This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property served as a public works maintenance and transit facility, with numerous underground storage tanks storing gasoline, diesel, and heating oil to support vehicle operations and building heating — including a 30-gallon gasoline UST, a 1,000-gallon heating oil UST, and a 1,700-gallon diesel UST. The tanks were discovered as former leaking USTs during construction work in 1999, triggering a Voluntary Cleanup Program that ran from 2000 through 2006. Remediation included removal of multiple USTs and an abandoned above-ground storage tank, excavation of approximately 490 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil, groundwater monitoring from 1999 through 2005, and installation of asphalt and concrete covers with a soil management plan. The cleanup scope was extensive enough that the original project was subsequently divided into multiple active cleanup projects. 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 contamination here originated from underground storage tanks holding gasoline, diesel, and heating oil — fuels characteristic of a public transit or municipal maintenance yard with an operational history predating 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and lacked effective pollution exclusions. The remediation record at this site — UST and above-ground tank removals, nearly 500 cubic yards of soil excavation, years of groundwater monitoring, and engineered site controls — represents the kind of multi-phase cleanup expenditure that historical carriers may remain obligated to fund. Because the tanks were identified as "former" LUSTs encountered incidentally during construction, the contamination traces directly to an operational period during which those pre-1986 policies would have been in force.
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.
