This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1967. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has served as the City of Des Moines Department of Public Works maintenance facility, with underground storage tanks supplying gasoline and diesel for the municipal fleet. In 1992, two USTs were removed along with approximately 1,500 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil, followed by bioremediation of the excavated material. A groundwater recovery and treatment system — incorporating air sparging and granular activated carbon filtration — operated from 2009 through 2014, with continued monitoring and in-situ air diffusion through 2021. Cleanup work is ongoing under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 site traces to underground storage tanks estimated to have been installed around 1967, placing their operation nearly two decades before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability coverage. Documented remediation costs spanning more than three decades — tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, bioremediation, groundwater treatment, and long-term monitoring — represent the type of expenditures that historical CGL carriers may be obligated to both recover and to fund as cleanup continues. The extended remediation timeline and ongoing site activity underscore the scale of liability that pre-1986 policies were designed to address.
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.