This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. 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 gasoline service station since at least the late 1960s, originally under Exxon Corporation and later under BP Oil Company, with the site currently operating as an active Chevron station. Five underground storage tanks were removed in May 1993, and cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included soil excavation and off-site disposal, followed by operation of a combined groundwater pump-and-treat, soil vapor extraction, and air sparging system from 1996 through 1999 — treating approximately 118,300 gallons of groundwater and removing an estimated 6,000 pounds of hydrocarbon vapors. Site investigations and groundwater monitoring continued from 1991 through 2012, and the site has received 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 property originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and operated well before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Over two decades of documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, soil excavation, pump-and-treat operations, vapor extraction, air sparging, and long-term groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the station's operators during that window may still be obligated to recover 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.