(How I'm feeling right about now...)
Move over Love Canal, hey, look over here Exxon Valdez…The property at Cider Mill Road is now officially registered as a toxic waste dump with the EPA. Yes folks, we are in for a bumpy ride…
First up, a primer about who is who, the main characters in this passion play. Bob, the oil company man, Mike, the independent insurance investigator, Bill, the Licensed Site Professional (LSP), the Men from Peak Environmental, and the disembodied voice of the EPA from the Worcester Regional office of the EPA. Lisa is our realtor.
What a mess.
Since we began the process of selling our house, our realtor has been gently pushing for improvements to make it more sellable, a worthy goal. Besides minor stuff like painting and having some mulch spread outside, we completely remodeled a bathroom (special thanks to CollegeBoy, MissNicole, MillieJupiter and Mrsfabp for the efforts), got an estimate on roof work, septic repair (that is another story for another day) and then it came to our underground fuel tank. In this era of banks being very tight with mortgage money, Lisa felt that removing the old underground tank and putting a new one in the basement would be a major upgrade to help us sell. Getting the new tank in was easy, a one day job by Bob. He was also going to act as coordinator for the removal of the old tank. We hired the guys from Peak Environmental and they began work. Tank came out without problem, supply line, the same but then the vent line was found ruptured and discovered to have spilled oil into the soil. ALL WORK STOPPED and a LSP was called in to test. The results were twice what is allowed by government EPA standards and so the EPA was notified of a toxic spill. I got the call from the Worcester office telling us what needs to be done and since then we have been doing the insurance company dance to see how this will be paid for.
What a mess.
So, what does all this mean? It means a clean up effort of unknown length, with several different individuals and agencies involved in the actual work, reporting process and oversight. Cost? Well, depending on the insurance claim, anywhere from 200 bucks to 1.6 million dollars (only my guesstimate…) Plus, it’s another bunch of days of worry and anxiety that I won’t get back.
What a mess.
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