This property has a documented history as a facility using PFAS-containing firefighting foam going back to 1971. Historical insurance policies issued during operations at this property 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.

Aviation fuel storage and dispensing at this airport began fifteen years before 1986, during the era when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The contamination addressed here — petroleum releases from underground storage tanks operated continuously from 1971 through 1998 — is precisely the kind of long-duration, operations-linked release those pre-1986 policies were written to cover. Documented remediation expenditures to date, and any further cleanup costs still ahead, represent obligations the historical carriers who insured the airport during that window may be required both to reimburse 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.