This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1967. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Three gasoline underground storage tanks were installed at this property in 1967, and Standard Oil Company of California — a Chevron predecessor — purchased the property in 1970, operating it continuously through 1992 when all USTs, including heating oil and waste oil tanks, were removed. Groundwater sampling in 1989 detected gasoline-range hydrocarbons at concentrations up to 14,000 µg/L, along with benzene, lead, petroleum-diesel compounds, and non-halogenated solvents. Quarterly groundwater monitoring in 2013–2014 confirmed non-detect levels through natural attenuation, and the site received a No Further Action determination under the Petroleum Liability Insurance Act in March 2023. 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.
Gasoline storage and dispensing operations at this property date to 1967 — nearly two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims. Standard Oil of California purchased the property in 1970 and operated through 1992, meaning it held CGL policies during a substantial portion of that pre-1986 window; the prior operator who installed the tanks in 1967 may have carried additional policies covering the earliest years of operation. The petroleum contamination documented in groundwater originated from USTs that were in service throughout this occurrence-based-policy era, and the investigation, monitoring, and remediation costs incurred over the following decades are expenditures those historical carriers may be obligated to reimburse.
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.