Home Heating Oil Spills

Massachusetts Hazardous Waste Site Cleanup

Resources

MassDEP website for the Cleanup of Sites and Spills

MassDEP Homeowner Oil Spill Cleanup Guide

Massachusetts Homeowner Oil Heating System Upgrade and Insurance Law

MassDEP List of Common Acronyms and Abbreviations

MassDEP website information about the 2024 MCP regulatory revisions   

MassDEP website Reportable Releases – 21E Site Lookup

MassDEP website information on PFAS

Uninsured Home Heating Oil Spills and Pending Legislation

Starting in 2019, investigatory reporter Ryan Kath at NBC 10 Boston aired a multi-part series on residential heating oil spills, featuring Susan Crane’s experiences with uninsured homeowners’ spills. For two decades, Susan has been a tireless advocate for legislation that would require all Massachusetts insurers to make home heating oil cleanup cost coverage automatic in every homeowner’s policy. The NBC series addressed a prior version of a pending Massachusetts bill, the 2023 versions of which are S. 648 and H. 1129, on which Susan has testified numerous times in support. Susan’s testimony before the Mass. Joint Committee on Financial Services may be viewed here, starting at min. 36:30

Some of the NBC stories are linked here:

Feb. 4, 2019 — Costly Heating Oil Spill Nightmares Leave Homeowners Devastated
Cleanups ranging from $20k to $300k are usually not covered by insurance.

March 19, 2019 — Costly Heating Oil Spill Cleanups Devastate Homeowners
Proposed law would require insurance coverage for expensive cleanups.

July 22, 2019 — “I’m So Grateful!” State Will Pay for Homeowner’s Heating Oil Spill Cleanup
After NBC10 Boston investigation highlighted Blackstone woman’s frustrating ordeal, DEP agrees to pick up the tab.

October 22, 2019 — Should Insurance Protect Homeowners From Financially Devastating Heating Oil Spills?

In 2022, The Boston Globe and many other news outlets ran articles, televisions reports, and radio programs featuring Susan, focusing on a devastating home heating oil spill at the residence of one of her clients and the need for Massachusetts legislation mandating oil spill cleanup coverage.

State records show there are, on average, about 100 heating oil spills per year across Massachusetts, but only less than 15 percent of home insurance policies cover them.