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 help fund the ongoing and future cleanup under Oregon DEQ oversight.
This property housed a gas service station constructed prior to 1950, with three underground storage tanks from that era, and the station closed before 1969. Oregon DEQ conducted a site investigation in 2024 that found extensive contamination — groundwater impacted by gasoline, diesel, ethylbenzene, EDC, naphthalene, and 1-methylnaphthalene above residential risk-based concentrations, and soil vapor contaminated with gasoline, benzene, ethylbenzene, and total xylenes exceeding both residential and commercial screening levels. An onsite well has been declared unsafe for drinking water, a Cost Recovery Agreement has been in place since 2022, and the site remains under active DEQ oversight in the investigative and corrective action stage with no No Further Action determination issued. That history could support an insurance coverage claim against the carriers who issued policies more than 40 years ago — coverage that could help fund the cleanup ahead.
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 Oregon — and those policies may provide coverage that remains enforceable today. 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 property stems from a gas service station constructed before 1950, with three underground storage tanks from that era, whose fueling operations ceased before 1969 — decades before 1986. Oregon DEQ's 2024 site investigation confirmed widespread groundwater and soil vapor contamination requiring corrective action, and the investigation, remediation, and long-term monitoring work ahead under the Cost Recovery Agreement in place since 2022 represents costs this property still faces that historical pre-1986 carriers may be obligated to fund going forward.
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
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.