This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as an AM/PM mini Mart gasoline service station (ARCO 4456) with an underground storage tank system consisting of one 10,000-gallon and three 6,000-gallon gasoline tanks and a 150-gallon heating oil tank. A subsurface investigation in September 1989 identified contamination at the site, and in January 1990 the entire UST system was removed and replaced with four new 10,000-gallon tanks. Groundwater sampling confirmed the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons, benzene, MTBE, lead, and other metals. The site completed cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action determination from Ecology in October 2013. 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 original underground storage tanks at this site were removed in January 1990 after contamination was already confirmed, indicating the release occurred during the years those tanks were in service — years when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. The documented groundwater contamination — benzene, MTBE, lead, and petroleum hydrocarbons — is the type of gradual, below-grade release those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. The remediation expenditures incurred to bring this site to No Further Action status may be recoverable from the historical carriers who insured the station during the period of contamination.
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.