This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1979. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as a corporate vehicle service operating center and fleet repair facility beginning in 1980, with a 12,000-gallon gasoline underground storage tank and at least two additional USTs supporting vehicle refueling operations for successive telecommunications fleets — US West, Qwest, and CenturyLink. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of multiple USTs, contaminated soil excavation and overexcavation, groundwater pumping from excavation pits, and operation of an Air Sparging/Vapor Extraction system through the 1990s, with a final UST removal and groundwater treatment event in 2011. 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 contamination at this property traces to underground storage tanks that were in documented use from 1979 — seven years before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The remediation expenditures spanning from the early 1990s through 2011 — tank removals, soil excavation, groundwater pumping, and years of air sparging and vapor extraction — were incurred to address releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical CGL carriers who covered the fleet facility during that operational window may still bear obligation for documented cleanup costs tied to the tanks they insured.
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.