This property has a documented history as a farm and agricultural operation predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property served as a Washington State University research and extension unit with agricultural operations and a gasoline underground storage tank used to fuel farm equipment. Confirmed contamination includes arsenic and lead in soil, with suspected halogenated pesticides, arsenic, lead, and petroleum in groundwater — a contaminant profile consistent with decades of agricultural research activity and fueling operations predating 1986. The site entered the Voluntary Cleanup Program, though that agreement was later terminated due to inactivity; earlier independent remedial actions were performed, but soil and groundwater contamination remains, and cleanup work is ongoing. 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 presence of lead in soil associated with the gasoline UST points to the use of leaded gasoline, which was phased out before 1986 — placing the contaminating operations squarely within the era of occurrence-based CGL policies that carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Documented remediation costs have already been incurred through independent cleanup actions, and potential future cleanup grants of $200,000 to $300,000 signal the scale of work still ahead. Historical carriers whose policies were in effect during the site's pre-1986 agricultural and fueling operations may be obligated both to reimburse past cleanup expenditures and to fund the remediation that remains.
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.