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.
A gasoline release from an underground storage tank was identified at this Auburn property in 1992, prompting a site assessment that included five soil borings in the vicinity of the gas UST. Investigators found TPH contamination in shallow soil and BTEX contamination extending to approximately five feet below grade. Remediation included soil vapor extraction from 1992 through 1994, and the independent cleanup ultimately met Method A standards, resulting in a No Further Action determination in 2012. 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 underground storage tank at this site was installed and operating well before the 1992 release was discovered, placing its operational origin in the era when occurrence-based CGL policies were routinely issued to commercial property operators without meaningful pollution exclusions. The documented remediation costs here — site assessment, soil borings, and two years of vapor extraction to address gasoline and BTEX contamination — are the type of cleanup expenditures those historical policies were designed to cover. Carriers that insured the UST operator during the years the tank was in service before 1986 may still bear obligation for those 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.