This property has a documented history as a landfill predating 1986. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations and through 1986 could recover the cleanup costs already paid.
A burn pit on the Port of Bremerton's National Airport property was used for disposal of petroleum-contaminated soils and deteriorated, unlabelled drums, with tenant mishandling contributing to site contamination. Independent remedial actions conducted between 1994 and 2000 included excavation and sampling at the former burn pit and overturned drum area, addressing petroleum impacts in soil and groundwater. The site received a No Further Action determination in 2000 under the Voluntary 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.
The burn pit's petroleum contamination and deteriorated drum waste point to disposal practices that predate 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. The remediation costs incurred across six years of excavation, sampling, and groundwater work — all tied to that legacy waste disposal — are the type of documented cleanup expenditures that historical CGL carriers may still be obligated to cover under policies issued during the period the contamination originated.
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.
