This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1981. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
This property operated as the Hattenhauer Distributing Company fuel storage and distribution facility in Goldendale, Klickitat County, with three 2,000-gallon underground storage tanks — two holding diesel fuel and one holding gasoline. Cleanup activities to date have included removal of the three USTs, associated piping, and pumps, followed by backfilling the excavation; the tanks were triple-rinsed and inerted, and 234 gallons of generated rinsate were transported for disposal. The site is currently awaiting further cleanup under Ecology's standard cleanup process. 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.
Diesel contamination at this site is attributed to historical overfilling or spilling at the pump island during fuel storage and distribution operations — the kind of repeated, gradual release that occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued before 1986 were designed to cover. With the underground storage tanks estimated to have been installed around 1981, carriers who wrote CGL policies during that pre-1986 operational window may bear obligation for the cleanup costs the property owner now faces as remediation moves 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.
