This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1915. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
The Wells & Wade Facility operated as a petroleum bulk plant at 201 South Wenatchee Avenue since 1915, storing heating oil in four underground storage tanks totaling 29,000 gallons and selling it in bulk to the general public. Remediation under Ecology's standard cleanup program included excavation and removal of all four USTs, removal of hundreds of cubic yards of contaminated soil and bedrock, and groundwater treatment using an oil-water separator to recover free-product oil. Both excavation areas were backfilled with clean sand, and the site has received a No Further Action determination. 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.
Bulk petroleum storage and distribution at this property began more than seven decades before 1986, the year occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased reliably covering pollution claims in Washington. The heating-oil contamination that drove tank removal, large-scale soil and bedrock excavation, and groundwater treatment traces directly to those decades of pre-1986 bulk-plant operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Wells & Wade during that long operational window may still be obligated to reimburse the documented remediation costs.
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.
