This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a retail gasoline station with automobile repair services — formerly Chevron Station No. 9-01813 — with seven underground storage tanks decommissioned in September 1995, including two 1,000-gallon tanks described as abandoned, two 550-gallon tanks for diesel and waste oil, and three additional tanks on the former tank pad. Site investigation identified benzene and petroleum-gasoline contamination in groundwater. The property was enrolled in the Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action determination following a supplemental remedial investigation completed in 2011 and a VCP opinion letter issued in 2012. 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 underground storage tanks at this former Chevron station were decommissioned in 1995 after decades of service — applying standard industry tank lifecycles, the installations very likely predate 1970, placing the facility's core fueling operations well within the pre-1986 occurrence-based CGL era. Benzene and petroleum-gasoline contamination in groundwater is consistent with the type of gradual release from aging underground tanks that those earlier policies were designed to cover. The remediation costs incurred to bring this property to No Further Action status — investigation, monitoring, and cleanup — represent expenditures that historical carriers who insured the station during its pre-1986 operational years may 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.