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.
Mason County Fire District 5 owned and operated Station 5, a fire station that relied on a 550-gallon underground gasoline tank to fuel its vehicles. In November 1994, removal of that tank revealed petroleum contamination in the surrounding soil, triggering cleanup under Washington State Ecology's Standard Cleanup program. Remediation has included excavation of approximately 1,900 cubic yards of petroleum-impacted soil treated by bioremediation, with new monitoring wells installed and ongoing groundwater monitoring — including potential oxygen-releasing compound injection — planned under a multi-year, five-year review schedule. 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.
A 550-gallon gasoline tank removed in 1994 after years of fueling fire district vehicles would, under any typical tank lifecycle, have been installed and in active service well before 1986 — placing the contamination's origin squarely in the era of occurrence-based CGL policies. The petroleum releases found during that 1994 removal, and the remediation costs that followed — soil excavation, bioremediation, and a multi-year groundwater monitoring program — trace directly to vehicle-fueling operations Mason County Fire District 5 conducted during those policy years. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to the district during that operational window may remain obligated to recover those documented cleanup expenditures.
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.
