This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gas service station from 1970 to 2007, with Chevron managing operations from 1979 through 1987 and multiple underground storage tanks with capacities up to 45,000 gallons serving the site over that period. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included two phases of UST removal — the original tanks, pump islands, and contaminated soils excavated in 1994, followed by removal of second-generation USTs, dispenser islands, and piping in 2007. Extensive groundwater monitoring was conducted from 2007 through 2009, though no active groundwater treatment was performed. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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 hydrocarbon and lead contamination at this property originated from fueling operations and underground storage tanks that were in continuous use from 1970 — more than fifteen years before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures spanning 1994 through 2009 — two rounds of tank removal, soil excavation, structure demolition, and multi-year groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the station's operators during the 1970s and early 1980s may still be obligated to cover those cleanup costs.
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.