This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a Hertz Equipment Rental and warehouse facility from 1986 through 2010, with underground storage tanks — including a 2,500-gallon and a 4,000-gallon fuel UST and two 550-gallon used oil USTs — supporting fueling and maintenance of industrial and rental equipment. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program spanned from 1996 through 2014, encompassing removal of the used oil USTs in 1996 and fuel USTs in 2010, multiple phases of soil excavation totaling over 515 tons, disposal of 11,200 gallons of contaminated water, and ongoing groundwater monitoring. 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.
The underground storage tanks at this property were installed in 1986, at the close of the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Nearly two decades of documented remediation — UST removals, large-scale soil excavation, contaminated water disposal, and long-term groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address petroleum releases from that original 1986 tank system. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering the facility during that window may still be obligated to recover 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.