This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1938. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property was developed in the late 1930s as part of an oil refinery complex, with refinery operations continuing until 1953 and the facility transitioning to a petroleum tank farm and distribution terminal thereafter. At least two major spills have occurred since 1976; petroleum-contaminated soils were reported in 1978, and in 1984 state officials confirmed petroleum contamination in groundwater sampled from three private water supply wells. The site was listed on the federal Superfund National Priorities List in 1990, and cleanup is underway through the Voluntary Cleanup Program — remediation includes air sparging treatment of a groundwater plume extending more than 1,400 feet downgradient, with residual TPH, VOCs, benzene, arsenic, and manganese still exceeding cleanup levels in groundwater. 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 operations at this terminal began nearly five decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The contamination documented here — TPH, volatile organic compounds, benzene, and metals in groundwater overlying the sole-source aquifer for over 500,000 people — originated from operations well within the coverage window of those historical policies. The remediation costs already incurred and still accumulating — air sparging, long-term groundwater monitoring, plume management — represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the pre-1986 operational period may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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.