This property has a documented history as a auto body / repair shop going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Building 300 at this Washington Air National Guard facility served as the Motor Pool from at least the 1950s, supporting vehicle maintenance and repair operations that included refueling tanker trucks and the continuous use of petroleum hydrocarbons, lubricating oils, and solvents for engine and parts cleaning. Contamination originated from a waste oil vault that received petroleum hydrocarbons overflowing from an oil/water separator sump, and a nearby water well was found to be contaminated as early as 1975. Remediation included excavation and removal of diesel and gasoline underground storage tanks and the waste oil vault; investigators evaluated multiple treatment alternatives — groundwater extraction and treatment, in-situ thermal treatment, chemical oxidation, and enhanced anaerobic bioremediation — before the site reached No Further Action status. That history could support an insurance cost recovery claim against carriers who issued insurance policies 40+ years ago.
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.
Motor pool operations involving petroleum products and solvents at this facility date to the 1950s, more than three decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still lacked effective pollution exclusions in Washington. The petroleum hydrocarbon release documented here — tied to infrastructure in continuous use through at least the mid-1970s — is precisely the type of gradual, historical release those pre-1986 policies were written to address. Underground storage tanks decommissioned as late as 1991 imply installation well within the pre-1986 CGL window, and the multi-year investigation and remediation program that followed represents documented expenditures the historical carriers may be obligated to recover.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
What We Look For
- Historical insurance policies (pre-1986)
- Policy numbers, carrier names, and coverage periods
- Connection between contamination timing and policy period
- Evidence linking cleanup obligation to insured activity
What We Deliver
- Historical Coverage Chart
- Trigger Analysis & Property/Policy Nexus
- Coverage strategy with recommendations
- Insurance funding for your remediation
- Claims Management & Forensic Accounting
The Restorical Proven Process
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Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.
