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 operated as a commercial fueling station with two 1,000-gallon bare steel underground storage tanks — one gasoline, one diesel — equipped with a permanent pump block and dispensers. The tanks were removed in September 1989 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, revealing significant petroleum contamination: total petroleum hydrocarbons at concentrations up to 9,018 ppm in soil and 1,060 ppm in groundwater. By 1990 the property had already been repurposed for drywall storage, and the site has since received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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 single-wall bare steel tanks and permanent pump block at this site are consistent with a commercial fueling installation dating to the 1960s or 1970s — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. Years of fuel dispensing produced petroleum contamination in both soil and groundwater at levels requiring formal remediation. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's pre-1986 operating years may bear obligations for the cleanup costs incurred at this site.
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.