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.
This property operated as ARCO gas station facility No. 5517 in Port Orchard, with fuel dispensers and underground distribution piping serving retail petroleum sales. Gasoline-range petroleum hydrocarbons were identified in soil beneath the dispensers, prompting remedial work under the Voluntary Cleanup Program that spanned from 1994 through 2003 — including soil sampling, dispenser island and distribution piping upgrades, and soil removal and off-site disposal. The site has received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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 facility originated from dispensing infrastructure that was in place well before the 1994 sampling first documented the release, making pre-1986 operations — and the occurrence-based CGL policies that would have been in effect during that period — highly relevant. Nearly a decade of documented remediation activity, from initial soil sampling through final disposal, generated cleanup expenditures tied directly to those legacy fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering this facility during its pre-1986 operational window may still be obligated to reimburse those costs.
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.