This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1966. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline service station with six underground storage tanks — four gasoline USTs totaling 22,000 gallons of capacity, a 500-gallon waste oil UST, and a 500-gallon heating oil UST. A preliminary assessment in July 1990 identified petroleum contamination already present at the site, and the release was reported to Ecology in December 1990. The USTs were removed between October 1991 and February 1992 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and the site has since received a No Further Action determination. 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 gasoline USTs removed in 1991 were likely installed before 1966 based on standard tank lifecycle analysis, placing the origin of contamination squarely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. Benzene and petroleum-gasoline compounds confirmed in groundwater trace directly to decades of underground storage tank operations predating 1986. The remediation expenditures incurred to close those tanks, address contaminated soil and groundwater, and achieve regulatory closure represent costs that historical carriers who underwrote the station during that operational window may be obligated to recover.
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.