This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property at 210 McKenzie Avenue in Bellingham operated as a gasoline service station with underground storage tanks installed and in use well before 1986, with contamination attributed to the historical uses of the site rather than any discrete recent event. Cleanup activities under the Voluntary Cleanup Program have included on-site thermal desorption, UST removal, surface soil remediation and disposal, and multi-year groundwater monitoring documented through well installations and reports spanning 2007 to 2015. Proposed future remediation alternatives — soil excavation with off-site disposal, permeable reactive barrier installation, soil capping, institutional controls, and natural attenuation — indicate that significant cleanup work remains ahead. 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 hydrocarbon contamination here, along with lead and cPAHs consistent with long-term pre-1986 operations, originated from underground storage tanks and site activities that predate 1986 by decades. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators during that window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain potentially enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures — UST removal, thermal desorption, surface soil disposal, and years of groundwater monitoring — together with the substantial future remediation program still being designed, represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
