This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1968. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property has operated as a gasoline station since 1968, with four 10,000-gallon underground storage tanks dispensing diesel, leaded, unleaded, and supreme gasoline already in place by 1993. A convenience store building was constructed on the site in 1984, and Chevron operated the station through 2013. Groundwater sampling revealed petroleum-gasoline concentrations of 17,000 µg/L, benzene at 320 µg/L, and diesel at 3,000 µg/L — all exceeding MTCA Method A cleanup levels — along with MTBE contamination. A 1,000-gallon heating oil UST was also removed in 1995–1996, and the site has since achieved No Further Action status. 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.
Gasoline dispensing operations at this site began in 1968, placing nearly two decades of fueling activity squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were issued without effective pollution exclusions. The petroleum and benzene contamination confirmed in groundwater originated from those pre-1986 UST operations, and the remediation expenditures required to bring the site to No Further Action status — tank removals, investigation, monitoring, and cleanup to meet MTCA standards — are the type of documented costs that historical CGL carriers may be obligated to reimburse.
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.