This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property operated as a gasoline service station from the early 1970s until redevelopment in 1979, with underground storage tanks storing waste oil, gasoline, and diesel. The USTs were single-wall welded steel without cathodic protection or overfill and spill containment — a pre-regulation design consistent with their 1970s installation. Groundwater sampling confirmed petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH-G, TPH-D), benzene, toluene, and BTEX compounds at the two former tank locations, with contamination above regulatory levels persisting near the USTs through at least 2013. The site entered Washington's Voluntary Cleanup Program and received a No Further Action determination in 2018. 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.
Petroleum releases at this property originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated in the early 1970s, more than a decade before occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims in 1986. The benzene and petroleum hydrocarbon contamination documented in groundwater here is the type of gradual, ongoing release those pre-1986 policies were written to cover without an effective pollution exclusion. Remediation costs spanning UST closure, groundwater investigation, and the years of monitoring required to reach the 2018 No Further Action determination represent expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the station's operating years may still be obligated to recover.
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.