This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
T & S Mini Mart is an operating gasoline fueling station in Kent, Washington, with petroleum contamination significant enough to warrant multi-year remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. Cleanup activities from 2005 through 2009–2010 included a groundwater extraction and treatment system that processed 368,875 gallons of water and recovered 12.8 pounds of hydrocarbons, and a soil vapor extraction system that removed 3,520 pounds of volatile hydrocarbons. Groundwater monitoring data dating to 1995 revealed concentrations as high as 270,000 µg/L of total petroleum hydrocarbons in the gasoline range, indicating a substantial and long-standing release from the station's underground storage tanks. 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 scale and severity of groundwater contamination documented at this site in 1995 — including extreme TPH-gasoline and BTEX concentrations — point to underground storage tank releases that began well before that date, consistent with operations extending into the pre-1986 period when occurrence-based CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Years of remediation expenditures — groundwater extraction and treatment, soil vapor extraction, ongoing monitoring and system modifications — represent documented cleanup costs tied to those historical releases. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to recover past remediation 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.
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.