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 gas station property in Washington County housed seven underground storage tanks — ranging from 3,000 to 10,000 gallons — for gasoline and diesel storage. Two diesel USTs were decommissioned in 2006, with the remaining five decommissioned in November 2025, when significant contamination was discovered in the area of the former tanks and over-excavation was not feasible. Soil gas concentrations exceeding both residential and occupational worker risk-based concentrations have been documented during 2019 and 2025 investigations, and Oregon DEQ entered a Prospective Purchaser Agreement with the City of Cornelius in January 2025, with an Easement and Equitable Servitude recorded on the property deed requiring DEQ review of vapor mitigation engineering controls prior to any construction. 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 scale of this property's underground storage tank infrastructure — seven tanks for gasoline and diesel storage — reflects fueling operations well established before 1986, with significant contamination discovered during the November 2025 decommissioning of the final five tanks and soil gas concentrations exceeding both residential and occupational risk-based levels documented during 2019 and 2025 investigations. The work ahead under Oregon DEQ oversight — including vapor intrusion mitigation, soil cap management, contamination management monitoring plan preparation, and continued soil gas sampling, all subject to the Easement and Equitable Servitude recorded on the property deed — represents substantial cleanup costs going forward that historical pre-1986 carriers may be obligated to fund.
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
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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.