This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1972. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was built in 1972 as a gasoline service station and operated by Texaco Refining & Marketing (TRMI) until June 1998. The original facility included five single-wall steel underground storage tanks — three 8,000-gallon gasoline tanks, one 500-gallon used-oil tank, and one 500-gallon heating-oil tank — all installed when the station was constructed. The original USTs were removed and replaced in September 1991, and subsequent investigation and cleanup work proceeded under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, culminating in 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.
Petroleum contamination at this site — benzene, methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), and gasoline-range hydrocarbons confirmed in groundwater — originated from single-wall steel underground storage tanks installed in 1972 and operated continuously through the pre-1986 era. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the station's operators during that window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable today. The full arc of remediation costs incurred to reach a No Further Action determination — tank removals, site investigation, feasibility study, and cleanup — represent expenditures that historical carriers who covered those 1972-era operations may still be obligated to reimburse.
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.