This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1885. 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.

Mining and milling operations at this property generated contaminated tailings over more than six decades — all of it before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were still the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination here is not incidental: it is the direct residue of decades of industrial ore processing, exactly the kind of slow, accumulating release those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. Documented remediation expenditures — 85,000 cubic yards of tailings removal, mill demolition, stabilization measures, a removal action exceeding $1.3 million, and continuing monitoring — represent costs that historical carriers may be obligated to recover and to fund as cleanup proceeds.

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.