This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1956. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

Forensic analysis of the petroleum contamination here has traced the diesel component to refining dates between the mid-1970s and late 1980s, the gasoline fraction to 1978–1980, and leaded gasoline mixtures to an era spanning the 1920s through the late 1980s — all originating from bulk fuel operations that predated the effective pollution exclusions added to CGL policies after 1986. Occurrence-based policies issued to Blaine Marina and its predecessors during those decades of continuous fuel storage and transfer carry no such exclusion and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation expenditures — years of NAPL recovery, infrastructure replacement, and continuing bulkhead stabilization — represent costs the 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.