This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. 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.

Lead contamination of the kind found across this property — dispersed uniformly from decades of shooting range operations — is characteristic of pre-1986 activity, before lead-based ammunition came under significant environmental regulatory scrutiny. Occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies issued to the operators during that period had no effective pollution exclusion in Washington and remain enforceable today. The remediation trajectory here — lead shot removal, cPAH treatment, and prospective cost evaluation — encompasses both past expenditures and forward-looking liabilities that historical carriers may be obligated to 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.