This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1985. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was developed as a cardlock fueling station in 1985, built on a previously undeveloped field. Three 12,000-gallon underground storage tanks — two for gasoline and one for diesel — were installed in October 1985 and operated until their demolition in 2018. A subsurface investigation identified benzene, petroleum-diesel, and petroleum-gasoline contamination in groundwater beneath the site. The site received a No Further Action determination in November 2019 under the Standard Cleanup program, with contaminant levels remediated below applicable standards. 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 Cedardale Cardlock fueling station began operations in October 1985, just months before the January 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies. CGL policies issued to Yorkston Oil during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The petroleum contamination requiring investigation and remediation here — benzene, diesel, and gasoline in groundwater from three decades of UST operations — represents cleanup liability those historical policies were designed to cover, and the carriers who issued them may still be obligated to reimburse the documented remediation 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
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.