This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1924. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as the Unocal Friday Harbor Bulk Plant from 1924 through 1983, storing and distributing gasoline and diesel fuel via aboveground storage tanks and a truck loading rack. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the excavation and removal of 3,710.85 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil and 6,000 gallons of petroleum-impacted groundwater in 2002. Institutional controls — a restrictive covenant and surface capping — were put in place in 2003, with periodic reviews conducted in 2012 and 2019 and groundwater monitoring carried out from 2004 through 2006. 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 originated from bulk fuel storage and distribution operations that ran for nearly six decades entirely before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — large-scale soil excavation, groundwater recovery, surface capping, and years of monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators between 1924 and 1983 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.