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 an ARCO gas station on 6th Avenue in Tacoma, with a 1993 environmental assessment documenting the upgrade of pre-existing underground storage tanks at the site. Groundwater investigations identified benzene, lead, priority pollutant metals, and petroleum hydrocarbons beneath the property. The site completed remediation through the Voluntary Cleanup Program and has received a No Further Action determination from Ecology. 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 1993 tank upgrade at this station indicates that underground storage tanks were already in service before that date, and the typical 25-year lifecycle of UST systems suggests the originals were likely installed before 1986 — though no direct installation date has been documented. If those earlier operations are the source of the benzene, lead, and petroleum contamination found in groundwater here, occurrence-based CGL policies issued during that pre-1986 window may provide a basis for recovering the remediation costs incurred through the Voluntary Cleanup Program.
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.