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 recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property is a natural gas meter station operated by Northwest Pipeline/Williams Gas Pipeline, where mercury contamination in soil was traced to a former meter or thermowell. Site assessment activities were conducted in 1990 and 1992, with remedial actions performed in 1991 and 1992 under the Voluntary Cleanup Program; cleanup included excavation and off-site disposal of over 98 tons and 7 cubic yards of impacted soil — including hazardous waste treatment — and recovery and treatment of 3,200 gallons of affected groundwater at the associated Kelso (Longview) meter station. The site has achieved No Further Action status. 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 mercury releases at this facility originated from meter equipment that was in service well before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies remained the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion for industrial operations. The documented cleanup costs — soil excavation, hazardous waste disposal, and groundwater treatment across two meter station sites — are directly traceable to those pre-1986 operations. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to Northwest Pipeline or its predecessors during that operational window may retain liability for the remediation expenditures that were ultimately incurred.
Restorical's role is to locate viable historical policies, determine whether a successful cost recovery claim is possible, and assist our clients and their legal counsel to obtain insurance coverage for costs already incurred. Restorical's forensic accounting team works to re-establish and document past cleanup expenditures, ensuring the strongest possible basis for recovery.
Recovering Costs from an Older Cleanup
If this site reached No Further Action years ago, the original cleanup expenditures may be difficult to reconstruct. Restorical's forensic accounting team specializes in re-establishing and documenting past cleanup costs — even decades later — to build the strongest possible basis for an insurance recovery claim.
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.
