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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as the Medina Chevron fuel station, equipped with six underground storage tanks storing unleaded gasoline, diesel, heating oil, and waste oil, along with fuel-dispensing pumps. Subsurface investigations beginning in 1989 detected petroleum hydrocarbons and BTEX compounds in soil and groundwater around the USTs, with benzene exceeding MTCA cleanup levels in groundwater. A Vapor Extraction System and groundwater extraction system were installed in 1990, followed by quarterly groundwater monitoring through at least 1994, after which the site met cleanup levels and 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 petroleum release at this site originated from underground storage tanks that were operational well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — vapor extraction, groundwater recovery, and years of quarterly monitoring — were incurred to address contamination tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the period these USTs were in service 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.