This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1942. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
Fairchild Air Force Base, encompassing approximately 4,300 acres in Spokane County, has been in continuous military operation since its establishment in 1942. Cleanup activities across the installation have been extensive and ongoing, including excavation of landfill materials and contaminated soils, groundwater extraction and treatment systems, bioreactors, soil vapor extraction, landfill capping, in-situ chemical oxidation, free-product recovery, bioventing, air sparging, landfarming, offsite incineration, monitored natural attenuation, and vapor intrusion assessment. PFAS contamination from historically used aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) has required the provision of alternative water supplies, and landfill areas active from the late 1950s through the late 1970s remain subjects of long-term monitoring and remediation. 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.
Contamination at Fairchild AFB traces to military operations — fuel handling, fire-suppression foam deployment, landfill disposal, and industrial maintenance activities — that began more than four decades before 1986. Occurrence-based CGL policies issued during that pre-1986 operational window carried no effective pollution exclusion and remain enforceable in Washington. The scale of documented remediation here — groundwater treatment systems, soil excavation, vapor extraction, ISCO, alternative water supplies, and decades of monitoring across multiple sites — represents substantial expenditures that historical carriers 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.
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.