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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline service station with multiple underground storage tanks used for the retail sale of petroleum products, including leaded gasoline. A fuel-line leak from a gasoline UST, discovered in 1996, triggered cleanup activities that spanned from 1988 through 2020 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and an Agreed Order. Remediation included multiple UST removals, excavation of over 520 tons of impacted soil, recovery of 5,500 gallons of petroleum-affected groundwater, in-situ bioremediation through Oxygen-Releasing Compound injections, and long-term groundwater and soil-vapor monitoring. The site has received a No Further Action determination and currently operates as Ken's Auto Wash. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site originated from underground storage tanks that stored and dispensed fuel — including leaded gasoline — well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. More than three decades of documented remediation expenditures — UST removals, large-scale soil excavation, groundwater recovery, bioremediation injections, and ongoing monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's early operational years may still be obligated to cover those cleanup costs.
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.
