This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline station with four underground storage tanks storing gas and diesel, along with two hoist pressure tanks. In 1990, all six tanks were removed and approximately 30 cubic yards of contaminated soil were overexcavated and landfarmed after initial soil samples showed TPH concentrations of 200 to 580 ppm, above MTCA cleanup levels. The site remained under regulatory oversight from the initial release notification in 1990 through the No Further Action determination issued in 2012. 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 tanks at this property were installed as early as 1965, placing the origin of contamination squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. More than two decades of regulatory oversight and documented remediation costs — tank removal, soil excavation, landfarming, and long-term monitoring culminating in the 2012 NFA — are expenditures tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operating years 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.