WATER POLLUTION; OIL; LICENSING; CONSUMER PROTECTION DEPARTMENT;

POLLUTION - WATER; CONTRACTORS - HOME IMPROVEMENT;

You asked if contractors who remove underground home heating oil tanks must be registered as home improvement contractors with the Department of Consumer Protection.

SUMMARY

The law requires someone who removes underground home heating oil tanks to register as a home improvement contractor. The Home Improvement Act requires anyone performing “home improvements” to register as a contractor with the Department of Consumer Protection (DCP). The act defines “home improvement” broadly. According to DCP’s Director of Real Estate and Professional Trades, these individuals must register.

Some licensed tradesmen may perform work associated with the removal of underground tanks. Plumbers and heating, piping, and cooling contractors may install or repair fuel, vent, and fill lines. These tradesmen are exempt from the requirement to register as home improvement contractors as long as the work they perform is within the scope of their license.

The Department of Environmental Protection operated a program that partly funded the removal of underground home heating oil tanks. The program has not accepted applications since 2001. As a part of the program, it registered contractors. A contractor who was registered with DEP and performing work paid for by the program was exempt from DCP’s registration requirements.

HOME IMPROVEMENT CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION

The Home Improvement Act requires anyone who owns and operates a home improvement business, or who performs or offers to perform “home improvements,” to register with DCP. The law defines “home improvement” as including, but not limited to:

1. the repair, replacement, remodeling, alteration, conversion, modernization, improvement, rehabilitation, or sandblasting of any land or building used as a private residence, dwelling, or residential rental property; and

2. the construction, replacement, installation, or improvement of driveways, swimming pools, porches, garages, roofs, siding, insulation, solar energy systems, flooring, patios, landscaping, fences, doors and windows, and waterproofing in connection with such land or building.

The act applies if the cash price for the agreed upon work exceeds $ 200 (CGS § 20-419).

Anyone removing an underground home heating oil tank and performing the necessary landscaping is performing a home improvement and must comply with the requirements of the Home Improvement Act, according to Richard Hurlburt, Director of DCP’s Real Estate and Professional Trades Division. These include registering as a contractor, participating in the Home Improvement Act Guaranty Fund, and using contracts that meet the act’s requirements.

EXEMPTION

The Home Improvement Act exempts several categories of workers from its requirements. It exempts anyone holding a current professional or occupational license issued pursuant to state law if they are engaging only in work for which they are licensed (CGS § 20-428). This exemption, for example, can apply to both the plumbers and heating, piping and cooling contractors who may perform some of the services entailed in removing an underground home heating oil tank.

THE EXEMPTION AND THE FORMER DEP UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK PROGRAM

The DEP operated a residential underground heating oil storage tank replacement program between July 1, 1999 and January 1, 2002. It paid for the costs of removing a residential underground storage tank if certain conditions were met. Among them, the law required that the removal be performed by a contractor registered with the DEP (CGS § 22a-449k). To register, a contractor had to: show evidence of financial security in the form of insurance, a surety bond or assets of at least $ 250,000; provide a statement certifying that he has had appropriate training, and experience in removing at least three underground storage tanks.

A contractor who was both registered with the program and performing work paid for by the program was exempt from the Home Improvement Act, according to Hurlburt. A contractor who was exempt under the program must now register with DCP.

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