This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1977. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a retail fuel station since at least 1977, when the original three-tank underground storage tank system and service station structure were installed. In November 1997, approximately 2,320 gallons of mid-grade gasoline were released from a 10,000-gallon UST, triggering cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program that included remedial soil excavation, free product recovery, operation of an Air Sparge/Vapor Extraction system from 2000 to 2001, carbon-filtration treatment of drinking water from 1998 to 2005, and groundwater monitoring from 1997 through 2006. The site received No Further Action status following implementation of asphalt and concrete capping and a restrictive covenant recorded in 2006. 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 underground storage tanks responsible for the gasoline release at this property were installed in 1977 — nearly a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The remediation costs generated by that release — soil excavation, product recovery, vapor extraction, nearly a decade of drinking water treatment, and years of groundwater monitoring — are the kind of environmental cleanup expenditures that pre-1986 CGL policies were written to cover. Historical carriers who provided coverage during the years those USTs were in operation may still owe indemnity for the documented cleanup costs incurred at this site.
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.
