This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1890. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property served as a petroleum bulk storage facility for the Puget Sound Truck Lines commercial fleet, with diesel underground storage tanks of 10,000- and 4,000-gallon capacity and a heating oil UST on the leasehold. The diesel USTs were removed in 1990 and the heating oil tank in 2002, with petroleum releases and arsenic contamination discovered in soil and groundwater during and after removal. Cleanup activities from 2006 through 2008 included excavation of over 220 cubic yards of contaminated soil, in-situ soil agitation, free product and contaminated water recovery, and landfarming of impacted material; the site has reached cleanup completion and remains under active operations-and-maintenance monitoring. 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 petroleum contamination and secondary arsenic at this property trace to bulk diesel storage and distribution operations dating back decades before 1986 — when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, free product recovery, landfarming, and ongoing monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's operational window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup costs, and the continuing monitoring obligations represent future liabilities those same policies may be required to fund.
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.