This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1975. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a retail gasoline station and mini-mart in Kelso for more than twenty years, with underground storage tanks dating to between 1975 and 1980 — including a 3,000-gallon leaded gasoline tank, an 8,000-gallon unleaded gasoline tank, and a 1,000-gallon diesel fuel tank. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of five underground storage tanks, excavation and thermal treatment of 830 tons of contaminated soil, and recovery of approximately 2,400 gallons of a gasoline-and-water mixture from the excavation. The site has received a No Further Action determination, though residual soil contamination remains contained beneath asphalt and concrete under an active Environmental Covenant with five-year 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 property originated from underground storage tanks installed as early as the mid-1970s — more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began excluding pollution claims. The documented remediation costs — five tank removals, 830 tons of soil disposal, groundwater recovery, long-term monitoring, and an ongoing environmental covenant — are expenditures tied directly to operations conducted during the pre-1986 policy window. Historical carriers who covered this facility when those tanks were in service may still be obligated to reimburse those cleanup 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.