This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This Tacoma property operated as a fuel-dispensing facility from at least 1965, with two 2,000-gallon underground storage tanks holding gasoline and diesel and an above-ground kerosene tank on site. The USTs were removed in 1983 as part of a purchase-sale agreement, and subsequent cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included excavation of 3,188 tons of contaminated soil between 2000 and 2013, groundwater monitoring from 2006 through 2018, and the recording of an Environmental Covenant in 2017 that restricts site activities and memorializes an asphalt cap as an engineered control for remaining contamination. 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 here originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and in active operation well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented cost trail is substantial — UST removal, excavation of more than 3,000 tons of impacted soil, over a decade of groundwater monitoring, and a recorded Environmental Covenant that acknowledges residual contamination still requiring active management. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the years the tanks were in service may remain obligated to contribute to both the remediation costs already incurred and the ongoing obligations imposed by the 2017 covenant.
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.