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Aug 8, 2003 12:00 PM

The National Oilheat Research Alliance (NORA) has commissioned the North Carolina Petroleum Marketers Association (NCPMA) to study underground storage tanks (USTs) for home heating, according to information from the Petroleum Marketers Association of America (PMAA). Home heating oil tanks, mainly underground storage tanks, have been used by the fuel oil industry for years with relatively few problems. However, underground storage tanks are coming under attack as an environmental hazard by insurers, mortgage lenders, realtors, environmental agencies, and to some extent, the general public. Tim Laughlin at the North Carolina association is a petroleum engineer and certified professional engineer. He hopes that the tank study will help define how to improve the tank system installation process and that it will develop regulatory language that would have the fuel oil marketer own the tanks at the homeowners' residence. The results of the study will be published sometime in the fall, PMMA said.