This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a gasoline station — branded as a Texaco station — with multiple underground storage tanks storing gasoline and diesel fuel. Between 1996 and 1997, five USTs were removed and approximately 600 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil were excavated and treated by land-farming, with a portion transported to the R.E. Powell distribution facility in Toppenish for remediation. Follow-up investigation in 2001 included monitoring well installation and groundwater sampling. The site received a No Further Action determination under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and the station continues to operate with three active underground storage tanks. 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.
Groundwater sampling at this site detected total lead — a signature of historical leaded gasoline use — confirming that the petroleum releases originated from operations well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented remediation costs — removal of five underground storage tanks, excavation of hundreds of cubic yards of contaminated soil, land-farming treatment, and multi-year groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to that pre-1986 operational window. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during those years of leaded-fuel dispensing may still be obligated to cover those cleanup expenditures.
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.
