This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1945. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from the mid-1940s through the mid-1970s, with leaded gasoline USTs installed on or before 1964, and also housed an automotive repair and parts shop from the mid-1960s to approximately 1996. The site was redeveloped in 1998 as a retail fuel station (now Jacksons 612) with new tanks and dispensers. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included multiple rounds of UST removals spanning the late 1980s through 2013, excavation of approximately 173 cubic yards of contaminated soil, injection of 1,550 pounds of Oxygen Release Compound, operation of a Soil Vapor Extraction system from 2000 to 2006 that removed at least 165 pounds of hydrocarbons, and groundwater monitoring from 1996 through 2023. Future work includes environmental covenants, cap maintenance, and continued groundwater monitoring. 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 traces directly to underground storage tanks installed and operated from the mid-1940s through the mid-1970s — decades before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability coverage. The remediation cost trail here spans more than thirty years of active work: tank removals, soil excavation, in-situ treatment, vapor extraction, and long-term monitoring — with institutional controls and additional monitoring still ahead. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's original operational window may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work that remains.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.