This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1971. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as the FAA SeaTac Localizer facility, a Federal Aviation Administration installation at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. In 1996, one underground storage tank was removed from the site, and approximately 185 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil were excavated and disposed of off-site after sampling revealed gasoline-range hydrocarbons and benzene above MTCA Method A cleanup levels. The site received a No Further Action determination with a Restrictive Covenant of Use, with the project spanning from 1996 to 2003. 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 underground storage tank at this federal facility is estimated to have been installed around 1971 — well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum release discovered during the 1996 tank removal is consistent with the type of gradual, long-term contamination those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. Documented remediation costs — tank removal, excavation and off-site disposal of 185 cubic yards of contaminated soil, and years of regulatory oversight through 2003 — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the tank's operational period may be obligated to recover.
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.