This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as a Washington State Department of Natural Resources operational facility, with four underground storage tanks — two 6,000-gallon gasoline tanks, one 300-gallon heating oil tank, and one 800-gallon heating oil tank — used to fuel agency equipment and heat site structures. Independent cleanup in January 1993 involved decommissioning and removing all four USTs and excavating 70 cubic yards of contaminated soil; a 1997 groundwater investigation then confirmed lead contamination at the site. Subsequent remediation brought both soil and groundwater to Method A Cleanup Levels, and Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in 2012. 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.
Lead contamination at this site is a chemical marker for leaded gasoline, which was phased out of commercial fuel supply before 1986 — placing the period of active release squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. A state agency operating gasoline storage and dispensing infrastructure during that window would have carried institutional liability coverage under the same pre-1986 policy terms. The cleanup expenditures incurred here — UST removals, soil excavation, groundwater investigation, and the remediation required to achieve Method A Cleanup Levels — represent costs that historical carriers from that operational period may still be obligated to recover.
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.
