This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1892. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

The contamination at this site — petroleum hydrocarbons, PCBs, lead, and chromium — originates from industrial operations that began in 1892 and were in full operation by the early twentieth century, giving this site more than six decades of pre-1986 exposure before occurrence-based CGL policies added effective pollution exclusions. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies to Weyerhaeuser or its predecessors during that multi-decade window had no such exclusion and may be obligated both to recover documented remediation costs — thousands of cubic yards of excavation, bioremediation, engineered containment — and to fund the ongoing monitoring and maintenance the site still requires.

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.