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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a petroleum retail site under the Pacific Coast Oil name, with underground storage tanks used to store and dispense diesel fuel. A diesel release from those tanks contaminated the surrounding soil; independent remedial actions — including full UST decommissioning and a site assessment — were completed under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and Ecology issued a no-further-action determination confirming the release no longer poses a threat to human health or the environment. 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 underground storage tanks at this property were installed and in operation prior to 1986, the threshold year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began incorporating effective pollution exclusions. The diesel release addressed here — a gradual subsurface contamination event directly tied to those USTs — is precisely the type of loss those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. Historical CGL carriers whose policies were in force during the tanks' operational life may still be obligated to recover the investigation and remediation costs documented in the cleanup record.
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.
