This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1965. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a store and Texaco gasoline station in Quilcene, with three underground storage tanks — two 1,000-gallon and one 2,000-gallon — installed in 1965. The tanks were decommissioned in February 1994, and subsequent investigation revealed significant groundwater contamination, including TPH gasoline measured at 72,400 µg/L and BTEX concentrations exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels. The site entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action determination in October 2008. 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 petroleum contamination at this property originated from underground storage tanks installed in 1965 — more than two decades before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies gave way to claims-made forms with absolute pollution exclusions. Carriers who issued CGL policies covering this Texaco station during its 1965–1986 operational window may still bear obligation for the remediation costs incurred to address gasoline and BTEX releases into groundwater. The site's documented cleanup trajectory from tank decommissioning through VCP completion represents the type of long-tail environmental liability these historical policies were designed 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
Stay up to date on environmental property cleanup laws and changes.
Report Email Updates
Request more information on this property
Contact UsThis analysis is preliminary and based on publicly available records. Restorical Research is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.