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.
This property operated as a gasoline station — identified as Astro #607 / Trail Mart — with underground storage tanks and a septic system before ceasing fuel operations prior to 1990. Environmental investigations conducted in 1990 and 1994 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program identified tetrachloroethylene (PCE) in groundwater at concentrations up to 8.75 µg/L, exceeding the MTCA Method A cleanup level of 5 µg/L, with the former septic system identified as the source. The site received a No Further Action determination from Ecology on December 31, 2012. 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 gasoline station operations and associated underground storage tanks at this property predate 1986, the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. PCE contamination in groundwater — detected above state cleanup levels and traced to the facility's former septic system — required more than two decades of environmental investigation and regulatory oversight before the site achieved closure. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's active operational years may bear obligations for the investigation and remediation costs incurred at this property.
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.