This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a gasoline service station with three underground storage tanks — two 10,000-gallon and one 5,000-gallon — assumed installed around 1964 and removed in August 1989. A dissolved-phase petroleum hydrocarbon plume originating near the former pump island triggered extensive remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, including excavation of 150 cubic yards of contaminated soil and operation of a dual-phase extraction system for over 1,796 days, recovering more than 9.6 million gallons of groundwater and 7,671 pounds of TPH in vapor. Groundwater monitoring, passive product recovery, and planned future treatment systems remain ongoing. 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 contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and dispensing gasoline roughly two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The scale of documented remediation — tank removal, soil excavation, nearly five years of dual-phase extraction, and continuing groundwater treatment — represents substantial expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as cleanup continues. Pre-1986 CGL policies issued during the operational window of those tanks remain a plausible source of recovery.
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.