This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has served as the City of Moses Lake's municipal maintenance facility since the 1950s, used to store, maintain, and fuel city vehicles in support of the Department of Water and Streets. Multiple underground storage tanks — including those for leaded and regular gasoline — leaked over the decades, contaminating soil and groundwater with lead and petroleum hydrocarbons. Cleanup under the Standard Cleanup program included excavation and removal of approximately 13,500 tons of contaminated soil, multiple UST removals, backfilling with clean soil, and operation of an air sparge and vapor extraction system from 1995 to 1997. Groundwater monitoring and institutional controls including restrictive covenants were implemented, and the site has reached No Further Action status. 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 at this facility traces directly to underground storage tanks that were installed and operated beginning in the 1950s — more than three decades before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies. Those pre-1986 CGL policies carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law and remain enforceable today. The scale of documented remediation — 13,500 tons of soil removal, UST extractions, a multi-year groundwater treatment system, and long-term monitoring with restrictive covenants — represents substantial cleanup expenditures that historical carriers who covered the facility during its early decades of operation may still be obligated to reimburse.
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
Ready to learn more?
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.