This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1950. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from as early as the 1950s through the mid-1980s. Three known underground storage tanks were installed in 1979 and taken out of service in 1984; a previously unknown 285-gallon UST, likely dating to the 1950s, was discovered during decommissioning in 2008. Groundwater sampling revealed petroleum contamination exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels, including benzene at concentrations more than forty times the cleanup standard, along with toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes, naphthalenes, EDB, lead, and non-halogenated solvents. The site completed cleanup under Washington's Voluntary Cleanup Program and has received a No Further Action determination. 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 began decades before 1986, with tank infrastructure confirmed as far back as the 1950s and documented UST installations in 1979. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion under Washington law. The groundwater contamination documented here — benzene, petroleum hydrocarbons, lead — traces directly to those historical fueling operations, and the remediation and monitoring costs incurred through the Voluntary Cleanup Program represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated to recover.
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.