This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This private residence in Olympia was constructed in 1965 with a 500-gallon heating oil underground storage tank installed beneath the gravel driveway. In May 2009, a fuel oil release was traced from the property to 26th Avenue NW; investigation attributed the release to corrosion and weld failure of the UST. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program ran from May 2009 through July 2011 and included UST removal, product recovery using vactor trucks and absorbent pads, and excavation of 32 tons of petroleum-contaminated soil, after which the site received a No Further Action determination. 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 heating oil UST at this property was installed consistent with the home's 1965 construction, placing its operational history squarely in the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The release mechanism here — slow corrosion and weld failure over decades — is precisely the kind of gradual, long-running contamination event those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. The documented remediation expenditures incurred by the property owner, including tank removal, product recovery, and excavation of 32 tons of impacted soil, are the type of cleanup costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during the UST's operational life may still be obligated to reimburse.
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.
