This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a retail gasoline facility — originally the Silverdale Texaco Station — from approximately 1968 through 2001. The pre-1987 tank configuration included three 6,000-gallon and two 3,000-gallon underground storage tanks, which were decommissioned and replaced with 10,000-gallon fiberglass USTs in 1987. Soil sampling conducted in January 1987 confirmed petroleum contamination from the earlier tank operations, and benzene and petroleum hydrocarbons were subsequently detected in groundwater. The site completed remediation under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and 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.
Gasoline storage and dispensing operations at this property began approximately 1968 — nearly two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies still carried no effective pollution exclusion. The benzene and petroleum contamination found in groundwater here traces directly to underground storage tanks installed and operated during that pre-1986 window. The remediation expenditures required to bring this site to closure — from tank decommissioning through groundwater cleanup — represent costs that historical carriers who insured the facility during its first two decades of operation may be obligated to cover.
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.