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 housed three underground storage tanks — gasoline, heating oil, and diesel — that were leaking by 1989. That year, a drinking water well at the site was contaminated with benzene at 72 ppb following heavy rainfall, triggering a release notification to Ecology. The USTs were subsequently removed, and cleanup proceeded under the Standard Cleanup program until Ecology issued a No Further Action determination on June 13, 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 USTs at this property were already leaking and contaminating groundwater with petroleum hydrocarbons and benzene by 1989, and standard tank-lifecycle analysis indicates they were very likely installed well before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies in effect during that pre-1986 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and may still respond to the contamination documented here. The cleanup expenditures incurred over more than two decades — from UST removal through the 2012 No Further Action determination — represent costs that historical carriers could be obligated to cover.
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.