This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This waterfront property operated as a petroleum bulk storage facility from the 1930s, with operations that included fueling transport ships via a pipeline utilidor and filling drums with petroleum products in on-site barreling sheds. A waste oil underground storage tank was excavated in 1991, and subsequent investigation identified total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) throughout the site soils and groundwater from decades of bulk petroleum handling. A cleanup alternatives analysis has recommended excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 1,650 cubic yards of contaminated soil at an estimated cost of $701,000, with up to five years of groundwater monitoring to follow. Cleanup is underway under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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 property traces directly to bulk storage and distribution operations that began in the 1930s — more than five decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The remediation costs already incurred and the substantial cleanup expenditures still ahead — whether the recommended $701,000 excavation or a more intensive vapor extraction or dual-phase approach — represent obligations that historical CGL carriers who covered this facility during its pre-1986 operating decades may be required both to reimburse and to fund going forward.
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.