This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as the Rocket Center Gasoline and Service Station from the early 1960s through 1985, storing and dispensing gasoline and diesel through seven underground storage tanks. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program addressed the resulting contamination: all seven tanks were decommissioned and removed, approximately 280 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil were excavated and hauled off-site, and 13,135 gallons of contaminated groundwater were extracted, filtered through activated carbon, and discharged to the sanitary sewer. Remediation also included pumping 1,500 gallons of liquid waste from a septic tank and drywell that had been overwhelmed by oil over time. The site has since reached No Further Action status. 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.
Gasoline and diesel operations at this property began in the early 1960s and ran for more than two decades before 1986 — the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation record here is fully documented: seven tank removals, 280 tons of excavated soil, thousands of gallons of extracted groundwater, and septic-system waste management, all tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Because the site has already reached No Further Action, the cleanup costs are fixed and quantified, providing a clear basis for pursuing recovery from historical carriers whose policies were in force when the contamination originated.
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.
