Decommissioning of Underground Storage Tanks

Midland Resource Recovery (MRR) was retained to perform decommissioning for both aboveground and underground odorant storage tanks at a Midwestern gas company and provide safe, incident-free removal of the equipment without odorant release during all phases of the process.

• Decommission equipment
• Underground Storage Tank removal (UST)
• Compliance
• Odorization experts

Challenge: Remove and Dispose of Odorant Storage Tanks

Retiring or decommissioning obsolete or unserviceable odorization equipment presents a challenge for any company, especially those without the proper equipment, trained technicians, and understanding of the EPA underground storage tank (UST) regulations. A natural gas distributor in Nebraska required the safe removal and disposal of both large underground and smaller aboveground odorant storage tanks.

Solution:
The Midwestern natural gas company hired MRR to handle the proper and safe decommissioning and removal of their storage tanks. MRR hired and supervised a local contractor as an MRR subcontractor to conduct loading, excavation and to backfill two underground storage tanks.

The gas company had two underground odorant storage tanks; one was 4,000- and another was 5,000-gallons. They also had several smaller aboveground tanks. We excavated the underground vessels. Remaining odorant in the old tanks was filtered and removed to an MRR properly equipped bobtail truck. The odorant was then safely transferred to another client’s location for use. The old storage tanks were removed to leakproof containers to minimize the risk of mercaptan release. Where appropriate, MRR backfilled the sites. We then transferred the old tanks to the Philippi, WV facility for a thermo-chemical treatment to decontaminate the equipment from residual mercaptan, and the tanks were recycled.

Results
Both the aboveground and belowground odorant storage tanks were safely removed, transported and the contaminated material was properly discarded and recycled. The project was incident-free, and the client saved time from not needing to navigate the regulations, train technicians and invest in capital expenditures.

Decommissioning Underground Storage Tanks

If you would like more information on decommissioning your odorization equipment, visit Safely Remove your Odorant Equipment.