This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
Ronnie's Station operated as a gasoline service station at 1714 Old Highway 99 South in Burlington. Underground storage tanks were removed from the property in January 1996, and a Phase I Environmental Audit was completed that same month. Groundwater investigations identified lead, diesel-range petroleum hydrocarbons, and gasoline-range petroleum hydrocarbons at the site. The property was enrolled in Washington's Voluntary Cleanup Program and has 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 underground storage tanks at this former gas station were removed in 1996, and standard industry tank lifecycles place their installation well before 1986 — the period when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. The petroleum and lead contamination found in groundwater here is consistent with long-term releases from aging underground storage infrastructure predating 1986. Remediation costs incurred to address those releases and achieve the site's No Further Action status may be recoverable from historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the tanks' operational years.
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.