This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1913. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a petroleum storage and distribution facility from at least 1913, first under American Gasoline Company and later as Shell Company of California. Sanborn maps from 1913 through 1950 and a 1941 aerial photograph document above-ground storage tanks within a walled enclosure, railroad infrastructure, and supporting buildings on the property. A 2017 subsurface investigation confirmed petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in soil and groundwater, with groundwater concentrations of diesel-range hydrocarbons at 87,300 µg/L and lead at 980 µg/L — far exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels. The site has since received a No Further Action determination under the Standard 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 distribution at this site began more than seven decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The contamination confirmed here — gasoline- and diesel-range hydrocarbons, benzene, carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and lead — traces directly to bulk-plant operations conducted under those pre-1986 policies. Historical carriers who covered this facility during its long operational window may still be obligated to recover the remediation costs that brought the property to its current No Further Action status.
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.