This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1956. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations 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.

Crude oil and natural gas condensate contamination at this property originated from pipeline pumping and bulk storage operations that commenced in 1956 — three decades before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to provide reliable pollution coverage. The spills documented in 1971 and 1979 are discrete pre-1986 occurrences that fall squarely within the coverage window of the CGL policies then in force at this facility. The remediation program here — encompassing excavation, tank removals, multi-technology groundwater treatment, and long-term monitoring — represents decades of documented expenditure, and historical carriers whose policies covered Trans Mountain's operations during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the remediation work that remains ahead.

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.