute. Read August 22, 2026.
The $500 That Comes Back On A Replacement
If an aboveground tank goes in as part of the same project, Upgrade & Save Rhode Island pays up to $500 toward the tank and up to $800 toward a boiler or furnace, to a $1,300 ceiling, as of April 1, 2026.
It is processed through a registered Rhode Island Bioheat fuel dealer, and funds are limited and first come, first served. Nobody should net it off a quote before it is confirmed.
Upgrade & Save Rhode Island rebate amounts. Energy Marketers Association of Rhode Island. Program page states as of April 1, 2026. Funds are limited and allocated first come, first served, and rebates are processed through a registered Rhode Island Bioheat fuel dealer. Most other pages on the web still publish the superseded $1,000 and $400 amounts.
The Number Nobody Can Quote Up Front
If the excavation shows a release, the job changes shape and so does the price, and no honest figure can be given before the hole is open. What can be given in advance is the trigger and the process that follows it.
That is why our figure is written, and why it says what would change it.
250-RICR-140-25-1.14, release reporting. Cornell Legal Information Institute. Read August 22, 2026.
Rhode Island Cost Questions
Why do Rhode Island quotes vary so much?
Because most of the price is access rather than tank, and because some quotes carry soil testing as a standard line and others do not. The state charges are the only part that is the same at every address: $75 per tank, plus $75 for an unregistered tank.
Is the cheapest quote the one without soil testing?
Not necessarily, and it is worth reading why testing is or is not on the quote. Rhode Island does not require the closure assessment on a residential heating oil tank, so its absence can be correct. Its presence is correct too where there is evidence of a release or where a buyer has asked for it.
Does removing the tank affect what the house sells for?
We are not going to put a figure on that, because we have not verified one. What is verifiable is that Rhode Island's disclosure form names underground tanks within the heating system item, so the tank enters the transaction either as a completed file or as an open question.
A Written Figure For Your Address
Access is most of this price, so a real figure needs the address rather than a tank size. You get the number and what would move it.