This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1972. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as Unocal Service Station #6374 at 1709 Canyon Road in Ellensburg, with the facility constructed in 1972 and equipped with three gasoline underground storage tanks, a heating oil UST, a waste oil UST, four pump islands, and a service station building. A significant gasoline release occurred in 1979, and cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program spanned from 1989 through 2002 — including removal of approximately 2,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, UST removals, groundwater recovery of 1,000 to 2,500 gallons, an air sparging system that operated across seven wells for 16 months, and extensive quarterly groundwater monitoring. The site has received a No Further Action determination. 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 gasoline release at this property occurred in 1979, squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies covered pollution events without an effective exclusion. More than a decade of documented remediation — soil excavation, tank removal, groundwater recovery, air sparging, and long-term monitoring — generated substantial cleanup expenditures tied directly to that pre-1986 release. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Unocal or prior operators during the 1970s may still be obligated to recover those 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.
