This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1980. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
Flowserve Steam Supply occupied this Tacoma industrial property until 2005, when two separate petroleum releases were discovered: a diesel fuel leak from shallow underground piping connecting an interior boiler to an aboveground storage tank on the north side of the facility, and an automatic transmission fluid leak from a compressor housed in an exterior shed. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has been ongoing since at least 2005 through 2025, encompassing multiple phases of petroleum-contaminated soil excavation totaling over 1,500 tons and treatment of groundwater and residual soil contamination through in-situ chemical oxidation, bioremediation amendments including BOS 200® and bacteria concentrate, and a pilot injection study using RegenOx™ and ORC-A®. Cleanup work is ongoing. 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 diesel fuel aboveground storage tank and associated underground piping at this facility are estimated to have been installed around 1980 — before the 1986 threshold after which occurrence-based CGL policies began routinely excluding pollution coverage. The two releases here, from the boiler fuel system and the transmission fluid compressor, are precisely the type of slow industrial leak that pre-1986 policies were written to cover. More than 1,500 tons of excavated soil and years of documented in-situ treatment represent remediation expenditures that historical carriers whose policies were in force during Flowserve's operational window may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.
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.
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.
