This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1970. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This facility operated as the Washington State Fire Training Academy, with underground storage tanks for gasoline, diesel, and fire retardant foam installed around 1970. A release was first reported in 1992, and cleanup activities between 1994 and 1995 included removal of all eight USTs and overexcavation of approximately 2,000 cubic yards of petroleum-contaminated soil, which was landfarmed on-site. Ecology issued a No Further Action determination in 2012, and in 2024 the WA State Fire Training Academy initiated a new Voluntary Cleanup Program project at the same facility. 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 underground storage tanks at this site were installed approximately 1970 — well within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The documented remediation costs here — removal of eight USTs, excavation and landfarming of 2,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil, and two decades of regulatory oversight culminating in NFA — represent expenditures tied directly to releases from those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during the facility's early operating years may still be obligated to cover those cleanup 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.
