This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
The Shell Oil Tank Farm operated as a bulk fuel storage and distribution facility in Anacortes from 1930 through 1987, handling gasoline and diesel fuels for Shell and successive bulk product distributors. All tanks and associated structures were removed in 1987 when bulk operations permanently ceased. Remediation began with removal of stained surficial soils and tanks in the late 1980s; a subsequent Feasibility Study selected excavation of 3,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil with off-site disposal, in-situ bioremediation, engineering and institutional controls, and five to ten years of groundwater monitoring at an estimated cost of $3,000,000. The site has reached formal cleanup completion and is currently in the active operations-and-maintenance and monitoring phase. 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.
Contamination at this property is attributed throughout the regulatory record to historic above-ground and underground storage tanks, product lines, and bulk distribution operations that began in 1930 — more than five decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. Shell and successive operators active during that pre-1986 window were issued policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law, and those policies remain enforceable today. The $3,000,000 remediation cost estimate — covering soil excavation, bioremediation, and long-term groundwater monitoring — represents documented expenditures tied directly to releases from those decades of fuel storage, and historical carriers may be obligated to contribute to recovering those costs.
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.
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.
