This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1941. 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.

The smear zone and historically pooled contamination documented at K Ply are the product of chronic releases during 45 years of pre-1986 mill operations — hydraulic oil from presses and gasoline from Pipeline 8, which ran from 1941 until 1967. That pattern of gradual, accumulating release across decades is precisely what occurrence-based CGL policies were designed to cover, and Washington carriers issued those policies to industrial operators throughout K Ply's operational window. The remediation now underway — 17,200 cubic yards of soil excavation, in-situ groundwater treatment, and up to a decade of monitoring — represents costs that historical carriers whose policies were in force during those chronic-release years may be obligated both to recover and to fund going forward.

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.