This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1959. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a gasoline and diesel retail facility and convenience store since 1959. Five single-walled steel underground storage tanks — including a 5,000-gallon leaded gasoline tank — were removed in November 1993 after groundwater contamination was discovered during the 1991–1993 period. Historical groundwater sampling revealed severe petroleum contamination, with total petroleum hydrocarbons in gasoline reaching 110,000 µg/L at one monitoring well. The site received a No Further Action determination from the Pollution Liability Insurance Agency in March 2021, with residual contamination at one monitoring well managed under institutional controls. 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.
Petroleum releases at this site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated continuously from 1959 — more than two decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The severity of the groundwater contamination (benzene, petroleum hydrocarbons in both gasoline and diesel fractions) and the extended remediation timeline from discovery in 1991 through the 2021 closure represent substantial cleanup expenditures tied directly to those pre-1986 fueling operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1959–1985 operational window may still be obligated to recover those costs.
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.