This property has a documented history as a property with a heating oil tank predating 1986. 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 petroleum contamination at this site originated from heating oil USTs associated with historical hatchery operations predating 1986 — squarely within the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The incomplete nature of the earlier cleanup means remediation costs continue to accrue: managing residual soil contamination, implementing an Environmental Covenant, and addressing any further corrective action Ecology may require. Historical carriers whose CGL policies were in force during the decades these tanks operated may be obligated both to recover past cleanup expenditures and to fund the work still ahead.

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.