This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1895. 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.

Contamination at this former mill site — dioxins and furans from bleaching operations, petroleum hydrocarbons, PAHs, PCBs, and metals — originated from industrial processes that ran for more than eight decades before 1986. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the mill's operators during that pre-1986 window carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain potentially enforceable today. The documented remediation scope — large-scale soil excavation, structural containment, institutional controls, and continuing groundwater monitoring — represents both expenditures already incurred and costs still accruing that historical carriers may be obligated to recover and fund.

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.