This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1941. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

Why Historical Insurance Policies May Be Accessible

Pre-1986 Commercial General Liability (CGL) policies were occurrence-based and did not contain an effective pollution exclusion in Washington. If contamination occurred while those policies were active, those historical insurance carriers may still have a legal obligation to fund the cleanup costs, even if the business closed or the property changed hands.

Petroleum contamination at this site traces directly to bulk fuel storage and distribution operations that began in 1941 — more than four decades before the 1986 watershed year when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies effectively lost their pollution coverage. Monitoring wells installed in late 1986 and early 1987 confirm that regulators were already responding to contamination from pre-1986 operations, establishing a clear chain of liability back to that era. The scale of documented remediation here — 33-plus years of active cleanup, tens of thousands of pounds of hydrocarbons extracted, and ongoing monitoring and institutional controls — represents precisely the kind of long-tail environmental liability that historical CGL carriers may remain obligated to fund.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.