This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a gasoline service station with three underground storage tanks — a 6,000-gallon gasoline tank, a 6,000-gallon diesel tank, and a 550-gallon waste-oil tank — all decommissioned and removed in 1994 along with a fuel dispensing island and associated piping. Cleanup under Voluntary Cleanup Program Project NW2788 has included excavation of approximately 210–320 tons of contaminated soil, recovery of over 9,000 gallons of petroleum-affected groundwater, and disposal of investigation waste from continued monitoring through 2014. The VCP agreement was terminated in 2022 due to inactivity, and cleanup remains incomplete. 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 gasoline, diesel, and waste-oil tanks at this property were installed and operated well before 1986, meaning the carriers who wrote occurrence-based CGL policies covering those fueling operations did so before pollution exclusions took hold. Decades of documented remediation spending — tank removals, soil excavation, groundwater recovery, and multiple investigation campaigns — have already been incurred, and with cleanup still incomplete after the VCP agreement's termination, additional costs lie ahead. Those historical policies may obligate the carriers both to reimburse the expenditures already spent and to fund the remediation work still required to close this site.
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.