This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1967. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
UNOCAL Service Station No. 5919 was constructed at this property circa 1967, as documented by a UNOCAL General Arrangement drawing dated February 15, 1967. The facility was equipped with two 10,000-gallon and two 500-gallon underground storage tanks for gasoline and fuel products. The original steel USTs were removed in February and March of 1989, with tank inspections revealing corrosion and pitting consistent with twenty-two years of subsurface service. Petroleum hydrocarbons, benzene, and non-halogenated solvents were identified in groundwater, and the site achieved No Further Action status through 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.
Fueling operations at this station began in 1967 — nearly two decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased covering pollution claims without exclusion. The petroleum and benzene contamination detected in groundwater originated from underground storage tanks that were in continuous use throughout that pre-1986 window, and the remediation costs incurred to reach No Further Action status are directly traceable to releases from those operations. Historical CGL carriers who insured UNOCAL's operations during the 1967–1986 period may remain obligated to reimburse those documented cleanup expenditures.
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.