This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a retail gasoline station with underground storage tanks at least as early as 1969, as confirmed by aerial photography, with three 4,000-gallon USTs subsequently removed from the site in the early 1970s. Despite the tank removals, petroleum contamination persisted in the surrounding soils; cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program involved the excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 592 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil from the former UST area. The Washington Department of Ecology issued a No Further Action determination following the remedial work, confirming the response actions were sufficient. 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 property originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and in active use before the early 1970s — more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions in 1986. Aerial photography from 1969 and tank-removal records together confirm that gasoline operations were underway at this site during the era when those broad-form CGL policies were the industry standard. Historical carriers who issued policies to the station's operators during that pre-1986 window may remain obligated to recover the excavation and disposal costs Ecology ultimately required to close the site.
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.
