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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This government-owned, contractor-operated Defense Fuel Support Point functioned as a large-scale bulk fuel terminal comprising ten bulk storage tanks, a marine terminal pier, a pump station and manifold distribution system, and two tank truck loading racks — with the mission of receiving, storing, and distributing fuel to Department of Defense facilities. The facility sustained major fuel leakages in 1982 and 1986 and ceased fuel storage operations in May 1990. Remediation has included removal of four underground storage tanks in 1991, trench excavation for fuel recovery, pipeline draining and purging, and multi-year groundwater monitoring through extraction wells and an oil/water separator, conducted under a remedial investigation, risk assessment, and feasibility study program. 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.
Contamination at this site traces to pre-1965 operations — tank cleaning sludges were buried on-site before 1965, and a major fuel leakage was documented in 1982, both occurring when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The breadth of impacted media — soil, soil vapor, groundwater, and sediments — across a facility of this scale reflects cumulative releases from decades of bulk fuel handling that predate 1986 by a wide margin. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to the operators or contractors during that pre-1986 window may remain obligated to recover the documented remediation costs, including tank removals, excavation, groundwater recovery, and long-term monitoring expenditures.
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.
