This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1948. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline station — known as Browns Texaco — with two 550-gallon underground storage tanks that dispensed regular leaded and unleaded gasoline, with tank installations dating to approximately 1948. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included removal of both USTs, excavation and off-site treatment of 421 tons of contaminated soil, interim groundwater treatment using absorbent pads, and multi-year groundwater monitoring through five installed monitoring wells from 1998 through at least late 1999. The site has received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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 installed around 1948 and operated for decades — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation expenditures — tank removal, excavation of over 400 tons of impacted soil, groundwater treatment, and years of monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's long operational window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup costs.
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.
