This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The former buildings at this Aberdeen property date to the early 1920s, with their heating systems served by multiple underground storage tanks — including Tanks A and B supplying a shared boiler and Tank C heating a separate structure, all situated in the alleyway. Under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, two of these heating oil USTs and associated contaminated soil were excavated and removed, and 1,000 gallons of fuel and water were pumped from a fourth tank prior to its abandonment. Remaining contaminated soils are managed through containment beneath asphalt and existing structures, with a Restrictive Covenant imposing institutional controls, mandatory five-year periodic reviews, and ongoing groundwater monitoring. 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 property — TPH-D and TPH-O released from heating oil tanks that served buildings constructed in the early 1920s — originated from equipment installed and operated decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still lacked effective pollution exclusions. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to the property's operators during that pre-1986 window may remain obligated under those policies today. The site's documented remediation costs — UST removals, soil excavation, fuel recovery, and a Restrictive Covenant running with the land in perpetuity alongside long-term groundwater monitoring — represent the kind of expenditures those historical policies were written to cover.
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.
