This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could fund a cleanup — and recover costs already spent.
This property at 601 S Alaska Street operated as a warehouse, distribution center, and cabinet shop from at least 1989, with Flowserve US Inc operating a warehouse and distribution center at the site beginning in 2002. Contamination — trichloroethylene (TCE), benzene, total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) — has been attributed to a history of improper waste storage and disposal at the adjacent Samis Land Company property, with approximately 319 tons of petroleum-impacted soil excavated from that adjacent parcel in 2000 in work that may have extended onto this site. Regulatory involvement began in 2002–2003 and included quarterly groundwater monitoring, enrollment in the Voluntary Cleanup Program from 2003 to 2006, and an interim No Further Action determination for TPH and PAHs issued in 2003. 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.
A 2015 regulatory report characterizes the contamination reaching this property as the product of a "history" of improper industrial waste disposal at the adjacent source site — language that points to a generating period extending well before 1986, when occurrence-based CGL policies remained in force and carried no effective pollution exclusion. TCE and benzene are precisely the subsurface contaminants those policies were written to address: slow-moving, long-duration releases tied to industrial operations rather than any discrete accident. Historical carriers who issued CGL coverage to operators at the source property during that pre-1986 window may remain obligated to fund both the remediation costs already incurred — excavation, VCP participation, and years of groundwater monitoring — and the cleanup work that lies 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.
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.