This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1975. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as the Adams County Maintenance Shop in Othello, with two 1,000-gallon underground storage tanks installed in approximately 1975 to store unleaded gasoline and diesel for county vehicle and equipment operations. When the USTs were removed in 1990, petroleum contamination was discovered, prompting excavation and removal of 47 tons of impacted soil, recovery of 240 gallons of petroleum product via an interceptor drain system and fluid extraction well, and installation of five monitoring wells with quarterly groundwater sampling conducted from 1996 through 1998. The site was addressed through the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has received a No Further Action determination. 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 petroleum release at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated beginning in approximately 1975 — more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, soil excavation, product recovery, well installation, and years of groundwater monitoring — are the type of cleanup costs that historical CGL carriers who covered the facility during that pre-1986 operational window 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.
