This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as a retail gasoline station — the 1st Choice Chevron — with multiple underground storage tanks including two 10,000-gallon gasoline USTs, a 10,000-gallon diesel UST, and a 2,000-gallon diesel UST installed as early as 1986. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included excavation of over 1,551 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, pumping and disposal of at least 7,000 gallons of affected groundwater, decommissioning of the 2,000-gallon diesel UST, and in-situ chemical oxidation and bioremediation using RegenOx and ORC-A amendments. Long-term controls now in place include environmental covenants, capping and paving, and ongoing performance and confirmation monitoring with periodic reviews. 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.
Petroleum releases at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operating from at least 1986 — squarely within the window when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures are substantial: large-scale soil excavation, groundwater recovery, chemical oxidation, bioremediation, and years of ongoing monitoring under environmental covenants. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering this facility during its pre-1986 operational period may be obligated both to reimburse cleanup costs already incurred and to fund the monitoring and institutional controls that remain in effect.
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.
