This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1954. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Chevron U.S.A. leased and operated this property as a retail gas station from approximately 1954 until 1973, maintaining three gasoline underground storage tanks, one waste oil UST, and one stove oil UST on site. Those five tanks were removed in 1973, though a fuel oil UST remained in place until 1996. Groundwater sampling confirmed contamination by benzene and petroleum hydrocarbons at diesel and gasoline range, and the site entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program. The site has since 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.
Chevron leased and operated this gas station for nearly two decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The petroleum releases that contaminated groundwater with benzene and diesel- and gasoline-range hydrocarbons trace directly to underground storage tank operations during that pre-1986 window. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies while Chevron operated the facility may still be obligated to cover the remediation costs incurred to reach closure.
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.