This property has a documented history as a bulk fuel distribution terminal going back to 1924. 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.

Standard Oil Company of California — later absorbed into Chevron — operated this bulk terminal from 1924 through the late 1970s, a span of over five decades that entirely predates the 1986 shift away from occurrence-based Commercial General Liability coverage. Historical carriers who insured Standard Oil or its successors during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover costs already documented at this site — excavation and thermal desorption of 1,290 tons of contaminated soil and treatment of 8,000 gallons of groundwater — and to fund what the active cleanup plan still requires: additional soil excavation, AST removal, groundwater treatment, and years of performance monitoring. The named operator and its documented half-century of pre-1986 operations give this site a specific anchor for a historical CGL recovery inquiry.

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.