This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1973. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Craigs Texaco Service operated as a gasoline service station in Union Gap, with three underground storage tanks — including two leaded-gasoline tanks of 3,000- and 8,000-gallon capacity and a 300-gallon heating oil tank — removed in December 1998. Gasoline sales had been discontinued in 1995. During the 1998 tank removal, a site investigation by Sage Earth Sciences discovered petroleum contamination at the groundwater interface, with benzene at 14 ppb, xylenes at 2,200 ppb, and gasoline-range petroleum hydrocarbons at 48,000 ppb — all exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels. The site has since achieved No Further Action status. 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 leaded-gasoline tanks at this station were almost certainly installed during the early 1970s or before — decades prior to 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The petroleum contamination discovered in groundwater during the 1998 UST removal traces directly to those decades of fuel storage operations. Cleanup costs incurred to bring this site to No Further Action status represent expenditures that historical CGL carriers who insured the station during its pre-1986 operational years may still be obligated to cover.
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.