This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Manchester Texaco Gas Station at 2399 Colchester Drive SE in Port Orchard operated as a fuel-dispensing facility with underground storage tanks that were listed in Ecology's Leaking Underground Storage Tank database. Independent remedial actions were carried out between 1995 and 1999 to address diesel, gasoline, and heavy oil contamination in site soils. Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Program reviewed the completed work and issued a No Further Action determination under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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.
The petroleum contamination at this property — diesel, gasoline, and heavy oil released from underground storage tanks — originated from fueling operations that predate 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation costs incurred across four years of independent cleanup actions to reach Ecology's No Further Action standard were driven by releases tied to those earlier operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's pre-1986 operating window may still be obligated to recover those documented cleanup expenditures.
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.
