This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1925. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a bulk fuel and lubricant storage and distribution facility — originally as Chevron Bulk Plant #1001372 — for over eighty years beginning in the mid-1920s, with numerous underground and aboveground storage tanks and fuel pipelines on the half-acre site approximately 800 feet from the Port Angeles shoreline. Underground storage tanks were taken out of service in 1974 and removed by 1984, and petroleum releases were documented as early as the late 1960s. Cleanup activities to date have included excavation and removal of approximately 180 tons of contaminated soil, removal of tanks and abandoned fuel pipelines, and installation of a vapor barrier, with ongoing hydraulic oil recovery and groundwater monitoring in place. The preferred future cleanup action — encompassing groundwater recovery and ex-situ treatment, active product recovery, capping, and institutional controls — carries an estimated net present worth cost of $17,400,000. 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.
Contamination at this site originated from bulk fuel storage and distribution operations that ran for more than five decades before 1986, during the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and contained no effective pollution exclusion. The documented releases in the late 1960s and the USTs removed in the mid-1970s and early 1980s fall squarely within the window those pre-1986 policies were designed to cover. With $17.4 million in estimated future cleanup costs still ahead — and active recovery and monitoring already underway — historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to operators of this facility during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover past remediation expenditures and to fund the substantial work that remains.
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 & 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.
