This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1900. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.

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 contamination at this site originated from bulk-plant operations — tank storage, pipeline distribution, fuel handling — that began in the early 1900s and continued through multiple operators well past the mid-1980s. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued to operators such as Standard Oil, Crown Zellerbach, and Wilson Oil during that pre-1986 window covered exactly this type of ongoing release from petroleum infrastructure. With cleanup now underway and confirmed TPH, BTEX, and PAH contamination in groundwater, the remediation costs already incurred and those still ahead may be recoverable from historical carriers whose policies were in force when the contamination first occurred.

Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful coverage claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage. Restorical then manages the claim, including accounting, to ensure the cleanup is funded in a timely manner.