This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property served as a public works operations center with two 8,000-gallon single-walled steel underground storage tanks storing diesel fuel — a tank construction standard consistent with installation before 1988. A Phase I/II Environmental Site Assessment conducted by AGRA Earth & Environmental in November 1994 identified diesel-range petroleum contamination in groundwater, with total petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in monitoring wells reaching 4,900 µg/L and 3,400 µg/L, both well above the MTCA Method A cleanup level of 500 µg/L. Independent remedial action was carried out from November 1994 through March 1998 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program, and Ecology issued a No Further Action determination on June 18, 1998. 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 single-walled steel diesel USTs at this facility were constructed to pre-1988 standards and were very likely installed before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies covered pollution claims without effective exclusion. The remediation costs incurred between 1994 and 1998 — site assessment, groundwater investigation, and cleanup of diesel contamination exceeding state standards by nearly tenfold — are the type of expenditures that historical CGL carriers may be obligated to reimburse. With a No Further Action determination now in hand, the full scope of cleanup costs is defined and recoverable.
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.