This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1930. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
Standard Oil leased this property and operated a bulk petroleum storage facility on it from approximately 1930 until the early 1980s, receiving fuel by barge and distributing it through underground fill pipes to a tank farm of seven aboveground storage tanks holding gasoline, heating oil, and other petroleum products. The tanks and associated concrete structures were removed in the 1980s, and in 2006 approximately 165.53 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil were excavated from the site. Additional petroleum-contaminated soil was encountered in 2008 during trenching for new stormwater piping, and the site remains in Awaiting Cleanup status under Ecology's Standard Cleanup program. 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.
Bulk petroleum storage and distribution operations at this site began roughly five decades before 1986, spanning an era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination discovered here — petroleum in soil linked to half a century of fuel handling through underground pipes and aboveground tanks — is precisely the kind of gradual, operations-driven release those policies were written to cover. With cleanup still ahead, the historical carriers who insured Standard Oil's operations during that pre-1986 window may be obligated to fund the investigation and remediation costs the property now faces.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.