This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1966. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as the City of Benton City's municipal maintenance yard, housing vehicle repair operations and fleet fuel storage in three underground storage tanks — a 500-gallon diesel tank, a 2,500-gallon unleaded gasoline tank installed in 1981, and a 1,000-gallon leaded gasoline tank estimated to have been in place since the mid-1960s. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program included the removal of all three USTs, over-excavation of approximately 500 cubic yards of soil, and off-site aerobic treatment of 140 cubic yards of contaminated soil at the Richland Landfill over a three-year period. The site 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.
Petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and operated well before 1986 — at least one tank dates to the mid-1960s and stored leaded gasoline, a product phased out decades ago. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the municipality during that pre-1986 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removals, large-scale soil excavation, and years of off-site soil treatment — represent cleanup costs that the historical carriers who covered this facility 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.
