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 fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property operated as a bulk trucking terminal that included tanker truck wash bays, cleaning vats, vehicle refueling infrastructure, and transloading of materials from rail cars to tanker trailers, with all site structures in place by 1985. Volatile organic compound contamination — tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE) — has been attributed to the historical wash-bay and cleaning-vat operations. The selected cleanup plan under the Voluntary Cleanup Program calls for a Sub-Slab Depressurization system, injection of 2,000 pounds of Powdered Activated Carbon into groundwater, and ongoing monitoring, at an estimated cost of $402,200 projected over a three-to-four-year timeline. 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 PCE and TCE contamination at this terminal traces to wash-bay and cleaning-vat operations that were active before 1986, when all site structures were already in place. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the terminal operators during that window did not carry an effective pollution exclusion under Washington law, and those carriers may be obligated both to recover the investigative and design costs already incurred and to fund the remediation program now underway — the SSD system, PAC groundwater injections, and multi-year monitoring. The $402,200 projected remediation cost represents a defined financial exposure with historical insurance roots that may be recoverable from those earlier carriers.
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.
