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.

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.

Petroleum contamination at this terminal originated from bulk fuel handling and storage operations that were well established before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The scale of documented remediation — tank removals, large-volume soil excavation, product and dissolved-phase recovery from groundwater, vapor extraction, capping, and years of monitoring under a Consent Decree — represents substantial expenditures tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the terminal's earlier decades of operation may still be obligated to fund both the costs already incurred and the ongoing monitoring and contingency 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.