The metal-capped 2” pipe in this picture pretty much guarantees you are looking at an older home or possibly a newer home in an old neighbourhood.

This is the filling spout for an underground oil tank. Many of these underground tanks were abandoned when homes were upgraded to natural gas heating in 1950’s.

The concern with abandoned oil tanks is the possibility of soil and ground water contamination from petroleum products leaking from the deteriorating tank. Removing these is becoming a serious and sometimes costly business.