This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a bulk petroleum terminal from approximately 1965, receiving product via the Olympic Pipe Line Company distribution facility and tanker trucks and dispensing fuel from above-ground storage tanks to trucks at a loading dock for distribution to retail service stations. Cleanup activities under the Voluntary Cleanup Program spanned from 1982 through at least 2012, including multiple UST removals, soil excavations totaling over 6,677 cubic yards, groundwater extraction and off-site disposal of 49,000 gallons, application of 3,600 pounds of in-situ oxidation product, installation of a soil vapor extraction system, and multi-year groundwater monitoring. The site has received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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.
Petroleum contamination at this terminal originated from bulk storage and distribution operations that began approximately 1965 — more than two decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims. The documented remediation expenditures here are substantial: decades of soil excavation, groundwater extraction and treatment, chemical oxidation, vapor extraction, and long-term monitoring, all tied to releases from pre-1986 terminal operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators during that window may still be obligated to reimburse 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.
