This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1921. 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.

Petroleum storage and distribution operations at this site began in 1921, more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination documented in soil, groundwater, and vapor — including free-product petroleum and lead detected in groundwater samples from early investigations — is a direct consequence of those pre-1986 bulk plant operations. Documented remediation expenditures here, spanning initial UST and soil removals through an ongoing dual-phase extraction program and long-term monitoring, represent multi-phase cleanup costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the Standard Oil operating years may be obligated to fund.

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.