This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 presence of tetramethyl lead — a lead alkyl anti-knock additive whose widespread use was phased out before 1986 — establishes that contamination at this site is rooted in pre-1986 bulk petroleum operations, the precise era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The scale and diversity of petroleum types detected here reflect a distribution-terminal operation whose contamination footprint accumulated over years of handling multiple product streams prior to that cutoff. The remediation expenditures now anticipated — soil excavation and haul, building demolition, in-situ treatment, and long-term monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers whose CGL policies covered those operations may be obligated both to recover 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.