This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as Chevron Service Station No. 90123 before transitioning to its current use as an active ConocoPhillips 76 service station at 915 E Roy St in Seattle. Groundwater monitoring and remediation activities have been documented from 1992 through at least 2018 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, including surfactant injection treatment, low-flow purging, and the management and eventual abandonment of multiple monitoring wells. Separate-phase hydrocarbons were observed on multiple occasions, and petroleum contamination — including TPH, BTEX, and MTBE — persists in groundwater. 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 presence of dissolved lead in groundwater samples confirms that fuel dispensing operations at this station predate the phase-out of leaded gasoline — well before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. More than two decades of documented remediation expenditures — surfactant injection, long-term monitoring, well installation and abandonment — were incurred to address petroleum releases tied to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the leaded-gasoline era may be obligated both to recover past cleanup costs and to fund the ongoing remediation still underway at this site.
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.