This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1960. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This gasoline station was built in 1960 by Darel Oil Company, with three 10,000-gallon steel underground storage tanks installed in 1975 and 1978 for regular, unleaded, and super gasoline. Tri City Oil Company owned the USTs and pump islands from 1982 onward. During tank removal in 1988, petroleum contamination was identified in groundwater, prompting a hydrogeological assessment that documented free product and dissolved hydrocarbon plumes; the steel tanks were replaced with fiberglass units that same year. Groundwater monitoring and remediation followed under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, with a Final Report completed in 2000 and the site ultimately receiving 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.
This station operated continuously from 1960 through the mid-1980s — more than two decades during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The underground storage tanks installed in 1975 and 1978 were in service throughout that pre-1986 window, and the remediation costs that followed — hydrogeological investigation, groundwater monitoring, and cleanup activities spanning from 1988 through 2000 — represent documented expenditures that historical carriers who insured those operations 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.