This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1931. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as a petroleum bulk storage and distribution facility with operations dating back to 1931, passing through Rainbow Oil Company (1950–1967), Amoco (1967–1977), and Harmon Oil Company (1977 onward), which distributed gasoline, diesel, stove oil, kerosene, and propane from both above-ground and underground tanks. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from 1991 through 2002, encompassing the removal of underground storage tanks totaling 29,100 gallons of capacity, excavation of approximately 10,000 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil, on-site groundwater treatment via pumping and oil separation, land-farming of excavated soil, and long-term groundwater monitoring. Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in 2002. 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 distribution operations at this site began nearly five decades before 1986, creating a long window during which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies — with no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law — were issued to successive operators. The contamination discovered here, including petroleum hydrocarbons and lead in soil and groundwater, resulted from decades of bulk storage and distribution activity tied directly to those insured operations. More than a decade of documented remediation costs — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater treatment, and monitoring — represent expenditures that historical carriers who wrote CGL coverage during that pre-1986 operational span may still be obligated to reimburse.
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.