This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1944. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
Shell Oil Company owned this property and operated a petroleum storage and distribution facility here from 1944 until 1994, with storage tanks installed in 1944 and 1951 and loading racks added in 1979. A 1992 Agreed Order documented spill events from 1977 through 1981, and a 1999 Consent Decree formalized cleanup obligations tied to decades of operations at the site. Contamination in groundwater and surface water includes petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, benzene, halogenated organics, metals, PCBs, and pesticides, with dense non-aqueous phase liquid periodically observed in monitoring wells. Cleanup is underway under the Standard Cleanup program. 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 storage and distribution at this site began in 1944 — more than four decades before the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion. The spill events documented from 1977 through 1981 and the highly weathered petroleum contamination across the property tie the releases directly to that pre-1986 operational window. With cleanup proceeding under a Consent Decree and contamination spanning multiple contaminant classes in both groundwater and surface water, the remediation cost trajectory here makes the question of historical carrier obligation both substantial and ongoing.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.
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.