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 Transportation maintenance facility, operating with three underground storage tanks — a 500-gallon heating oil tank, a 1,000-gallon diesel tank, and a 1,000-gallon gasoline tank — that were removed from the site in 1993. Excavation of 400 cubic yards of petroleum-impacted soil followed in 2005, with subsequent multi-year groundwater monitoring, well redevelopment, and purge water disposal continuing through 2016. The site has received a No Further Action determination under the Standard Cleanup program. 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.
The petroleum contamination at this former WSDOT facility originated from underground storage tanks in service well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies had no effective pollution exclusion and were still the standard for government and commercial operations alike. The documented remediation record — UST removal, soil excavation, and more than two decades of groundwater monitoring — represents cleanup costs tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 storage operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to WSDOT or its contractors during that operational window may remain obligated to recover those 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.
