Central Washington Bulk Fuel Facility
Facing an eight-figure cleanup and a Fortune 100 adversary, our client needed a way out—fast.
Problem
When our client purchased a bulk fuel plant from Big Oil in the 1970s, they unknowingly inherited 50 years of contamination. The property, originally developed in the 1920s by Standard Oil, sat in a small but strategically located Central Washington town with prime access to railroads and waterways. Over decades, the site expanded with larger tanks, a pipeline manifold and a pump house. Each era leaving its own environmental footprint.
Fast forward to a facility upgrade in 2021: crews uncovered petroleum hydrocarbons floating on groundwater (LNAPL), heavy oils and chlorinated solvents sinking below the water table (DNAPL), and decades of legacy pollution. Regulators were watching, liability was joint and several, and the cleanup estimate soared into eight figures.
The best-case scenario in court? A ‘time-on-risk’ split with Big Oil paying 50%, leaving our client on the hook for millions. Litigation promised years of expense, stress, and uncertainty. Our client was interested in alternative options to a private right of action against Big Oil.
Solution
Restorical stepped in with a different strategy: insurance cost recovery. Historical general liability policies cover environmental cleanup decades after the pollution occurred. These policies are contracts, and the carriers, not our client, would have to honor this contract and pay for these environmental damages.
We moved quickly, completing our Task 1 within 4 months:
- Big Three data set: Site history, Environmental, and Insurance Archaeology.
- Trigger Analysis: Identified our clients’ coverage periods (and carriers) tied to occurrences of contamination.
- Coverage Strategy: Built a sequencing plan to maximize recovery and minimize litigation risk.
We uncovered 10 years of primary, umbrella, and excess policies. With the ability to stack coverage with viable carriers, the client had plenty of coverage. The client hired an insurance coverage attorney to review our underwriting file and proposed strategy. Counsel developed a coverage opinion concurring with our recommendations, and the client authorized this strategy, which avoided the courtroom entirely.
Impact
The claim was tendered, and within several months, we had secured coverage for this complex and expensive remediation, without litigation. The carrier funded the cleanup, paying the consultant and defense attorney directly.
Restorical managed the claim, tracked the progress, and accounted for all the monies, ensuring invoices were paid within 45 days.
Key Results
- 100% of cleanup costs funded by historical carriers
- Environmental liability funded without litigation
- Defense and Indemnity costs paid directly by insurers
- Regulatory compliance achieved without financial strain
- Client avoided years of courtroom battles with Big Oil
