This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operates as a retail fueling station and convenience store at 3330 Airport Dr in Bellingham, with three 10,000-gallon underground gasoline storage tanks currently on site. A leaking UST incident (LUST 6580) was recorded in May 2011, and multi-year investigations spanning 2019 through 2022 identified gasoline contamination requiring test pit excavation, filter replacement, and tank emptying procedures. Recommended remediation steps — contaminated soil excavation, groundwater recovery, and equipment repairs — remain in progress under the Standard 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 tanks at this Bellingham fueling station were operational well before 1986 — the May 2011 LUST incident, combined with the standard 25-to-30-year UST service life, places their installation squarely in the pre-1986 era when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum contamination at this Airport Drive site traces directly to those tanks' operational history, and the expenditures accumulating here for soil excavation, groundwater recovery, and ongoing cleanup oversight are the precise category of costs that carriers who issued policies against those pre-1986 operations are obligated both to recover and to fund as remediation continues.
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.
