This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1974. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property in Bridgeport, Douglas County operated as a fuel storage and dispensing site with underground storage tanks containing gasoline, diesel, and oil-range hydrocarbons. A leaking UST was removed in 1999, prompting excavation of 112 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, installation of a groundwater monitoring well, and enhanced bioremediation using an oxygen-releasing compound. A multi-year natural attenuation and groundwater monitoring program ran from 1999 through at least 2005, culminating in a No Further Action determination in 2006 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 underground storage tank at this site was installed decades before its 1999 removal, placing its operational life squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum release that contaminated soil and groundwater here was the kind of gradual, long-duration event those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. Seven years of documented remediation costs — excavation, bioremediation, and ongoing monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who insured this property during the tank's operational window may still be obligated to fund.
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.