This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1957. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Atlantic Richfield Corporation operated this property as a retail gasoline service station and automobile repair garage from 1957 to 1977. Although fueling operations ceased in 1977, the underground storage tanks and dispensers remained in the ground until their removal in 1999. A remedial investigation confirmed contamination in groundwater — including non-halogenated solvents, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and petroleum compounds — stemming from those decades of fuel storage. The site completed cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action determination from Ecology in 2015. 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.
Gasoline storage and dispensing operations at this property began in 1957, nearly three decades before occurrence-based CGL policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. The underground storage tanks that sourced the groundwater contamination sat in the ground for over 40 years, spanning the full window in which historical carriers issued occurrence-based policies without effective pollution exclusions in Washington. The remediation costs incurred to investigate, remove the USTs, and restore groundwater quality at this site are the type of expenditures those pre-1986 policies were written 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.