This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1910. 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.

The petroleum contamination at this terminal traces to bulk storage and distribution operations that began in 1910 and ran for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and contained no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented past remediation expenditures — 57,000 tons of soil removal, a permanent soil cap, and years of groundwater treatment — represent costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during Unocal's operational years may be obligated to recover. Equally important, the site's continuing operations-and-maintenance obligation — active groundwater monitoring and ongoing free product removal — is a forward-looking coverage need that those same historical policies may be required 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.