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.
Petroleum contamination at this Olympia property was discovered in 1991 during construction of the McDonald's building, with old treated pilings and timbers on-site identified as a probable source of the diesel-like hydrocarbons and oil sheen observed in soil and groundwater. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program began that same year, encompassing excavation of approximately 70 cubic yards of contaminated soil, removal and disposal of contaminated trench water, and subsequent groundwater purging and treatment. In 1999, a restrictive covenant was placed on the property to manage residual soil contamination, after which Ecology granted No Further Action 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 contamination here did not originate from a recent spill — it was already present and leaching from infrastructure that was characterized as "old" in 1991, placing the operative period well before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to whoever owned or operated that earlier infrastructure had no effective pollution exclusion and may still be enforceable against the historical carriers. The documented remediation trail — soil excavation, groundwater treatment, and a recorded restrictive covenant binding future use — establishes the cost basis that those pre-1986 policies could be called upon to recover.
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.
