This property has a documented history as a public works and maintenance facility going back to 1976. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property was used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from approximately 1976 to 1982 for storage, washing, maintenance, and staging of construction equipment during the Bonneville Lock and Dam Second Powerhouse project. Petroleum-contaminated soil was identified when the site was listed on Washington's Confirmed and Suspected Contaminated Sites List based on data collected between 1990 and 1994. Cleanup under the Voluntary Cleanup Program included petroleum-contaminated soil remediation, installation of clean soil caps, restrictive covenants, annual inspections, and five-year reviews — culminating in a 2025 excavation that removed 46.67 tons of metals-impacted soil and backfilled with 43 tons of clean material. The environmental covenants have since been terminated, confirming no further action is required. 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 petroleum and metals contamination at this property traces directly to equipment washing and maintenance operations conducted between 1976 and 1982 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion. Decades of documented remediation costs — soil caps, long-term monitoring, restrictive covenant management, and the final 2025 excavation — represent expenditures tied to releases that began during the coverage period of those historical policies. Carriers who issued CGL policies to operators and contractors working at the site during the Bonneville Dam construction may still be obligated to cover those cleanup costs.
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.