This property has a documented history as a gasoline service station going back to 1957. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property housed a gasoline station active from 1957 through 2002, with four 6,500-gallon underground storage tanks dispensing fuel over that 45-year span. The station building has since been demolished and the tanks were removed in 2000–2001. Groundwater sampling confirmed lead concentrations exceeding the Method A cleanup level of 15 micrograms per liter and total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH-G) at 850 µg/L, above the 800 µg/L standard. The site entered Washington's 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 gasoline station at this property operated for 29 years before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. Petroleum and lead contamination found in groundwater beneath the site originated from underground storage tanks installed and operated during that pre-1986 window. The remediation costs incurred — tank removals, site investigation, groundwater monitoring, and the VCP process — are expenditures that historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the 1957-to-1986 operational period may still be obligated 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
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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.