This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1940. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as Texaco Service Station No. 21-1558 from 1940 through 1976, dispensing gasoline and diesel fuel from six underground storage tanks — four 4,000-gallon gasoline and diesel tanks, one 500-gallon waste oil tank, and one 1,000-gallon heating oil tank. Texaco owned the property from the 1950s until 1978, when it was sold to Mr. O. Thomas Harper, and all six USTs were removed in 1979. Groundwater beneath the site has been found to contain benzene, MTBE, non-halogenated solvents, and petroleum-gasoline constituents, and the site has achieved No Further Action status under the Voluntary Cleanup Program. 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.
Fuel dispensing and automotive service operations at this site began in 1940 and continued for more than three decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies effectively ceased covering pollution claims. The petroleum and solvent contamination detected in groundwater here is directly attributable to those decades of UST operations under Texaco's ownership and operation. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Texaco or subsequent operators during the 1940-through-1978 window may still be obligated to recover the investigation, feasibility study, and remediation costs incurred to address this release.
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
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.