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 fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operates as a retail gas station and convenience store — currently branded as FMG Fuel — with three gasoline underground storage tanks, one diesel UST, and fuel dispenser islands on site. A historical release from the gasoline UST system led to petroleum contamination in soil and groundwater. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included the excavation and removal of 1,177 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil in 2007–2008, along with UST removal, recertification, and reinstallation with replacement of leaking product lines. Proposed future remediation options range from natural attenuation with institutional controls to in-situ groundwater treatment and electrical resistance heating, with project durations estimated at one to fifteen years. 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 site is attributed to a historical release from an aging UST system whose leaking product lines were replaced in 2007, indicating the infrastructure — and the release — predates 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable today. The documented remediation costs already incurred — over a thousand tons of soil removal, tank system overhaul — and the substantial future cleanup expenditures still ahead represent obligations the historical carriers may be required both to reimburse and to fund going forward.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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.
