This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1974. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Georgetown Center site hosted a Gull service station from 1974 to 1988 at its southeast corner, comprising two service islands, a kiosk, and three underground storage tanks used for retail fuel dispensing. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program in 1987 included removal of all three USTs and 220 cubic yards of petroleum-impacted soil, which was aerated on-site. Groundwater monitoring through multiple installed wells continued from at least 1986 through 2004, and a Restrictive Covenant recorded in 2003 prohibits groundwater use and mandates periodic five-year reviews to manage residual contamination. 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 TPH-gasoline contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that were in active service for more than a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still standard and lacked effective pollution exclusions in Washington. The documented remediation record — three UST removals, soil excavation and aeration, 18 years of groundwater monitoring, and a permanent institutional control on the title — establishes the cost trail tied directly to the Gull station's pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1974–1986 operational window may still be obligated to contribute to those documented cleanup 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.
