This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1975. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This industrial property in Conway, Skagit County was used for log processing, storage, and pole peeling — stripping bark from trees to prepare telephone poles — with MacGillis & Gibbs Co. operating from 1975 to 1984, after which Bell Lumber and Pole assumed operations. Hydraulic fluid drips and leaks from pole peeling equipment over that long operational history are identified as the primary contamination source, with underground storage tanks for gasoline also present during the 1970s and 1980s. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program has included excavation and removal of 182 tons of petroleum-impacted soil in 2021, off-site disposal of 4,500 gallons of affected groundwater, and historic removal of two 1,000-gallon fuel tanks; groundwater monitoring has been ongoing since 2023, and an estimated 100–200 cubic yards of contaminated soil remain on-site pending further remedial action. 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 petroleum contamination at this site originated from industrial pole peeling and fuel storage operations that began at least by 1975 — more than a decade before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies stopped reliably covering pollution claims. The slow accumulation of hydraulic fluid and gasoline releases from routine equipment use is precisely the type of gradual, pre-1986 release that those policies were written to address. Documented remediation costs already include excavation, groundwater recovery, tank removals, and multi-year monitoring, with additional expenditures ahead as the remaining contaminated soil is addressed; historical carriers who issued CGL policies to operators during that pre-1986 window may be obligated both to recover costs already incurred and to fund the cleanup work still to come.
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.
