This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1977. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a public 18-hole golf course since the 1950s, with underground storage tanks installed in 1977 to fuel golf carts and maintenance equipment with diesel and gasoline — possibly including leaded gasoline. The three 550-gallon USTs were decommissioned in 1992–1993, at which time contamination was identified and approximately 50–70 cubic yards of impacted soil were excavated and either remediated on-site or disposed off-site. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the tank removals, soil excavation, groundwater and soil-vapor monitoring, and passive soil vapor extraction through a standpipe, culminating in 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 site traces directly to underground storage tanks installed in 1977 and operated for over fifteen years — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removal, excavation of contaminated soil, passive vapor extraction, and years of environmental monitoring — were incurred to address releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies covering this property during the tanks' operational life may still owe coverage for 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.