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.
The General Petroleum Corporation (GPC) operated a large-scale bulk fuel plant at this Olympia shoreline property from the 1920s through 1979, with at least five large aboveground storage tanks, a pump house, and oil and grease storage areas documented as early as 1947. The City of Olympia's sewer pump station, constructed in 1957, also maintained a 1,500-gallon underground storage tank for an emergency generator, which was closed in place in 1999 by pumping its contents and filling with cement slurry. From 2010 to 2011, approximately 2,500 tons of historically buried contaminated soil were excavated from the shoreline and sheetpile walls were installed as a containment barrier. A Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study prepared in 2013 outlined future remedial alternatives and cost estimates; cleanup work continues under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 shoreline property originated from more than five decades of bulk fuel storage and distribution by GPC — operations that ran from the 1920s until 1979, well before 1986 when occurrence-based CGL policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. Carriers who issued commercial general liability policies to GPC or the City of Olympia during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated to fund both the remediation costs already incurred — excavation, barrier installation, and investigation — and the additional cleanup work that the 2013 RI/FS has yet to complete. The 2010 excavation characterizing the contamination as existing buried historical material strengthens the link between pre-1986 operations and current liability.
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.
