This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated a petroleum bulk-storage Tank Farm with fourteen underground storage tanks holding gasoline, diesel, and waste oil — equipment estimated to have been installed as early as 1964. Cleanup began in 1989 with the removal of all fourteen USTs from ten excavations, overexcavation of approximately 1,583 tons of contaminated soil, and off-site disposal of 10,400 gallons of petroleum-affected groundwater recovered during dewatering. A LUST release was formally notified in 1990, compliance groundwater monitoring continued through at least 1996, and final closure documents were submitted in 2001; Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in 2012. 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 petroleum contamination at this marina property traces directly to underground storage tanks that were in service well before 1986 — the year after which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies began to include effective pollution exclusions. Fourteen tanks storing multiple fuel grades across a dedicated Tank Farm represent a sustained bulk-plant operation, not an isolated release, and the documented remediation record reflects that scale: mass UST removal, excavation of more than 1,500 tons of impacted soil, groundwater recovery, and years of compliance monitoring before a 2012 NFA closed the file. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the pre-1986 operating window may still be obligated to recover those cleanup costs.
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.
