This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1980. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a Gull- and Texaco-brand retail gasoline station and convenience store — known as the Copalis Crossing Market — since at least the 1980s, with an underground storage tank system holding various grades of unleaded gasoline and diesel fuel in service before 1985. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included removal of five underground storage tanks, excavation of 750 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, pumping and off-site disposal of approximately 21,795 gallons of contaminated groundwater, installation of extraction wells, and in-situ chemical oxidation via BOS 200® injections. Multi-year groundwater monitoring continued from at least 2014 through 2018, with recommendations for further sampling. 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 resulted from historical operation of underground storage tanks that were in service before 1985 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater extraction and disposal, chemical oxidation treatment, and years of monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that pre-1986 operational window may be obligated both to reimburse and to fund as cleanup work continues.
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.