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.
The Tacoma Plumbing and Heating Co. property at 1819 112th Street East in Tacoma operated with on-site petroleum storage associated with its heating operations. Soil and groundwater contamination — including total petroleum hydrocarbons, BTEX compounds, naphthalenes, lead, and MTBE — was identified and addressed through remediation activities conducted under the Voluntary Cleanup Program between 1995 and 2004. The site received a No Further Action determination from Ecology's Toxics Cleanup Program following completion of those remedial actions. 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 presence of lead alongside petroleum hydrocarbons at this property points to fuel releases that predate 1986, when leaded gasoline was still in wide commercial use and occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. A decade of documented remediation — site characterization, soil and groundwater cleanup, and regulatory oversight through closeout — generated costs tied directly to those historical petroleum releases. CGL carriers on the risk during the pre-1986 operational period may still bear obligations for the cleanup expenditures incurred at this site.
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.
