This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1949. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property has served as a gasoline fueling site since at least 1949, when a Sanborn Fire Insurance Map documented gas and oil storage on the parcel. A grocery store and service station operated here for decades under prior ownership before the property was transferred to ARCO in 1987; the existing structures were demolished, and ARCO constructed the current station in 1988, installing three 12,000-gallon underground storage tanks to replace earlier infrastructure. Groundwater monitoring has confirmed contamination including petroleum hydrocarbons, benzene, MTBE, lead, and non-halogenated solvents, with benzene and TPH-G exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels. Cleanup is underway through Washington's Voluntary Cleanup 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.
Petroleum storage and fueling operations at this site date to at least 1949 — nearly four decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were replaced by claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The confirmed groundwater contamination — benzene, MTBE, lead, and petroleum hydrocarbons — traces to releases from underground storage infrastructure that predates ARCO's 1988 rebuild, tying the origin of contamination squarely to the pre-1986 operational period. Historical CGL carriers who covered this property during those decades of gas and oil operations may bear responsibility for the remediation costs now being incurred under the Voluntary Cleanup Program.
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.