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.
This property operated as a Chevron gasoline service station — first as Jerry's Chevron, later as Don's Chevron — with underground storage tanks that were already leaking by April 1993, when a LUST release was reported to Ecology. Contaminated soil was excavated in May 1993, and the USTs were formally closed in June 2009 under a closure report prepared for The Larry Royer Trust. A 2010 VCP Opinion confirmed gasoline and diesel-range petroleum hydrocarbons had migrated into groundwater beneath the property. The site has since received a No Further Action determination under the Voluntary 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.
The underground storage tanks at this Chevron station were already releasing petroleum hydrocarbons by 1993, indicating they had been in service for years — and under standard tank-lifecycle assumptions, were very likely installed before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to the station's operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable in Washington. The documented remediation costs here — soil excavation, UST closure, and the investigation work underlying the VCP Opinion — represent expenditures that historical carriers may be obligated to cover.
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.