This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
A forgotten 300-gallon gasoline underground storage tank was discovered at this Stevenson property during sidewalk construction in May 2003. The tank featured riveted seams — a construction method that predates the welded-steel fabrication standard by the 1950s–1960s — and contained highly weathered gasoline consistent with decades of underground presence. Petroleum products have been suspected in groundwater beneath the site. The property has since received a No Further Action determination under Washington's 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.
The riveted construction of the gasoline tank discovered here places the facility's fueling operations well before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Investigation, tank decommissioning, and any groundwater response costs incurred at this site arise from petroleum storage that predates the modern claims-made policy regime. Historical carriers who insured the property's operations during that pre-1986 window may still bear obligations toward the cleanup expenditures tied to this long-buried tank.
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.