This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup.
Veneer Chip Transport began operating from this Tacoma site in 1986, using it for truck fleet parking, fueling, maintenance, and washing, with a 10,000-gallon above-ground diesel storage tank and underground storage tanks on the property. Petroleum contamination resulted from leaking tanks, fuel overfills, and maintenance problems with oil/water separators, prompting limited soil excavation during installation of a new oil/water separator around 1999–2000 and site-wide paving in the 2000s as a containment measure. The site remains in the Standard Cleanup program and is awaiting further remediation. 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 releases at this property stem from fleet-fueling infrastructure that was in place and generating contamination from 1986 onward — the final year in which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were routinely issued without an effective pollution exclusion. With cleanup still ahead of the property rather than behind it, the remediation costs the owner will face — investigation, design, and active remediation of diesel-impacted soil — are precisely the type of ongoing-release expenditures that carriers on the risk during the mid-1980s operational window may be obligated to fund.
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.
