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.
Exxon Station #7-2422 in Ridgefield operated as a gasoline service station with underground storage tanks that were in use before environmental investigations commenced in 1987. Golder Associates conducted Phase II Environmental Investigations in November 1987 and produced a Petroleum Tank Removal report in September 1988, with Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH) and BTEX contamination confirmed in both soil and groundwater at the property. The Washington Department of Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in August 2016 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, closing the site after a regulatory record spanning nearly three decades. 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 Exxon station originated from underground storage tanks that were installed and operational years before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion. TPH and BTEX releases from those pre-1986 tank operations triggered environmental investigations, tank removal, and decades of regulatory oversight — remediation expenditures that historical CGL carriers may still be obligated to cover under policies issued during the station's early operational window.
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.