Officials with Panther Valley School District hope to replace a large oil tank at the middle school in time to heat the building for winter.

The old tank leaked about 5,000 gallons of oil onto school property in July.But a recently hired consultant says the school should also be prepared to build a temporary tank, in case the project can't be completed in time.The school board voted unanimously Thursday night to hire D'Huy Engineering of Bethlehem to remove the old tank, and conduct an inspection of how it was installed. The work is expected to cost $29,300."When can we get started, because time is of the essence," board member John Williams said.The next phase in the project has two purposes.Obviously, the district wants the old tank removed.But they also want to document why it failed, in case they decide to take legal action against the companies who built and installed the tank.The district is working under a tight deadline to get a heating system up and running in the intermediate school before winter.Engineer James P. Lynch told the board Thursday that his goal is to get bids for a new tank by the end of next month. He advised school officials to apply to the Department of Education to have the project declared an emergency, which would speed up the bidding process."There is no fuel to heat the school; that would constitute an emergency in my eyes," he said.Ultimately, the project will come down to the availability of a 10,000-gallon tank when the time comes to install it.That's why it was suggested that the board have a backup plan to heat the school, even if the project is not complete.July's oil spill is believed to have been caused by some kind of leak in the tank. At only 7 years old, it was well short of the life span for a normal 10,000-gallon, double-walled tank, school officials said.Williams suggested that in the interest of any possible litigation, the board also hold onto the tank itself, storing it somewhere on the school property.The district spent $46,000 to clean up the oil spill in July, and the price tag is expected to rise again.