This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1920. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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 bulk terminal traces to operations that began more than six decades before 1986 — the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and lacked effective pollution exclusions. The documented remediation record here, running from at least 1984 through the present, spans SPH recovery systems, long-term groundwater monitoring, and environmental covenant filings, all tied to releases from pre-1986 bulk petroleum storage and distribution at this site. Historical CGL carriers whose policies covered this terminal during that operational window may remain obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation work still underway.

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.