This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1969. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as the Restover Truck Stop from 1969 to 2014, run by Cosden Oil, Inc., with underground storage tanks dispensing gasoline and diesel fuel. Ecology estimated approximately 65,000 gallons of gasoline were lost from the facility between 1974 and 1981, with petroleum contamination reaching a nearby domestic well as early as 1971; a 1979 incident in which a logging truck struck a fuel dispenser released an additional 2,000 gallons into the ground. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included pumping and treating 357,000 gallons of contaminated groundwater, and the site has since 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.
Petroleum releases at this truck stop began no later than 1971 — fifteen years before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with pollution exclusions. The scale of contamination documented here — 65,000 gallons of fuel lost over seven years, benzene and petroleum hydrocarbons in groundwater, and a 357,000-gallon groundwater treatment campaign — represents substantial remediation expenditures tied directly to operations conducted while pre-1986 policies were in force. Historical carriers who covered Cosden Oil during that window 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.