This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a petroleum bulk storage facility, with three above-ground fuel storage tanks (ASTs) on-site that had been removed approximately 70 years before a 2012 investigation — placing active fuel storage operations no later than the early 1940s. During that investigation, unanticipated petroleum hydrocarbon-impacted soil and groundwater were encountered, prompting enrollment in the Voluntary Cleanup Program. Remediation included removal and disposal of septic tank contents as dangerous waste, source control measures preventing future discharge to the septic system, backfilling of investigation borings, and management of all investigation-derived waste. The site has since 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 found here traces to fuel AST operations that predate not only 1986 but likely the mid-twentieth century — well before occurrence-based CGL policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. Any carriers who issued policies to the facility operator during the active storage period wrote coverage under terms that routinely reached gradual petroleum releases from storage infrastructure. The documented cleanup costs — dangerous-waste disposal, source control, investigation-derived waste handling — represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated to recover.
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.
