This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1923. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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.

Bulk fuel distribution began at this property in 1923 — more than six decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The petroleum and chemical contamination now documented in groundwater traces directly to those decades of fuel handling, fertilizer blending, and pesticide storage conducted under pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who wrote CGL policies for Shell Oil Company or Smith-Kem during that window may be obligated to fund both recovery of past remediation costs and the cleanup work still ahead under the Consent Decree.

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.