This property has a documented history as a landfill going back to 1976. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
This property carries two distinct histories of waste disposal: a municipal dump used by the former Town of Bordeaux dating to the early 1900s, and a permitted industrial fiberglass debris landfill operated by Hytec from 1976 until sometime before 1978, when Hytec disposed of waste fiberglass, fiberglass trimmings, and waste polyester resin in the north-central portion of the site under a solid waste disposal permit from the Thurston-Mason County Health District. A Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study conducted over multiple months in 2006 — with a report issued in 2007 — included excavation of 17 shallow metallic objects and 10 drums, investigation through 14 test pits, and purging of 75 gallons of groundwater from monitoring wells. The site has since received a No Further Action determination under the Standard Cleanup program. 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.
Hytec's industrial waste disposal operations began here in 1976, a full decade before the 1986 threshold at which occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies ceased to reliably cover pollution claims in Washington. The fiberglass trimmings, polyester resin, and drum contents deposited during that window represent exactly the category of slow-release industrial contamination that pre-1986 CGL policies addressed without an effective pollution exclusion. Historical carriers who issued coverage to Hytec during the 1976–1978 operational period may remain obligated to contribute to the documented remediation and investigation costs identified through the 2006–2007 RI/FS process.
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.
