This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1961. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has served as a fueling station since at least 1970, with a predecessor gasoline station operating at the site from approximately 1961 through the early 1970s. The current underground storage tank configuration was installed around 1970 and upgraded in 1998. Petroleum hydrocarbons and non-halogenated solvents were identified in groundwater beneath the property, and the site was addressed through Washington's Voluntary Cleanup Program, receiving a No Further Action determination from Ecology in October 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.
Fueling operations at this property began approximately 1961 — more than two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The petroleum and solvent contamination detected in groundwater here traces to underground storage infrastructure that was in continuous use across that pre-1986 window. Historical carriers who wrote CGL policies covering this property during the 1960s and 1970s may still be obligated to recover the investigation and remediation costs incurred to reach the site's No Further Action status.
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.