This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a convenience store and gasoline station since 1970, located at 5881 Highway 3 North in Shelton, Mason County. In 1995, two older underground storage tanks were removed, and petroleum-contaminated soil was discovered during excavation. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included the excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 800 tons of contaminated soil, multi-year soil and groundwater investigations, and ongoing monitoring. The site has received a No Further Action determination, with a previously required Restrictive Covenant and five-year groundwater monitoring program later deemed unnecessary. 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 site originated from underground storage tanks installed when the gasoline station was built in 1970 — sixteen years before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The documented remediation costs, including removal of 800 tons of contaminated soil, tank decommissioning, and years of groundwater monitoring, are the kind of environmental cleanup expenditures that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to cover. Historical carriers who insured the station during its first sixteen years of operation may still be obligated to reimburse those 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.
