This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has operated as a gasoline station since approximately 1970, with three underground storage tanks — totaling 18,000 gallons of capacity — dispensing leaded gasoline, unleaded gasoline, and diesel fuel. The USTs were removed in 1995, revealing weathered gasoline and diesel contamination exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels in soils beneath and around the pump islands. Remediation under the Standard Cleanup program has included planned excavation of approximately 700 cubic yards of contaminated soil, installation of six groundwater monitoring wells, and in-situ chemical and biological oxidant injections at 70 locations in 2011, with monitored natural attenuation ongoing. The property continues to operate as a gasoline station and convenience store. 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 originated from underground storage tanks that stored leaded gasoline — a fuel phased out by 1986 — confirming that the release predates the era when pollution exclusions narrowed CGL coverage. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the station's operators during those pre-1986 decades had no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, oxidant injection across 70 treatment points, and years of groundwater monitoring — represent costs the historical carriers may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund through the completion of cleanup.
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.