This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Columbia Greenhouse, a commercial greenhouse in Kent, experienced a release of petroleum hydrocarbons from a leaking underground storage tank used for heating oil. Independent remedial actions were conducted to address contamination in both soil and groundwater, and the Department of Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in 2000, confirming the release no longer poses a threat. The site's record on Ecology's Leaking Underground Storage Tank database has been updated to reflect that closed 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.
The petroleum contamination at this property originated from an underground heating oil tank that was installed and operating well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation expenditures incurred to reach the No Further Action determination — investigation, soil and groundwater cleanup — arose from a release tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the period the tank was in service may still be obligated to cover those documented cleanup costs.
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.
