This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as the Lewis County Road Shop, a highway and vehicle maintenance facility equipped with one 1,000-gallon gasoline and two 1,000-gallon diesel underground storage tanks. The USTs were operational until 1994, when decommissioning activities revealed petroleum contamination. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included tank removal and excavation of approximately 450 cubic yards of contaminated soil in 2001, in-situ chemical oxidation in 2005, and periodic groundwater monitoring from 2006 through at least 2020. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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 petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks that were in service for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs — tank removal, large-scale soil excavation, chemical oxidation treatment, and more than fourteen years of groundwater monitoring — were incurred to address releases tied directly to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Lewis County during the tanks' operational window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup expenditures.
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.
