This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property served as a petroleum bulk storage, transfer, and distribution facility from at least the 1920s, handling fuel oils, stove oil, Bunker C, diesel, and gasoline through marine offloading, truck loading, and rail operations. The ExxonMobil parcel operated until 1987 and the ADC parcel until 1990, with aboveground storage tanks documented on-site as early as 1930. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program has included removal of over 160 tons of contaminated soil, groundwater extraction and treatment systems that have recovered millions of gallons of water and tens of thousands of gallons of liquid-phase hydrocarbons, a soil vapor extraction pilot, asbestos abatement, and capping. Ongoing remediation since the early 1990s includes regular LPH bailing, groundwater monitoring, and oleophilic sock replacement. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site — including lead from leaded gasoline — traces to bulk plant operations that began more than six decades before 1986, with tank leakage and spills confirmed as early as 1985 and attributed to multiple historical sources. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to General Petroleum, Mobil, and their successors during that long operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The remediation costs already incurred here — decades of groundwater treatment, soil removal, vapor extraction, and continuous product recovery — along with the cleanup work still ahead, represent obligations those historical carriers may be required both to reimburse and to fund going forward.
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.
