This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1964. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Four underground storage tanks with a combined capacity of 21,000 gallons of gasoline and diesel were installed at the Cornet Bay Marina in 1964 and remained in service through 1989. Fuel line ruptures in 1989 released petroleum hydrocarbons into groundwater across the site, with GRO, DRO, and BTEX detected at concentrations exceeding MTCA cleanup standards. A 1993 Consent Decree between the Washington Department of Ecology and Milton A. Woods addressed the contamination, and the site has since achieved No Further Action status. 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 dispensing operations at this marina began in 1964 — more than two decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The groundwater contamination documented here traces directly to infrastructure installed and operated during that pre-1986 window. Historical carriers who provided CGL coverage during the marina's twenty-five years of fueling operations may remain obligated to reimburse the cleanup costs incurred to bring this site to No Further Action.
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.