This property has a documented history as a industrial and manufacturing facility going back to 1892. Historical insurance policies issued during those prior operations 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.

The cadmium, lead, zinc, and arsenic contamination at this site traces directly to tailings and discharges from mining and milling operations that ran for decades before 1986, when occurrence-based Commercial General Liability policies were the industry standard and carried no effective pollution exclusion in Washington. Historical carriers who issued CGL policies during Cleveland Mine's long pre-1986 operational window may remain obligated both to recover the documented remediation expenditures already incurred — tailings excavation, repository consolidation, stream diversion, bank armoring — and to fund any cleanup work that continues 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.