This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 bulk plant traces to tank farm and fueling rack operations that ran for roughly two decades before 1986 — the kind of continuous industrial fuel handling that occurrence-based CGL policies routinely covered without a pollution carve-out. The remediation ledger tied to those bulk-plant releases is substantial: nearly 6,000 tons of excavated soil, groundwater injection treatment, and infrastructure rebuilds across multiple phases spanning more than a decade. Historical carriers whose policies were in force while the tank farm was receiving and distributing fuel may be obligated both to reimburse those documented costs and to fund the cleanup work that remains.

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.