This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.

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 contamination at this site — diesel from the bulk storage operation and gasoline from a dispenser — originated from tank systems and bulk petroleum handling practices that predate the 1986 regulatory overhaul that first imposed meaningful UST standards. The discovery of a buried transport tanker repurposed as a de facto UST is a hallmark of pre-1986 operations, when such arrangements were common and occurrence-based CGL policies still lacked an effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation trail — nearly 4,000 gallons of free product recovered, hundreds of cubic yards of soil excavated and bioremediating, years of SVE and monitoring — represents costs tied directly to that pre-1986 operational era, and historical carriers who issued CGL policies during that window may remain obligated to fund their recovery.

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.