This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.

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 documented here — gasoline-range organics, diesel-range organics, benzene, MTBE, and cPAHs associated with underground fuel storage — reflects the gradual subsurface releases characteristic of long-running UST operations, not an acute recent spill. Active cleanup was already underway by 1988–1989, indicating that fuel dispensing at this cardlock facility substantially predates the cleanup record; whether those operations extend back before 1986 — when occurrence-based CGL policies still lacked effective pollution exclusions — is a question the historical record for Masco Petroleum and its predecessor Pettit Oil Co may be able to answer. If pre-1986 operations can be confirmed, historical carriers from that era could be obligated to fund the remediation costs still being incurred at this site.

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.